Ok. Have just developed my film... but...

[fadingaway1986]

Hehehe thanks guys. Am about to scan this now....


I don't think its lens flare as I took all different photos (which are crap because I just wanted to develop it) and it turns up on all of them. And it was overcast so there wasn't any sun anyway.

Not frozen. Processed as soon as I finished the roll..

Ok. Will go scan it.

 

[Don Simon]

I meant frozen by the people who sold it to you, or possibly the people who sold it to them, although I admit it's unlikely that would be the cause of the problem. Anyway it'll be interesting to see these circles of doom, maybe it'll all make more sense then.

 

[fadingaway1986]

Ok. have scanned it. I don't actually have a film scanner, so I just left the lid open on my flat bed. You can kind of see what I am talking about.

I had to leave it big so you could see... so if you go

http://www.ohsixohsix.com/tpf/Untitled-2.jpg you should be able to see it

 

[fadingaway1986]

I should add - the circles are in the sky on the first photo - and you can see in the second photo they are only in half of the sky

 

[fadingaway1986]

Oh Ok Zaphod. They were bought from a pretty reputable retailer - and haven't had this problem with the ones I developed at TAFE (bought from the same place at the same time)

 

[mysteryscribe]

Airbells our first guess. Bubble gets trapped against the film. What your instuctor said was improper agitation not that it wasn't enough. You have to get a good tap to dislodge them.

Sorry but that was the most likely problem from the beginning.

 

[fadingaway1986]

I gave it a couple of good taps after each agitation.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Wait for a second opinion but i'm pretty sure that's what it is. Nothing else will cause those pin prick clear spots. AT least nothing I know of. And it has the classic look of one.

Like I said wait for a second opinion though, somebody might know more than me. Hell everybody knows more than me. I usually drop my tank from about five inches every time I invert it. It looks like those were there from when you poured in the chemicals. The first aggitation probably knocked them loose.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Definitely air bells. Nothing else produces circles of that type and size.
It is not unknown to get them even after tapping the tank. There is a lot of air disolved in water so developer will always contain some - and a lot more gets mixed in when you pour it into the tank.
(Fill a glass with water from the tap (faucet) and put it to one side for 24 hours. Then have a look.)
Water also has a quite strong surface tension so bubbles form readily and in huge amounts on the film surface initially. A lot float off naturally. A lot more will shift with agitation. Rapping the tank normally dislodges the rest - but there are always some tenacious ones. You have to give the tank a good, hard, sharp rap to shift the lot.
The usual procedure is:
Pour the dev into the tank.
Start the first agitation cycle - agitate constantly for the first 30 seconds.
At the end of the 30 seconds bang the tank down on the table hard once or twice.
Then after 30 seconds agitate for 5 seconds. Then for 5 secs every 30 secs for the duration.
There is no need to rap the tank again.

Some people recommend pre-soaking the film in water before processing. But I have always found this to give uneven development and you can still get troubles with air bells, so I never bother with it.

 

[fadingaway1986]

thanks Hertz.

tell me, if I were to put more developer in - would that help prevent it? (I am thinking therefore the bubbles all rise - and they would get to the top of the developer where there is no film - seeing as this obviously happened along the top of the developer)

 

[mysteryscribe]

The developer should be above the film thats all that matters.

since I completely fill a small tank and it is covered I invert my film not just aggitate. I bang it after every inversion. Those tiny little fill hole covers are never air tight, at least not on my tanks. I would rather drop it in the slop sink than to have those nasty little bubbles.

 

[fadingaway1986]

but if it were further above the film, then the bubbles would sit higher, would they not?

and therefore - they wouldn't touch the film.

I do invert the tank. and tap it after every invertion

 

[mysteryscribe]

as long as they sit above the film they wont touch it. But it couldn't hurt. I develop large format negtatives in two ounces of chemicals. You just have to keep the bubbles away from the film and they get there from being trapped against it as the tank fills. Hertz will most likely tell you it is the surface tension of the film that holds them or something more scientific than I do. The truth is they aren't usually a problem if your chemical level is above the film or if you keep the chemicals moving. Just dislodge them with a sharp rap. Don't be afraid to hit the tank vigorously.

I would avoid using a nine pound hammer though. No matter how frusttrated you get.

 

[fadingaway1986]

I always give it a good bang on the counter (much to my dad's disgust when he is trying to watch tv. hehe)...


I might try putting an extra hundred mls of developer in next time and see if its better.

Cheaper to waste developer than film.

 

[mysteryscribe]

absolutely.... to be honest if you are banging it a good one after you fill it and you just swish it around you shouldn't have had that but I guess sometimes they are nastier than others. You might try soaking the film in water a few minutes first. Bang it to. If the surface of the film is wet it might tend to prevent the bubbles from sticking. They should all float to the top and burst harmlessly.

I like the smaller tanks that you can fill completely then invert rather than swish.