Digital BW, The Print

hi

i too am having problems with developing my first roll of 120 film

i am not sure if it is because my chemistry is old, or the fact that the film 
came off the roller while it was in the tank :)

either way, all i got was a strip of film, with "psychedelic purple" streaks 
all over it, with little image showing beneath

any idea what went wrong?

thank you


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Purple spots on the film indicate areas that did not get fixed properly.
The odds are, from what you described, that when the film came off the reel
it was no longer separated from other parts of the roll, and thus one part
of the emulsion stuck to the base of another part of the film.  It's likely
that those areas would be neither developed nor fixed, but since the fixer
clears away the parts of the emulsion that haven't been developed or
exposed, anything that remains (and that will look like unprocessed film)
has to be an area that didn't get fixed.

If you haven't already, practice loading the reel with an expendable roll of
film.  Do it with your eyes open at first, so that you can see how it has to
go, and then with your eyes closed until you're really comfortable with it.
THEN go back to the darkroom!

In a message dated 5/23/2003 2:08:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
petegorsky@external.umass.edu writes:

> Purple spots on the film indicate areas that did not get fixed properly.
> The odds are, from what you described, that when the film came off the reel
> it was no longer separated from other parts of the roll, and thus one part
> of the emulsion stuck to the base of another part of the film.  It's likely
> that those areas would be neither developed nor fixed, but since the fixer
> clears away the parts of the emulsion that haven't been developed or
> exposed, anything that remains (and that will look like unprocessed film)
> has to be an area that didn't get fixed.
> 

yes, that is what i was thinking too

although, my chemistry is pretty old as well. what is the Rule of Thumb
as far as expiration on B+W chemistry goes? there are no expiration
dates on the bottle of chemistry


-----If you haven't already, practice loading the reel with an expendable 
roll of
film.  Do it with your eyes open at first, so that you can see how it has to
go, and then with your eyes closed until you're really comfortable with it.

that is exactly what i have been doing all morning! :)

thank you!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Some chemicals will tell you (in fine print) how long a solution will last
if diluted in a certain way and if stored in a certain kind of container,
etc.   It's really a question of the individual chemical, not even whether
it is developer, stop bath or fixer!

From the description of the inperfections it doesn't sound like they 
came from emulsion touching base - hence no development. My first 
thoughts was film that had been exposed to heat. My second thoughts was 
a problem with the fixer. Sometimes you need to shake the fixer in the 
storage bottle before you pour it in.

It could have also been air bubbles but you usually see those. Also 
depending on the water supply there may have been very fine particles 
suspended in the water that hung to the emulsion and that blocked the 
developer.

There are a number of reasons this could have happen. I'd start with 
exposing two rolls of film to a fixed target. Then develop ( and fix) 
one in distilled water and the other tap water, to rule out my water as 
the source. If both suffer the same problem, I'd note the lot on the 
film and contact Ilford.

Truman

Stephen Petegorsky wrote:

>Purple spots on the film indicate areas that did not get fixed properly.
>The odds are, from what you described, that when the film came off the reel
>it was no longer separated from other parts of the roll, and thus one part
>of the emulsion stuck to the base of another part of the film.  It's likely
>that those areas would be neither developed nor fixed, but since the fixer
>clears away the parts of the emulsion that haven't been developed or
>exposed, anything that remains (and that will look like unprocessed film)
>has to be an area that didn't get fixed.
>
>If you haven't already, practice loading the reel with an expendable roll of
>film.  Do it with your eyes open at first, so that you can see how it has to
>go, and then with your eyes closed until you're really comfortable with it.
>THEN go back to the darkroom!
>
>
>
>
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In a message dated 5/23/2003 3:45:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tprevatt@... writes:

> There are a number of reasons this could have happen. I'd start with 
> exposing two rolls of film to a fixed target. Then develop ( and fix) 
> one in distilled water and the other tap water, to rule out my water as 
> the source. If both suffer the same problem, I'd note the lot on the 
> film and contact Ilford.
> 

the plot thickens: i called a camera store today, and described to them
what happened, and i was advised to refix the negatives and see what
happened.

so, i did that, and then instead of the psychedelic tie dyed purple, i got
a clear, barely there lavender shade, where it looks like none of the film
was exposed, although some frames have the name of the film and number
above them, but no image in the frame itself

any ideas what i did wrong?

i am using a Medium Format Camera that i am not familiar with, and my
guess is that although the film advanced, it somehow didn't get exposed
properly

thank you!


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