Maxi
Hello!
A few days ago, I developed my first set of negatives myself, but unfortunately something seems to have gone wrong. I think I developed them for too long, because they’re dark and opaque. You can make out the images, but only when light shines on the negatives from above, not from behind through them. I’ve attached two photos. On the left are the dark ones and on the right are old, properly developed ones that I took in the photography elective at my school. You can also see dark streaks about 1 cm long running across the film at irregular intervals. The film is Agfa APX 400; the developer and
fixer are from the Film Basic starter kit available from the FOTOIMPEX shop:
http://www.fotoimpex.de/shop/analog-startsets/starter-set-film-basic.html
Thanks in advance for your help!
Tandemfahren
Hi Maxi,
First of all, a warm welcome to the club of clueless old film fiddlers – all the more so as you seem to be a very tender young sprout, and we should cherish and look after you :-)
Your film looks as though it’s been exposed to stray light. It’s completely fogged across the entire frame, and you can see exposures through the perforations at the edges.
This could be down to storage (after all, the APX400 is quite old now), the cartridge cracking in the light, or (the most likely possibility) the camera has a light leak at the lid, particularly on the right-hand side by the hinge.
Have a close look at what sort of seal is inside – foam, felt, etc. – and what it looks like.
What sort of camera is it, anyway?
The easiest way is to run a film through a different camera whilst keeping everything else the same; that way, you’ll have eliminated the fault straight away... retired? extroverted, or whatever it’s called – you know what I mean :-)
Good luck,
Frank
P.S. You could, of course, also tape up the lid seam with black tape when you shoot your next roll.
Maxi
Hi Frank,
?
Thanks for the super-fast reply!
I hadn’t even thought about the camera until now, but it’s quite possible that’s the reason. I’ve been using an old Canon AE-1. The seals seem to have disintegrated; there’s just a sticky residue left and the lid is already quite loose. For the other negatives, I used a newer Nikon. It’s a shame, I actually really like the Canon. But I’ll give the Plastic Bomber another go :-)
Tandemfahren
Hi Maxi,
It would be a shame to lose the AE-1 – it’s a lovely old camera. Replacing the seals is a piece of cake. You can do it yourself.
Have a look at Kameradoktor.
Remember: two cameras are better than one, three are better than two... and only fools throw away a camera that isn’t actually broken!
All the best,
Frank
AntiLynd
If you want to look further into the question of whether it was extraluminous light, for example from a leaky camera (I suspect that might be the case too), it would be interesting to see how the density of these ‘dark’ areas develops over the entire length of the film. Given this suspicion, one would expect the areas of the film that have spent the longest time outside the cassette to be the most affected – in other words, the first frames more so than the last. Is that the case for you, or is the problem evenly distributed across the entire film?
AchimBauer
Hi Maxi,
What sort of Agfa is it? A new emulsion, probably from Momberly, or the old one from Leverkusen?
If it’s the old one from Leverkusen, was it in its original cassette or did you wind it yourself?
I’m just asking because I’ve been winding my own film today and it occurred to me that the old 400 film is only available by the metre now, and the plastic cartridges tend to lose their seals, whilst with the metal ones the lids sometimes pop off and the chargers can leak, etc.
…
Regards, Achim
Maxi
Which Agfa film is it? A new emulsion, probably from Momberly, or the old one from Leverkusen?
If it’s the old one from Leverkusen, was it in its original cassette or did you wind it yourself?
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If you want to look further into the question of “was it stray light, e.g. from a leaky camera?” (my suspicion is also heading in that direction), it would be interesting to see how the density of these “dark” areas develops across the entire length of the film. Given this suspicion, one would expect the areas of the film that spent the longest time outside the cassette to be the most affected – in other words, the first frames more so than the last. Is that the case for you, or is the problem evenly distributed across the entire film?
€
As I wasn’t allowed to set up my “mini-lab” at home, but had to do it at my grandmother’s :-) I unfortunately don’t have the negatives to hand at the moment, but I can check tomorrow.
Tandemfahren
Goodness me!
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New Emulsion APX naturally comes from Mobberley, Cheshire (the land of the Cheshire Cats), not Momberly, gentlemen. That’s shocking, isn’t it?
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Let’s shake hands anyway and keep a stiff upper lip!
Maxi
OK, so I’ve had another look at the negatives, and the streaks really do vary in intensity. There are no streaks visible on photos showing the same subject. So it was probably down to the camera after all. I’m going to develop some negatives from a different camera today; let’s see if it finally works this time :-)
Maxi
Right, the negatives are now developed. They look perfect – no streaks and nice and clear. I’ve already made some prints, too. But I think they lack contrast. What can I do about that? Attached are two images: one is unedited straight from the scanner, and in the other I’ve adjusted the contrast to how I’d like it. Is there any trick to boosting the contrast?
Tandemfahren
Which contrast should I boost?
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The contrast in the subject? – Use light (flash, reflector, lamp, sunlight...)!
In the negative? – develop for longer!
In the negative you have? – tone it!
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It seems to me that there was already little contrast in the scene in your picture. If you’re shooting a whole roll under such conditions, you can easily develop it 20–30% longer; it’s not as if anyone’s lying on the bed :-)
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Frank
piu58
You can start by increasing the contrast when enlarging. The contrast of almost all modern papers can be adjusted using colour filters: more magenta = hardener. There are insert filters available for the enlarger, or you can use the colour mixing head if your enlarger has one.
