bethe_fisher

Anything that records an image... Yesterday I went hiking and shot with my iPhone, a Pentax K3, a Pentax 645N, and a 4x5. Somewhere around here I have an old Pentax M40, too, but haven't used it in awhile. I have several others I sometimes use, but those 4 are usually what get used the most.

If you're asking, then some part of your brain is telling you it's not a great idea. That would probably be your moral compass. Scanning and making it reasonably viewable are not, imo, the same as "creating" the image. You asked for opinions and you're getting them. Disregard them if you wish, but understand that getting answers you didn't want doesn't make those answers wrong.

The developer usually recommended for old film is HC-110 and that's what I've used on some Verichrome Pan found in old cameras. Since I've done that just twice, I'm hardly an expert. I also didn't shoot them. I think I used dilution B (1 part stock HC-110 and 63 parts water) for about 8 minutes at 68F. Both rolls I developed had a few usable shots, but were very low contrast. One had definitely been in the camera for a long time and the camera got opened a few times during that time.

Here's a link to someone who got decent results with HC-110 - Lomography - Expired Film: Developing Ancient Black and White Film

Adox still lists it. My suspicion is that a particular sized bottle was discontinued and that's what you see on B&H. Maybe Freestyle is carrying the new size? I've never used it, so I have no "real" info (just going on what I've seen in the past).

And when I felt around in it I didn't find any trace of the end of the film, all I felt were the camera parts and then the exposure of film that was lined up with the shutter because there's a little uncovered rectangle window type thing for cleaning the camera that I could feel it through. Sorry if I didn't explain that well.

edit before posting - Ben's ideas are sound.

If there is film lined up with the shutter, as in right in the middle of the area the film crosses between the cartridge and the take-up reel, then it isn't all on the take-up reel and you should be able to feel the end of the film between the shutter area and the cartridge. If you can feel the film, make sure you only touch the edges and run your fingers along it to find the end. Keep in mind before you start that you need a light-tight thing (like a developing tank) to put it in once you get it out of the camera. Can you say where you are? Maybe there's a member nearby who's got some experience in unloading cameras in the dark (usually happens to all of us at some point).

If you also look around www.ilfordphoto.com - they have some really good guides on printing (as well as developing film and all the basics).

I love the fact that if I post a comment on a thread and then click the back button, it just goes back to the list of threads instead of taking out my comment. I also like the way the thread list updates based on the most recent comment as well as showing me which ones I've read.

 

Zenforum can let the system put a little banner next to the avatar of the thread starter for each thread if they post down the thread. It can be very helpful to know if you're responding to the OP or to someone who asked a question in the middle of a thread started by someone else.

My Polaroid 500 holder is fairly bad at gripping the film and I lost a few sheets with it. My #545 does a much better job. What also happens sometimes is that the pod doesn't break well and the chemicals don't spread well. I've found that using a brayer on it after pulling it through the rollers results in a much better image. I know, I know, you're not supposed to touch it. But it's been working for me to make sure the chemicals spread. I have some that expired in 2005 that are still working as of last month. I just wish I had more.

I never took down my darkroom. When I moved from MA to PA in 2007, the one requirement I had was that I needed a darkroom. Granted, it's also the laundry room, but it's been working ok for almost 10 years. I don't use it nearly as often as I'd like, but it does get used enough that I spend a decent amount on chemicals and paper every year.

And I also think your idea of trying out alt process methods is a great one. It's lots of fun and offers many more possibilities for final look. I mostly do plain old silver gelatin, but I also do Mordançage and other things.

I bought my Saunders 4-bladed 11x14 easel when I was taking a darkroom class and didn't even have my own darkroom. It was one of the best investments I've made, darkroom-wise. One thing I've done is to take a piece of photo paper (even the back of a contact sheet) and mark on it where I want the borders with a sharpie, then put it in the easel and see where I have to put the blades to get those edges. Each type of easel has slightly different ways of securing the paper to hold it, so it's worth experimenting with the one you're using to find where the best spot is. I also don't always worry that much about the edges because I cut my own mats and do them so they cover the border anyway.

I still use my somewhat ancient Epson 4870 - it can scan film and prints. I've actually found that I can get a better match for a print by scanning the negative and adjusting it than by scanning the print.

The "best" camera is the one you can get that works well. I develop my own B&W film, but I mail my color film off to a lab - where you'd send yours would depend on what country you're in.

Tray development is the most common for prints, but not as much for smaller films or roll films. In order to develop film in a tray, there must be complete darkness. For prints, a safelight is fine (some papers need a red one and others are ok with an orange one). It needs to not be too bright and safelights can still fog paper.

