Teaching Photography: Notes Assembled

Developing Film

46 My aim, as I said in the introduction, isn’t to write yet another book on how to develop film. At the same time, I’ve chosen to include some technical information that might be helpful. Experience has shown me that if I figure out and follow up the development of film in a very controlled way, I can be quite loose in choosing my exposures when I take pictures, and be more present to what is going on in front of me. Film development is the main determining factor of contrast in a photograph after, of course, the actual contrast of the subject. Through film development I can have the tonal relationships of most negatives placed in such a way that I have great latitude of choice when I print -- except in extreme situations like black cats in the snow on sunny days or gray cats on the beach in heavy fog. Printing then becomes interpretive rather than remedial. The negative is the score and the print, the performance. Ansel Adams Just a few particulars: Metal tanks and reels are preferable to plastic ones because the metal reels are open, allowing the chemicals to flow more evenly across the film surface. Metal will not hold chemical traces and can be washed more thoroughly than plastic, which to some degree is absorbent. The down side of metal reels is if you drop one it bends and it’s dead. My preference is for the four-reel metal tanks because if I use larger ones, agitation becomes erratic. A consistent thermometer is crucial. It need not be correct as long as it’s consistent. Protect it from physical shocks and don’t lend it out. Use a timer that starts and stops. DEVELOPING FILM 47 Try to have the temperature of the room be close to the temperature of the developer or use a large tray of room-temperature water to stand the tank in. Don’t hold the tank in your hands while developing , it will heat up. Establish an absolute system for pouring in and pouring out the developer as well as a consistent agitation pattern. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s the same every time. The developer temperature should be within one half degree of your intention. The rest of the chemicals can be within three or four degrees. If I develop film in a different water system, the pH of the water may be different and will affect the degree of development. (I guess one could use distilled water. I don’t.) The longer that film is wet, the more the emulsion will swell, causing the grain to soften and enlarge, making the print a little mushy. I like to use a developing time of less than 10 minutes, one minute water bath (to build the shadows a little more), a rapid fix and a wash aid that keeps the wet time down to about 20 minutes. If the developing time is less than five minutes, it’s hard to be exact enough. I don’t sponge or squeegee film after Photoflo- on several occasions a bit of grit was picked up at the top of the roll, scratching the whole length. I would rather let the film dry a little longer. I use a set of four tanks lined up in the sink and start developing at one minute intervals, which is maintained through the whole process, so that I can develop 16 rolls of film in under an hour. ...