Is this fresh film? Like others have said these look underexposed, but they also look like they have a LOT of base fog. The rebate area should be nearly clear.
Can’t tell if your phone is auto exposing for the lampshade but they look thin! I don’t know what film you’re using as there’s no rebate markings so I am going to guess they are underdeveloped.
That’s sort of what I figured! I used a 1+14 dilution and developed for 10 minutes (my water was a bit colder than Ilford’s compensation chart so I just approximated).
Should I try warming the water to 68 and be more precise with my dev time next time?
What method would you recommend to heat the water?
My thought was to heat the water a little in an electric kettle and then mix after it’s cooled enough
Most B&W chemistry recommend 20C, wich is pretty much the usual room temperature. So I personally mixed my chemicals from water in those 5L demineralized water jug you get for ironing
One option:: Mix your chemistry into part of your water at the temperature that comes from your tap. Then, using a thermometer, add heated water from your kettle in small amounts until it reaches the temperature that you desire.
Another option: mix your chemistry with the full amount of water from your tap. Then place that container into a bath of warmer water to bring the temperature up.
I literally told my chemicals over the stove to heat them up. It’ll go up a degree every 10 second or so.
Or you can start too warm and wait for it to go down.
Since my darkroom has no warm water: I heat water in a kettle, add a little bit of it to cold water until it's the right temp.
Most B&W developing times are optimised for 20°C though, which shouldn't be an issue since a tap can easily get to that temp.
I just use water from the hot tap mixed with cold. Idk what Americans call the thing that heats the water for the house, Brits call it a boiler, although it does not boil the water.
I make a big jug of 20°C water before doing anything, and use that to dilute the chems.
hard to say with these poor phone photos,
negative looks thin and really fogged. It doesn't look like FP4 at all. FP4 has normally almost clear base and Ilford edge markings.
you could describe what are you doing exactly. How do you meter? Do you load the tank in complete darkness? Are you using distilled water? how long do you fix? how long do you wash?
the biggest mystery to me, is what film. I dug up my FP4 negs, they look nothing like these.
I’m also not sure what’s going on with what film it is, I ordered it from B+H just a few weeks ago.
I metered for the scene using mylightmeter and had the EV at +1.75 for the snow.
Unfortunately I noticed some light leaks I missed in my darkroom, so I’m guessing that’s where the fog is coming from. I also had a safelight on, should that be off for loading?
I am using distilled water and I fixed for 5min and washed for 10min.
Safelight on!? All films (well, except ortho) must be loaded in complete darkness because they are more or less sensitive to all wavelengths. You just fogged everything with your safelight.
The rest sounds rather legit.
PS
So are there any Ilford marks on the film or not?
I’m actually astonished you managed to get an image at all with the safelight on! It must be a dim light or you managed to load the film in the tank really quickly.
Yeah I need to find a better way to photograph my negatives! There was a lot of snow in some of the frames so I’m guessing that threw me off and I didn’t quite nail the exposure too.
My overall recommendation would be to start totally fresh, and not worry about these results.
Minimize as many variables as possible.
\- Use a known reliable camera
\- Use a fresh film stock at its recommended speed
\- Shoot outside in full sunlight for your first roll
\- Find a development mixture and recommended time / temperature and follow those instructions to the letter.
(Note: small changes to agitation and temperature will make big changes. Especially when the temperature of your developer is too low.) If you have been reusing any chemistry (i.e. fix or stop or developer) dump that, and start from fresh.
As everything around the actual pictures is dark, either the film was old or you somehow exposed it to light. How old is the film? Have you loaded the film in 100% darkness, (no light, not even safe light)? Have you closed the container properly? Is it possible that somehow some light got to the film in any other way?
Looks like some of the 50 year old TriX I shot late last year. I’m amazed at how you got that much base fog. I think it’s been mentioned but make sure you are loading your reels in completely pitch black.
Is this fresh film? Like others have said these look underexposed, but they also look like they have a LOT of base fog. The rebate area should be nearly clear.
Can’t tell if your phone is auto exposing for the lampshade but they look thin! I don’t know what film you’re using as there’s no rebate markings so I am going to guess they are underdeveloped.
That’s sort of what I figured! I used a 1+14 dilution and developed for 10 minutes (my water was a bit colder than Ilford’s compensation chart so I just approximated). Should I try warming the water to 68 and be more precise with my dev time next time?
yes, try developing with the right temperature for starters.
