Processing Black and White Photos

1) A metal or plastic film tank
Three dark plastic containers to hold chemistry 
Graduates (used to measure chemicals)
A darkroom timer
A can opener
A room that is totally light proof (not even the slightest sliver of light should be visible).


2) Developer
Glacial Acetic Acid (optional, for Stop Bath)
Fixer (Kodak Rapid Fixer with Hardener is highly recommended)
Hypo Eliminator

3) In total darkness, remove the film from the cassette. Pull the flat end off the 35mm canister with a can opener. Unwind the film and remove the end of the film from the spool by peeling off the tape that connects it. Load the film onto either a metal or plastic film reel. Place the loaded reel in the film tank ad cover it as directed. The film is now in a light tight container. You can turn on the light.

Most film is processed between 65 and 75 degrees. Higher temperatures could lead to "reticulation", which gives film a coarse, overly-grainy appearance. Pour developer into the open part of the sealed film tank, known as the pour spout, and cover it.Agitate, then tap to avoid messing up the picture.Develop for time said on the package. When done, take the lid off the tank's pour spout and pour it out. Pour running water into the pour spout for one minute to stop development. This is called the stop bath. Use a fixer with hardener, since that will help protect the negative from getting easily scratched. Fixing takes 5-10 minutes, depending on if you used a normal or rapid fixer. Remove the tank cover completely and let the film sit in cold running water for five minutes. Pour in a tankful of Hypo Eliminator (also called Hypo Clearing Agent) and agitate for two minutes. One final wash, for five minutes. Carefully pull the film out of the tank. Don't touch the surface of the negatives! Use washing pins or film clips to hang the film to dry in a dust-free area. In about 1-2 hours, the film will be dry. Use scissors to cut the film into strips six negatives long.Store the negatives in clear glassine envelopes or PVC plastic negative pages.

 

4)  

 

 

Vocabulary 

•  Contact sheet- A contact print, usually of all frames of a developed roll of negative print film, used as a proof print.
• Agitation- The act of moving something vigorously; the shaking or stirring of something.
• Enlarger- An apparatus used for making projection prints, having a head for holding, illuminating, and projecting a film negative and a bed for holding a sheet of sensitized printing paper. 
• Developer- A reducing agent or solution for developing a film or the like.
• Stop Bath- An acid bath or rinse for stopping the action of a developer before fixing a negative or print. 
• Fixer- A chemical substance, as sodium thiosulfate, used to promote fixation.