# Books or sites on Film Developing



## Nevermore1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Can anyone recommend some good books (ebook preferred but I'll get DTB also) or websites to learn about setting up a small darkroom and developing film?  I haven't used film in 10+ years but have been thinking about getting a used medium format camera to play around with for something new (and I have wanted to learn how to develope since I was a kid).  I'm not going to get anything fancy as I figure one of two things will happen - I'll love it and end up investing more into it or I've gotten spoiled by the instant results of digital and I won't have the patience to wait.  I'm also looking around my area to see if any of the rec centers have dark rooms which are open to the public. Anyways, any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## terri (Dec 30, 2014)

Hi Nevermore!   

You really can't go wrong with Henry Horenstein and this very thorough book.   Step by step on film developing, darkroom setups, safety, film types - you name it.   He is excellent, but then so is Tim Rudman (google him) and plenty of others.  

For dedicated analog forums, try APUG.   You'll get more help than you can imagine! 

Enjoy the re-discovery of film!   Once you get past the "butter fingers" stage, you'll find it actually goes fairly quickly.   If you're the type of person who likes to work with your hands, that tactile aspect of film is also a draw.  

Have fun!


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## 480sparky (Dec 30, 2014)

Analog Photography Users Group.


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## Nevermore1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Just got an older Yashica-mat on ebay.  Guy says it works and he cleaned it.  Pics of the camera make it look like it's in good condition.   If there's anything wrong with it he takes returns.  I'm sure my husband is going to roll his eyes when it comes in but he can't complain as I used my X-Mas $ from his parents to buy it.


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## Gary A. (Dec 30, 2014)

I recently acquired a medium format film camera also. I went the changing bag and scanner route. Much less space than installing a darkroom.


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## 480sparky (Dec 30, 2014)

A darkroom isn't needed for developing film.  You only need one to make wet prints.  You can use a dark / film-changing bag if you're only going to develop the film.  Once it's in the developing tank, it's a daylight operation from there.


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## Nevermore1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Gary A. said:


> I recently acquired a medium format film camera also. I went the changing bag and scanner route. Much less space than installing a darkroom.


I'm probably going to go this route as well until I figure out if it's something I want to keep doing.  If I do enjoy it I may expand to printing the photos as well.  I'm sticking to B&W as well.


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## Gary A. (Dec 30, 2014)

Good Luck. Don't forget to post.


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## Nevermore1 (Dec 30, 2014)

Thanks and will do.  The camera is shipping from ME to me in VA so I'm hoping it will arrive early next week and that it doesn't have any light leaks in it.


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## compur (Dec 30, 2014)

For in depth study of B&W film developing I highly recommend two books by Steve Anchell:
_The Darkroom Cookbook _and _The Film Developing Cookbook_


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## Nevermore1 (Dec 30, 2014)

compur said:


> For in depth study of B&W film developing I highly recommend two books by Steve Anchell:
> _The Darkroom Cookbook _and _The Film Developing Cookbook_



Thanks, I was able to get the first one on my nook but will have to order the second one.


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## christopher walrath (Jan 1, 2015)

If you are looking for an all-encompassing book to get the creative juices flowing migght I suggest Way Beyond Monochrome by Ralph Lambrecht and Chris Woodhouse.  It is a pretty hefty book but it is chock full of 'Get Your Film On'.


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## Gary A. (Jan 1, 2015)

Don't forget "The Negative" by  .... wait for it ... Ansel Adams.


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## christopher walrath (Jan 1, 2015)

Well, that would be a foregone conclusion, now, wouldn't it?

But, yeah.  Bears mentioning.


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## terri (Jan 2, 2015)

Let us know when the Yashica-mat comes in!


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## timor (Jan 2, 2015)

Nevermore1 said:


> Gary A. said:
> 
> 
> > I recently acquired a medium format film camera also. I went the changing bag and scanner route. Much less space than installing a darkroom.
> ...


Do you have any experience with loading medium film into developing tank ? Bag is the worst proposal, good for life long photographers like Gary. A small space you can darken out for 5 min. will save you a lot of aggravation. No matter how many books you will read or how many advices you will get on forums, it will not help you much with learning how to load the tank. You need exercise it. First in day light, looking at everything you do until you can do it with closed eyes. Then you will be ready to load for real. And still it should not be a film with "crucial" shots. It means, that you will need to sacrifice at least one brand new roll. Decide at the start, what will be your basic film as there are differences in stiffness and tendency to curl with every brand. Tmax is different from TX, which is different from HP5, which differs from Deltas and so on as each of this films is made on different base. And there are tricks no book will tell you. In meantime look into chemicals: where to buy and what to buy. What your capabilities of keeping chemicals ? How you gonna do it ? Maybe concentrated, liquid stuff will be better ? You have to mix only what you will need at given moment. Many questions books will not answer. Most authors assume that you have proper, maybe very basic but proper darkroom and that not the case for most of amateur photographers. Creativity in film photography is not only about choosing a subject and composition. Actually in everything you do, you have to be creatively adopting to your specific conditions. No book can foresee that, it will only give you basic advice on very basic film development which maybe will work for you, but if you want better, if you want some control over what you doing, it will require patience, time, resistance to disapointment.
 Start reading with Henry Horestein, he is a good teacher of basics.
Here is a pdf on line (with option to save.)
http://scottalario.com/henry.pdf


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## timor (Jan 2, 2015)

Take a look also at this:
The Ultimate Guide to Developing Black and White Film | The Art of Photography


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## Light Guru (Jan 2, 2015)

Get the Massive Dev Chart Timer app. It gives you good starting points for developing based on film and developer type. It also has a nice timer to use while developing film.


