Negatives gone bad

darin3200 · May 22, 2005

"Blooper - A place to post those pictures that just didn't go right"
Yeah, all 24 of them. I recently read a very misguided tutorial that said I should leave Kodak T-Max 400 in fixer for 5 minutes, at least. I do about 5 minutes and 30 seconds, wash the negatives, and turn the light on. The entire roll of film was wiped clear and all that remained was a purple tint. Not too happy about this, but I guess that counts as a blooper. :er:

mentos_007 · May 23, 2005

buahahaah yeah definitely it counts

sorry for your negs

Neophyte Photographer · May 23, 2005

did you mix your fixer right? I develop a lot of Tmax 100 and 400 (both b/w) and i always fix for 5 minutes and don't have any problems. Also, you said it was wiped clear. Did you develop it correctly?

terri · May 23, 2005

Sounds more like an exposure problem. I don't think fixer is going to burn off any developed images on your film strip, Darin. Have you developed in the exact same way before with no problem?

darin3200 · May 23, 2005

Ok, I am using Adorama developer, fixer and stop bath. I don't have a tank to put the film in so I just use some small plastic containers. I did a roll before this and most of the negatives turned out but there were some parts that didn't.

Now this roll turned out like this

Could it be a developer problem? I typically do developer for 6 minutes and 30 seconds and invert the container every 30 seconds. The only thing I did differently on this roll beside developer time was I gave the film a little bit of shaking when I inverted it in the developer, but that doesn't seem like such a good idea now.

Chase · May 23, 2005

At Terri's suggestion, I'm going to move this to the darkroom thread where you should find more help.

KevinR · May 24, 2005

The why of using tanks isn't really the tank, its the reel in the tank. You need to have the film separated not touching at any point in the developing stage. The problem looks like it was touching each other at spots.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=4733

This will do the job for years, so at 20 bucks, its a steal.

This is light safe, so once its loaded, you can develop with the lights on.

A changing bag wouldn't be a bad thing to have also.

ksmattfish · May 24, 2005

The patches of opaque emulsion are from the film touching in the development. I thought your yogurt container idea was interesting, but now you see why reels are important. If you don't want to buy new ones, they are almost giving them away on EBAY.

The purple tint is typical of some Kodak films, particularly Tmax. A slight tint is no big deal, and often fades. Heavy tint means it needs longer fixing, or your fix is weak. When you load a developing reel with 35mm film snip a few inches off the leader (the shaped part that you first load into the camera). Dip this in the fixer, and time how long it takes to clear. Twice this time is your fixing time.

Clear film usually means very underexposed or no exposure, especially if there are some negs that came out on the same roll. Possibly the roll that didn't come out was misloaded in the camera?

Go to kodak.com and read up on their recommended developing techniques. It's not rocket science, but following correct procedures uniformly from roll to roll is neccessary, or you'll drive yourself crazy with inconsistant results.

terri · May 24, 2005

Darin, I took one look at that poor little film strip and knew you needed some more advice, which is why your thread ended up over here.

With film reels as cheap as they are, it's silly not to pick up a few.

This film strip reminds me of my first darkroom class. Our instructor was big on steel reels, but he lectured while he was rapidly winding the film onto the reel. We all had strips and a reel in front of us to practice with while he lectured. Then we went into the darkroom where he loaded an actual exposed roll and we watched him go through the steps of development. His roll came out looking pretty much like yours! :shock: He blamed his carelessness on being too hurried, but I thought then, "I ain't EVER going to use a steel reel!" :lol:

I picked up a Paterson tank and plastic reels that same day, and have had no problems.

I appreciate that my first demo was really an aberration, because this instructor WAS very good. I also have heard that steel reels are supposed to be much easier to load than plastic. However, this vision is what sticks in my head and I can't shake it long enough to try! :mrgreen:

Hertz van Rental · May 24, 2005

The whitish patches are areas that have not been properly fixed. What you are seeing is unexposed emulsion and it will go through some interesting colour changes over time.
If you see patches on your film like this then putting it back in the fix with vigorous agitation will clear it. If you leave it for too long though, you will get a lot of fogging.
The clear patches are areas that have not been developed but have been subsequently fixed.
As KSMatt says, the patches have happened because the film surfaces have been touching. Pouring the chemicals in and out has shifted the areas touching.

Unimaxium · May 24, 2005

The second roll (with nothing at all on it) was definitely not a problem with the chemistry of either the developer or the fixer, as the frame numbers came out just fine (which are exposed on the film at the film-making plant). Thus, it must be a problem with exposure that caused nothing to come out on the roll. The pink color and grey spots, though, were probably due to film touching itself during development.

darin3200 · May 28, 2005

Thanks for all the help, I will definately be buying a film developing tank shortly. Tonight I actually developed a roll perfectly in darkroom trays, however standing in the dark for 15 minutes wasn't so much fun.

darin3200 · Jun 13, 2005

Yaaa! I finally bought the developer tank that KevinR recommended. Should be here in 4 days. I can't wait to develop all these rolls I'm been afraid to do without a tank.

terri · Jun 13, 2005

darin3200 said:
Yaaa! I finally bought the developer tank that KevinR recommended. Should be here in 4 days. I can't wait to develop all these rolls I'm been afraid to do without a tank.

Good for you. :thumbup: Hopefully you'll never have the above experience again!

gypsyIX · Jun 16, 2005

terri said:
I also have heard that steel reels are supposed to be much easier to load than plastic. However, this vision is what sticks in my head and I can't shake it long enough to try! :mrgreen:

i have always used steel reels and i've never had a problem. and, i've had the same steel reels and tank since high school!

-meredith-