Beginner with a question about photo lab chemistry

fenja · 2006-11-04T11:38:59+00:00

Ein Hallo an alle! Bin seit einiger Zeit dabei mir ein kleines Hobbylabor aufzubauen. Das einzigste was mir jetzt noch zum Entwickeln von meinen Schwarz/Wei...

fenja

Hello everyone! I’ve been setting up a little hobby darkroom for a while now. The only thing I’m still missing to develop my black-and-white photos is the chemicals. I’ve kept putting this off because I’ve never really dared to buy anything. Oxidation is always a bit of a tricky business, after all. So I wanted to ask what your experiences with the chemicals have been like?! Do you use the powdered kind that you have to mix yourself, or the standard ones in containers?! Which would you recommend for a beginner?! And what do you do to prevent oxidation?! Kind regards ~fenja~

cfb_de

Hi Fenja, I would definitely recommend liquid concentrates to a beginner, as they’re easier to prepare. A protective gas (e.g. Protectan or a good amount of lighter fluid) helps prevent oxidation: just give it a quick ‘pfft’ on top before screwing the lid on, and you’re good to go. As for paper chemistry, you can really use whatever you like; for film developer, I’d recommend a non-critical all-rounder such as Ultrafin liquid for your first few films. Once you’ve mastered the process consistently and know how to influence the results (dilution, temperature, agitation rhythm), you can start using other developers specifically. I would generally use a single-use developer and pour the developer solution away after development. The faffing about with reserving the stock solution and dilution factors isn’t worth it. A really good book to start with is “Reinhard Merz, Das Praxisbuch black and white laboratory”, ISBN: 3-9809801-0-3. It costs €16.90 and is well worth it for beginners, in my opinion. Best regards, Franz

fenja

Thank you very much for your reply! I’ll see if I can find the book somewhere. Best regards ~fenja~

cfb_de

Hmm. Bookshops? Those old-fashioned places where you can buy old-fashioned paper with letters printed on it and bound together? Not "McPaper", mind you. Notepads are meant to be torn off, after all :-) And if you’re looking online: http://www.amazon.de/Praxisbuch-Schwarzwei...ie=UTF8&s=books Order now, delivered on Monday. Or: pop into the bookshop on Monday, and it should be ready to collect on Wednesday. Or: ask at Mirko’s competitor’s. They should have it in stock; the publisher has a bit of a connection with them. Best regards, Franz

stefka

Hi Fenja, Another advantage of liquid concentrates, in my opinion, is that they don’t create dust when you mix them, so the air in the darkroom is much cleaner. My solution to oxidation: use the smallest possible quantities (e.g. Ilfosol S film developer), squeeze the bottles to reduce the air volume, and develop lots of film. The oxidation of developers doesn’t really seem to be that big a problem to me; I’ve never needed Protectan or similar products – with positive black and white developer, you can actually see when it’s used up... The biggest problem with black and white photography has always been getting the film onto the reel. Have fun, Stefka

MirkoBoeddecker

To prepare powder chemistry safely, cut off a corner of the bag, dip it two millimetres into the liquid, and let the powder fall into the liquid. In other words, don’t drop the powder onto the water from a distance of 20 cm. This works quite well, and if there are still a few residues stuck to the bag or in the chemical pouch: pour a little of the solution water into the pouch and give it a quick shake (to rinse it out). You can then safely dispose of the pouch in the household waste. This prevents dust from forming. Best regards, Mirko

AntiLynd

The biggest problem with black and white film has always been getting it onto the reel.