Thu, April 21st, 2005 by Jessyel Ty Gonzalez
The great Justin Ouellette from Chromogenic.net has written an excellent article on his blog on how you can develop your own B&W film in your bathroom... and for damn cheap. One of the better and more helpful articles I've seen in quite some time. Enjoy:
Become Your Own Lab For $49.38
April 21st, 2005 at 3:02 am
Wow, someone should definitely stick this in the wiki.
April 21st, 2005 at 6:20 am
Remember one important thing: don't pour fix down the drain. It's the most toxic and it will corrode your pipes and you will be fined if the city finds fix in your water system.
Safety first. Wear gloves and ventilation is key. I've processed my own film at home but I've stop since the smell of chemicals doesn't go away easy. Plus it's toxic.
April 21st, 2005 at 6:37 am
~I thank Justin for posting the reference...and go shoot more fil yinz* all!
*Pittsburgheese for "you all"
April 21st, 2005 at 8:33 am
Like Mona said, be careful what you pour down the sink.
Also if you've never loaded a reel. You will want to buy a extra roll of film and use that to practice a few times in the light and then a few more times in the dark. Or get a changing bag.
I personally love the smell of photo chemicals.
I get nostalgic.
April 21st, 2005 at 9:06 am
Processing film rocks -- don't worry so much about b&w chemicals -- it's the color chemicals that are really wicked.
Important note: get at least ONE accurate thermometer. Temp is crucial during development - especially working with d76. There are some developers not so dependent on accurate temp control - but it really helps to stay very close to recommended temps and developing times. You can find a nice thermometer for between 15 and 20 dollars. Get two, if you can...
Oh -- and steel reels are a dream to work with -- for both 35mm and 120mm -- Hewes are damn nice -- I have several...
Have fun with it! Processing is just a great way to learn more about light and how it effects film -- and ultimately your images...
April 21st, 2005 at 10:38 am
Along with the whole "watch what you put down the drain" thing...
Be careful where you store your chemicals. My (my girlfriend's?) cats love to get into everything. I also get white fur all over my negs, a joy to clean up.
Steel loading reels require less developer than plastic reels, but are more difficult at first to learn how to load the reel. Not much less, but if you're cheap like me...
If you are near a college, try and ask around the chem/bio labs to see if they have any extra graduated cylinders/stir plates/mixing tools/thermometers lying around. A professor retired at my old lab and I got to raid all of the stuff. Acetic acid, especially glacial acetic acid, (stop bath) can also be bought in bulk for cheap at University supply rooms, also.
April 21st, 2005 at 12:05 pm
Also with the fix, instead of pouring it down the drain, store your castoff in a five gallon container, and when it's full, take it to the local photo shop and ask them to pour it into their silver recovery unit. They will do it for free, as it will add to their recovered silver, and you'll be doing your part for the environment.
April 21st, 2005 at 12:17 pm
excellent article, and it makes me want to try this out...
and my fave line in the article is:
"turn the lights back on and find your pants"
Now who hasn't been in this situation???
April 21st, 2005 at 12:29 pm
rad. justin's such a pimp.
April 21st, 2005 at 1:09 pm
"Remember one important thing: don't pour fix down the drain. It's the most toxic and it will corrode your pipes..."
-unless you rent...
AND -- I was told that for personal use, the amounts of fixer are so minimal it's not an issue. Labs and schools have to worry about it though.
April 21st, 2005 at 1:13 pm
"Remember one important thing: don't pour fix down the drain. It's the most toxic and it will corrode your pipes..."
-unless you rent...
AND -- I was told that for personal use, the amounts of fixer are so minimal it's not an issue. Labs and schools have to worry about it though.
April 21st, 2005 at 1:43 pm
"Remember one important thing: don't pour fix down the drain. It's the most toxic and it will corrode your pipes..."
"-unless you rent... "
-> unless you don't live on Earth. Don't ruin my home.
April 21st, 2005 at 2:05 pm
ha ha...unless you rent! priceless.
i have ruined my bathroom countertop from the chemicals. but yeah, thats how i do it.
April 22nd, 2005 at 8:13 am
I'm not sure who started the 'don't pour the chemicals down the drown, or your house and whole neighborhood will blow up' scare ... It's just not true... First, I attend a nice little photo school in the city of Chicago - we routinely pour everything down the drain. Trust me, the city would be all over us if this was remotely an issue.
For another view of the situation read this: http://leica-users.org/v29/msg12095.html
Process to your heart's content -- and most of all -- have fun... Or your neighborhood will blow up all around you...
April 22nd, 2005 at 5:33 pm
bob is right to a degree about stuff down the drain. Most of it is harmless and your common cleaning supplies, 409, bleach, etc... are more dangerous than photog chemicals.
Except for fix which does have some silver in it. It is debatable how much a single person processing a minimal amount of film dumping fix down a drain does. Junking a cell phone, monitors or batteries have far more dangerous heavy metals than film. Also no one would probably complain about tossing an unused roll of b+w film away, which has all the silver in it.
If you want to feel environmentally sound, considering today is earth day and all, your best bet is to collect your used fix in an old container and take it to your local city's chemical waste facility.
April 22nd, 2005 at 10:57 pm
WTF? nobody remembers how to develop film? it's not a miracle, lots of people did it in their bathrooms 10 years ago. damn Generation Y, or Z, or whatever name it's now.
April 24th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
What is sad, I just moved to a modertly sized city in South Carolina, and needed to find a lab that I could work in (hey, I have roommates that wont appreciate chemicals). I found one at an arts center, they let me use it for 10 dollars a month, and I got a key to the building. Why? No one has used it in 3 years. A perfectly good enlarger, reels, tanks...not used! Thats pretty sad. And im guilty of pouring chemicals down drains...oops.
April 25th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
IF you want to take it a step further and build your own darkroom in just about any size space there is a book called Build YOur 0wn Home Darkroom by McDonald that is really good. Lots of detailed building instructions. It is going for about 10 bucks on Amazon.
It even shows how to build a sink out of plywood, which I did, and 4 years later it still works great. I too must confess that I have let the occasional fixer flow down the drain and now I feel really crappy about it. Thanks for the tip and from now on I will definately be more careful and take all this junk too my local lab.
April 25th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
just a note, if you have hands like marv from sin city, you dont need no stinking bottle operner, just grab under the where the film feeds and pull.
April 25th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
buy a changing bag and you can do it
anyplace in the house... no darkroom
required at all! running water is only
needed after the film is developed
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
The page isnt found anymore. Does anyone have a copy of what it said and the instructions or another site thats pretty much the same?
If so please send it to my email: pinkpunkhippo@juno.com
THANKS!
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:52 am
I've updated the article and reposted the page: http://chromogenic.net/verba/070822
November 28th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
check this website for bath related stuff: http://www.nouveaubathrooms.com