Overall, chemicals are in the tray and the film or paper is placed in the tray for a predetermined amount of time. It's best to not develop prints 'til they look right as they will look different when viewed in full light. The paper or film will need to go through developer, stop bath, and fixer and then be washed. It's best to use tongs to move paper from tray to tray.

 

The best info on the process is found in books by Upton and Upton or by Horenstein.

Page County, Iowa

 

I've used E6 in 120, but only because I got a bunch of it cheap. Like free. I used it mostly in the spring on new flowers and in the fall with leaves. Mainly with soft light 'cause I'm not a vivid color kind of person anyway. I also did a few shots that I knew I'd project onto type 55 polaroid film using my enlarger so I'd then have larger B&W negs to print. As much film as I shoot, digital mostly replaced E6 color for me. I occasionally shoot C-41, but not a ton of that either. If you've got it, find something and shoot it, though.

It looks to me like there was enough developer in the tank since the lines are on both edges (sometimes in the same frame, I think). Like Ed said, it might have been loaded on the reel so that it jumped the slot in areas - not enough to completely block , but enough to block it much of the time.

 

Also, did you have something on top of it while making the contact sheet? Was it in plastic sleeves?

I don't know of any stand-alone cameras that can, but iPhones, etc.. can. There's a free version of PS for phones that has "negative" or "reverse" as a filter. As well as several other photo editing apps.

I use Ilford multigrade developer. It comes in a smallish container so printing only 8x10s would use it all in 5 sessions (I use 1 L to do 8x10, 2 L for 11x14). I don't know if you print often enough for that, but it works well for me. It stays good for a couple of months, but I wouldn't count on it after 3 or 4 unless you can get all the air out of the bottle.<BR>

I haven't seen any developers labeled as being just for RC or FB - how old is that one?

Xenforo allows for a lot of tweaking to suit the particular use. If there are features someone would like, there's a way to do it. APUG is now on xenforo (and looks quite different from photo.net) Lots of possibilities.

 

I think this version is just different from the original, not worse. A few things work better for me, too. That short-lived version a few months ago was so bad - I'm just happy they scrapped that.

If you sell a print (at whatever price someone will pay), that is generally not considered "commercial use." At least in the USA. Location could matter with this because laws are not the same everywhere. For commercial use, a release is needed. Selling a print for someone to hang on their wall is not commercial use (whether or not you make a profit has nothing to do with it).

I like Acros because I can do longer exposures without having to deal with reciprocity failure. Lookwise, I'm really not sure which I prefer. Both are great. Some of my older shots that I really love were shot on TMax100 developed with Ilfosol S (no longer made, Ilfosol 3 is not quite the same). Acros is tough to focus under the enlarger without a focus-aid. TMax isn't much easier, but slightly. I'd choose Acros right now for the issue with the paper backing on TMax and the reciprocity. But I don't think either film is bad.

Hi Guys! I am hoping one of you can help me. I have been storing A LOT of photographs in my nightstand right next to my bed. The top drawer of the stand has always been closed but the bottom part doesn't have a drawer and is just open and piled high with photos. My daughter sleeps with me. My question is if photographs emit anything toxic that I should be concerned about. Thanks! I would appreciate any input you can give me.

If they were processed properly and are dry, they're basically just pieces of paper now.

I've been shooting with Holgas (and better cameras) for quite a while and this one's new to me, too. My first guess is that something in the aperture is loose and you're getting some bizarre reflections creating a light leak effect? If these are the end of the roll, maybe something got bumped? If it doesn't currently have film in it, maybe do some dry shots and see if you see something move?

Huh, so I need to fill it up first, agitate for 5 times (5 circles), dump then 10 times then 20?

Yes, for the washing at the end, after the fixer. Not sure what you mean by circles. Invert means to turn the tank upside down than back to right side up. Before the developer, you don't even need to put water in. Ilford rapid fixer is made using 1 part stock fixer and 4 parts water for 2-4 minutes (for HP5+) according to Ilford. You need a longer time when it's not as fresh and for films with T-grains like TMax and Delta. I would also recommend against a squeegee as it's easy to get scratches.

If you use mpix.com to print your photos, they show you the edges and where it will get cropped for each size you choose. You can move the image within the frame to get more of what you want in the print.

In most editing software, you can use a crop tool to see how much is there and what the image will look like cropped to whatever size you choose.

Most 35mm-size cameras will print close to full frame on an 8x12 rather than 8x10. It's mostly experience that will let you figure out what will show and what won't when composing in the viewfinder. I'm one of those who makes sure everything I want is in the frame, but I don't lock myself in to printing the full image. In the darkroom, I print to whatever ratio I find appealing for that image and cut my own mats to make them fit a normal frame.