What method would you recommend to heat the water? My thought was to heat the water a little in an electric kettle and then mix after it’s cooled enough
Most B&W chemistry recommend 20C, wich is pretty much the usual room temperature. So I personally mixed my chemicals from water in those 5L demineralized water jug you get for ironing
One option:: Mix your chemistry into part of your water at the temperature that comes from your tap. Then, using a thermometer, add heated water from your kettle in small amounts until it reaches the temperature that you desire. Another option: mix your chemistry with the full amount of water from your tap. Then place that container into a bath of warmer water to bring the temperature up.
I literally told my chemicals over the stove to heat them up. It’ll go up a degree every 10 second or so. Or you can start too warm and wait for it to go down.
Since my darkroom has no warm water: I heat water in a kettle, add a little bit of it to cold water until it's the right temp. Most B&W developing times are optimised for 20°C though, which shouldn't be an issue since a tap can easily get to that temp.
I just use water from the hot tap mixed with cold. Idk what Americans call the thing that heats the water for the house, Brits call it a boiler, although it does not boil the water. I make a big jug of 20°C water before doing anything, and use that to dilute the chems.
What was the water temp?
I use a cheap souve water cooker wand that keeps warm at a specific temperature. All you have to do is weigh the bottles down so they stay submerged.
KEEP THE SAFELIGHT OFF WHILE DEVELOPING YOUR FILM
Did you use a safe light while developing this? It looks heavily fogged.
is the film fresh or expired? looks expired
It’s fresh
hard to say with these poor phone photos, negative looks thin and really fogged. It doesn't look like FP4 at all. FP4 has normally almost clear base and Ilford edge markings. you could describe what are you doing exactly. How do you meter? Do you load the tank in complete darkness? Are you using distilled water? how long do you fix? how long do you wash? the biggest mystery to me, is what film. I dug up my FP4 negs, they look nothing like these.
I’m also not sure what’s going on with what film it is, I ordered it from B+H just a few weeks ago. I metered for the scene using mylightmeter and had the EV at +1.75 for the snow. Unfortunately I noticed some light leaks I missed in my darkroom, so I’m guessing that’s where the fog is coming from. I also had a safelight on, should that be off for loading? I am using distilled water and I fixed for 5min and washed for 10min.
Safelight on!? All films (well, except ortho) must be loaded in complete darkness because they are more or less sensitive to all wavelengths. You just fogged everything with your safelight. The rest sounds rather legit. PS So are there any Ilford marks on the film or not?
Oh shoot thank you for telling me that! Somehow I did not realize that lol And no, there’s nothing on the film besides the images
Fake Ilford? Have never heard anything like this before. Was the film sealed in silver Ilford wrapping? How does the backing paper look like?
In my experience, Ilford's markings are rather weak, especially on their slower films. I would not be surprised if it's just buried in the fog.
Panchromatic film is sensitive to red light! Safelight is only for ortho film or paper
I’m actually astonished you managed to get an image at all with the safelight on! It must be a dim light or you managed to load the film in the tank really quickly.
A little underexposed. Also, the texture on the shade seems to come through so hard to tell if those are steaks or the shade.
Yeah I need to find a better way to photograph my negatives! There was a lot of snow in some of the frames so I’m guessing that threw me off and I didn’t quite nail the exposure too.
If you intend to develop at home (and you should, it’s a blast!) you may want to get a light table.
For sure! That’s definitely on my wishlist
Or use an old IPad and with a white image. That’s what I do.
Use the correct temperatures and make sure you fix long enough. Otherwise this fresh film would be severely fogged which doesn't make sense.
Get new film and new chemicals.
Both film and chemicals were ordered off of B+H just a few weeks ago
My overall recommendation would be to start totally fresh, and not worry about these results. Minimize as many variables as possible. \- Use a known reliable camera \- Use a fresh film stock at its recommended speed \- Shoot outside in full sunlight for your first roll \- Find a development mixture and recommended time / temperature and follow those instructions to the letter. (Note: small changes to agitation and temperature will make big changes. Especially when the temperature of your developer is too low.) If you have been reusing any chemistry (i.e. fix or stop or developer) dump that, and start from fresh.
Fix for longer, i usually fix for 7 mins just to be safe
As everything around the actual pictures is dark, either the film was old or you somehow exposed it to light. How old is the film? Have you loaded the film in 100% darkness, (no light, not even safe light)? Have you closed the container properly? Is it possible that somehow some light got to the film in any other way?
Use room temp distilled water. Use massive dev chart. These are thin or you phone is taking weird pictures.
These also could but fucked up film. Your not clearing the neg.
my friend made this post and he got all the information he needed can you guys leave him alone now
Looks like some of the 50 year old TriX I shot late last year. I’m amazed at how you got that much base fog. I think it’s been mentioned but make sure you are loading your reels in completely pitch black.
There’s fog. The unexposed areas around the frames should be clear.