Depending on the ISO will decide the development time. 20 degrees centigrade for the chemicals, if it’s hotter the development is quicker and this increases the contrast, whereas if the temperature is cooler the development is slower Mix the water to the right temperature first and then add the developer/fixer to top up. Always mix water than you need as it’s easier. Developer – to cover 1 spiral you require 10fl oz and there are 2 spirals in each canister would need twice the amount. To mix it the ratio is 9 parts water to 1 part developer (18fl oz of water and 2fl oz of developer). Use an apron and goggles to protect yourself against the chemicals. They are also surgical gloves if you have sensitive skin. Mixer – to mix the fix the ratio is 4 parts water to 1 part mixer (16fl oz of water and 4fl oz of fix) Once you have got the developer and mixer ready, you are ready to develop the film. Your pour the developer into the canister first so take the lid off and pour it in as quick as possible. Put the top back on securely and flip the canister up and down to agitate the developer to cover the film for the first 30 seconds and then for 10 seconds every minute of the development time. (We checked the development time and it was 6.5 minutes for our 400 ISO film – we were using a new brand of film so we averaging out times between the brands listed). Once the developer has reached the allotted time, swirl the chemicals around the canister, take the top off and pour them down the sink. Rinse the canister out under the tap and then pour in the fix. Put the cap back on and agitate the chemicals again. Fixing is normally twice as long as the developing time but allow longer (you can under fix the negatives with not enough time so they will appear to be ok but then after a few hours they start to fade, but you cannot over fix). You can reuse the fix mixture so save it into a bottle and label it. After fixing, pour out and leave the canisters under the tap for at least 20 minutes to wash. The negatives are then taken off of the spools and hung to dry in the drying cupboard for about 20 minutes. Always use tongs with rubber edges to squeeze excess water off (to prevent any water marks). Once dry, ensure the work space is clear and dry and free of dust so you can lay the negatives on the table whilst you cut them and put them into the wallet to prevent any scratches or dust gathering on the negatives. We all took turns in the above process each doing our own part. I didn’t want to touch the chemicals this time due to skin issues but it was interesting to watch and see us all work as a team (whilst people were doing this we were concentrating on the time to ensure the agitation stages were completed). However, there was a minor incident when one of the canisters wasn’t secured properly and the spools fell out whilst rinsing after the developing stage. Marc was concerned that these 2 films might not come out but they were quick to react and put return them to the canister. At first glance when the negatives were being hung up to dry, it appears they might be ok.
I helped Marc hang them up to dry and it was little bit exciting to see the negatives to know that was our work that we had produced. I helped to cut them into 5 or 6 negatives in order for them to go into the protective wallets whilst others put them in the wallets. It’s quite tricky as you don’t have much room between each negative for any error! I can’t wait until next week when we have time to print.
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