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## 480sparky (Jan 2, 2015)

timor said:


> Do you have any experience with loading medium film into developing tank ? Bag is the worst proposal,.......



Why is a bag so bad?  Yes, _too small_ of a bag is bad, but a larger one doesn't cost that much more.  But any bag that's suitable for loading 35mm onto reels is perfectly suitable for 120/220.


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## Nevermore1 (Jan 2, 2015)

I ordered a large changing bag so hopefully that will be big enough.  I certainly don't expect any decent results for at least the first dozen or so rolls.  Right now I'm tryimg to find the cheapest place to send out 120 film to be developed for the first roll since this will kind of be a test roll to make sure the camera doesn't have any light leaks and functions properly.  I don't want to mess up the developing then not be able to tell if it was my screwy developing or the camera which caused the issue.  The closest I've ever come to developing film was switching out x-ray films in the cassette at the animal hospital. I do have a basement that I may be able to use, I'd just need to cover the door better.
Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming if anyone thinks of anything else.


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## limr (Jan 2, 2015)

Light Guru said:


> Get the Massive Dev Chart Timer app. It gives you good starting points for developing based on film and developer type. It also has a nice timer to use while developing film.



I was going to suggest the same thing: The Comprehensive Development Times Chart (also has a link to the app)



480sparky said:


> timor said:
> 
> 
> > Do you have any experience with loading medium film into developing tank ? Bag is the worst proposal,.......
> ...



I agree. When I first started developing, I used the bag for both 35mm and 120 and had no issues. It is a good idea to practice a few times in the light so you can see what is happening, but once you know what to feel for, it's not hard to do in the bag. Just takes a little getting used to.


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## timor (Jan 2, 2015)

480sparky said:


> timor said:
> 
> 
> > Do you have any experience with loading medium film into developing tank ? Bag is the worst proposal,.......
> ...


Ha ha! Loading 135 is easy enough and there is a safe technique to do it. But 120 is nothing like that. When OP ends up with kinked negative and finger prints on emulsion he will know. All I am saying is, if you in your own home, you can always find a way to avoid bag. I am doing it for 35 years, I lived in numerous places and I always could find a place, some dark corner, to do it. It is not about how big is the bag, it is about choosing the best option.


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## Nevermore1 (Jan 2, 2015)

timor said:


> Ha ha! Loading 135 is easy enough and there is a safe technique to do it. But 120 is nothing like that. When OP ends up with kinked negative and finger prints on emulsion he will know.



That's why I don't expect much for the first dozen or so rolls.  Gotta learn someway![emoji6]


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## Gary A. (Jan 2, 2015)

Timor makes a good point. Rolling film onto a steel reel takes some practice. But it is like riding a bike. I hadn't developed any film in decades ... a week ago I developed my first film, steel reel, 120mm film. I was very apprehensive, but it went on smooth as silk. I was very surprised and very pleased with myself (lol). If you are a neophyte practice in daylight with a throw-away roll. Then with your eyes closed, then in the bag. Remember to fold a bit back for the clip, then a slight pinching of the film and an effortless roll. 
Good Luck and Good Shooting,
Gary


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## 480sparky (Jan 2, 2015)

timor said:


> Ha ha! Loading 135 is easy enough and there is a safe technique to do it. But 120 is nothing like that. When OP ends up with kinked negative and finger prints on emulsion he will know. All I am saying is, if you in your own home, you can always find a way to avoid bag. I am doing it for 35 years, I lived in numerous places and I always could find a place, some dark corner, to do it. It is not about how big is the bag, it is about choosing the best option.



Well, as long as we're thumping chests:  I started developing film in 1975.  You do the math.

As for 'avoiding' the bag, I just ain't buying the argument.  A bag is _always_ dark and always _available_.  Any time of day or night.  For me, I can have the film loaded & developed by the time I made a room dark, loaded the film, then 'undarked' the room.

And I find 120 film FAR easier to load than 135.



Not saying you're doing it wrong... just saying that yours is just one person's opinion.


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## timor (Jan 2, 2015)

480sparky said:


> And I find 120 film FAR easier to load than 135.


 Good for you, I can only envy that. I need about 30 sec. to load 135, but about 3x more for 120. And that with plastic tank, never learned steel one. It was not available in my young days (now I consider them uncontrollable so no point in learning ).


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## Gary A. (Jan 2, 2015)

I started using steel reels and tanks back in the early 1960's.


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## christopher walrath (Jan 2, 2015)

If you practice with a sacrificed roll a few times you will get it like no problem.

And, please do expect results.  On my first roll, the only problem was that one loop was resting against another on the spool and I did not catch it.  Two or three negs did not get developed and were rinsed away.

But the rest of the roll was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I HAD EVER SEEN!  And so will yours be.


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## limr (Jan 2, 2015)

christopher walrath said:


> If you practice with a sacrificed roll a few times you will get it like no problem.
> 
> And, please do expect results.  On my first roll, the only problem was that one loop was resting against another on the spool and I did not catch it.  Two or three negs did not get developed and were rinsed away.
> 
> *But the rest of the roll was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I HAD EVER SEEN!  And so will yours be*.



^^This, all day long


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## Nevermore1 (Jan 6, 2015)

Well, I just finished developing my first roll and I don't think it turned out too bad.  I have one "black" area which I think may have been an issue with the camera, I guess I'll find out on my next roll of film.  Right now waiting on the film to dry then I will try to scan it.  Currently I don't have a "film" scanner but do have an adapter on order which should get here in a few days.


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## christopher walrath (Jan 6, 2015)

Oh, we got another one on the line.  May God have mercy on your soul.


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