Developing Film At Home!

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Sometimes we really don’t want to spend the money to go and get our film developed, with the fear that it’ll either be ruined, or you’ll never get your negatives back. OR before you even get to that point, you just don’t know how to develop film and are trying to figure it out. Regardless of where you’re at, this post is for you!

After you assemble the supplies, an at-home darkroom is a great way to keep your negatives and learn a new skill!

Here we’ll provide links to supplies online, however, there might be cheaper alternatives on different websites, this is just what we’ve found! The steps below are also associated with the tanks that Emerson has to offer on-campus (the same is linked below)

HOW TO SET UP YOUR DARKROOM AT HOME

 First of all you need to choose a location with outlets for your darkroom. This can be anywhere that you can make have “tight light”, whether that be a small spare room, or bigger closet, or even in your bathroom (if you can block out the light that might be leaking in). A room with no windows is preferable, but if you choose a room with windows you will need to black it out, using either blackout curtains or blackout sheeting or something similar, to tightly cover them so the room is completely dark. Once you do this, turn the lights of, let your eyes adjust, and make sure there isn’t any light leaking through into the room.

You should designate a “wet” side and a “dry” side of your darkroom because this will make the developing process much smoother. The dry side should be the side with the outlets, and the wet side preferably closer to a water source. Both sides will hold different key elements to processing your film.

SUPPLIES to DEVELOP

• film (obviously)

• a bottle opener

• developing tank

• beaker (to measure out chemicals)

• funnel

• film developer

• stop bath

• fixer

• hypo-check (to test if the fixer is exhausted)

• fixer remover

• wetting agent

• A timer of some kind (phone timer works fine)

  • this link here is the “master document” (that I found online I don’t claim ownership of it) for all of the film developing times that correspond to specific temperatures (of both water and chemicals)

• Thermometer

You can get the previously mentioned chemicals here in a “package” if you are just getting into developing film found here

This is mainly for Black and White film development (the process at least), so don’t rely on this to develop colored photography!

If you already know how to load film and get everything in the film tank, skip to step 2

1. Loading Film

   1. Before you actually try and load film in the dark, try and familiarize yourself by practicing loading film in the light with a “test roll” of film. After you’ve got the hang of it, configure your space: have your tank, lid, bottle opener, and reels all laid out and ready to go. Also, be sure to keep scissors on the counter in front of you to cut the film leader off. I’ve learned from experience that orienting the reels with the “notches” on the reels facing you makes it a little easier to feed the film into the reel itself. Once set, turn out the lights and wait a few moments for your eyes to adjust, which will allow you to spot if any light is creeping into your loading space. Go through the process of opening the film canister with the bottle opener, and then cut the feeder part of the film off, and roll your film onto the reels. Once you’ve done this, put them into the tank or onto the center post in the tank (you’ll see what this means once you actually get a tank depending on what brand it is), attach the lid or funnel to the top, and make sure all of your film is secure before turning on the lights or leaving the light-tight space.

2. Developing Process

   1. 22 oz of Water (65-75 degree temp)

      1. 1 minute bath (30 second agitate and 30 second rest)

      2. pour down place where chemicals are being collected (emerson has a sink but you should have a system in place where your chemicals aren’t being dumped down your sink)

   2. 22 oz Developer

      1. 7-9.5 min (depending on how warm or cold the developer is)

         1. agitate for 30 seconds, sit for 30 seconds

         2. for the rest of the time after the first minute, adgitate for 5 seconds and sit for 30 seconds for the rest of the time in intervals

         3. pour the developer back into the bottle

   3. 22oz Stop Bath (exhausted stop is blue)

      1. test if stop is exhausted with Hypo Check

      2. 30 second bath (agitate for 15 seconds sit for 15)

      3. pour stop ack in bottle/jug

   4. Water bath

      1. 1 minute continuous running water (between 65-75 degrees)

   5. 22 oz of Fixer Remover

      1. 1 minute bath (30 seconds agitate 30 seconds rest)

      2. remover back in jug

   6. Bath of Water

      1. 3-5 minutes of continuous running water (65-75 degrees)

   7. 22 oz Photo Flo (wetting agent)

      1. 15 seconds sit (softens the surface and reduces the chance of scratching the film)

      2. back in bottle

   8. Removing Film!

      1. Take off reel

      2. squeegee with 2 fingers

      3. hang to dry clipping the top and bottom so it doesn’t roll in on itself

      4. (at least 45 min) make sure the film isn’t sticky or tacky before rolling up

YOU’RE DONE DEVELOPING!! YAY!!

If you have any questions on how to scan or edit or anything like that don’t be afraid to reach out! Any ideas for future post email us:

developed_images@emerson.edu

OR

dm us on Instagram: @developedimages