Blotchy areas on photos.

[Grandpa Ron]

I would like to know what causes the blotches on my negatives.

The first picture of headstones was taken a I was restoring the camera and learning many of the errors of view camera photograph.

I tray developed this negative and as you can see, there is considerable number of dark areas.


The second photo of my back yard is more recent and developed in a developing tank. It still shows the dark areas.


So, my question is. Is this figure prints, lack of fixer time, light leaks, or some other gremlin?

 

[vintagesnaps]

The first one that was tray developed to me looks like streaks from the chemistry; could that be due to mixing the chemistry or not enough agitation/keeping it moving in the developer? Is this on the negative or on a print? The second one to me looks like there was some light leaking, or the exposure was light in the lower corners and might need a little burning in.

 

[Soocom1]

From what I am seeing, there are irregular "scratches" in the images.
That looks like to me fingerprints from contaminated fingers in the chemicals. ergo: using ones hand to agitate the paper or pick it up.

Had a similar problem years ago and discovered that my hands had some kind of food grease on them. ruined the prints AND the developer.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Maybe a combination of things?

But use tongs... didn't people learn that when they started darkroom work? Maybe not, I did. Bamboo or plastic tongs like other darkroom supplies are inexpensive. If you aren't using tongs, you might want to get away from handling photo chemistry and negatives/prints with your fingers and do that as little as possible.

 

[compur]

What you've posted aren't negatives, they're positives. Did you scan the negs and then reverse them digitally or are those scans of prints?

 

[Grandpa Ron]

These are positives uploaded from GIMP processed scanned negatives. I will try to scan and post the negatives.

I am thinking maybe finger prints from loading film in a changing bag.

 

[johnfreed0]

One thing to consider is agitation. When I started using PMK, I had to go back to developing a single negative in a 5X7 tray using lift and drop for the agitation. I found that rocking the tray was enough to cause uneven development so I had to go the lift and drop, very gently. The more energetic the developer the higher risk of uneven development.

 

[NER]

I realize this thread is old, but I add my 2 cents worth anyway just in case the matter is still now or may later be of interest to anyone. I have two things to add to preceding remarks. First, I see plenty of evidence of physical damage to the negative in the corresponding positives. I agree that finger prints are an issue, and I see that scratches are also a problem. I notice too that the positive shows substantial evidence of dust and other debris on the negative. In addition to suggesting a need for greater care in the handling of the film at all stages of processing, my observations point to: (1) a need to give the film holders a thorough cleaning; (2) the use of a changing bag that is not clean; or (3) both of these problems. With these potential causes in mind, I suggest cleaning the holders (especially the light traps) and dark slides - a thing best accomplished using an air compressor, never canned air - and I would strongly advise against trying to load sheet film in the confined space of a changing bag no matter how clean the bag may be, because abrasion of the film is always going to be a pitfall in a confined space like that. Loading holders is an operation best best performed in the open of an adequately darkened room using clean hands and holding the film by the edges only. Second, regarding the problem of uneven development, I advise and encourage the use of a pre-soak, i.e., a plain water bath, sufficient to remove most of the anti-halation coat and evenly wet the emulsion before starting development. Beyond that, I agree with johnfreed0 that attention must be paid to giving proper agitation.

N. Riley
http://normanrileyphotography.com