How I develop black and white film after 5 years of developing

This video is an overview of my developing process that doesn't focus on an exact step by step overview, but in stead shows a few tricks that are good to watch out for when developing black and white film.
Learn more about film photography on my free* Skillshare courses, sign up with this link:
www.skillshare.com/r/user/doy...
*free for one month, cancel anytime.
Find me on Instagram: @doyoudevelop or on my website:
www.jahansaber.co
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Data:
Ilford FP4+ 125 www.ilfordphoto.com/fp4-plus-...
Ilford Microphen: www.ilfordphoto.com/1173875
Ilfotec DD-X: www.ilfordphoto.com/wp/wp-con...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/bosnow/dill
License code: Y9POKGCBW3RSXMDZ

[@MineCedi]

11:00 : My Paterson washer works with my modern Jobo tank (black tube, red cap), but not with my old ones (white, beige caps) :)

[@MineCedi]

And for 13:20 : I can recommend looking on ebay. I found a similar device, same principle (fan and dust filter on top, a heating coil beneath and plastic curtains around the device/film) a year ago for 40 or 50 Euros instead of >600. I think mine is called "Dukadry" iirc

[@doyoudevelop]

Ah, fantastic! Thanks for sharing this!

[@Desert_Night_Owl]

Important to note: if doing at home, you need an adapter for your sink that allows a force washer to hook onto the faucet tip.

[@Jack_Warner]

Nice darkroom you have there. I started developing film in 1975. I used something called Johnsons Universal Developer. I've now graduated to 510 Pyro and plain Hypo to fix. The results are the best I've ever done. I use a Mamiya C330 with a selection of lenses. This is a superb medium format camera with exceptional lenses.

[@dirtywater5336]

When I rewind my film, I stop when I hear the film lead pop off the reel in the camera. Like you said in the video, this part of the film is already exposed to light so it won't hurt to open the film door at this point. Doing it this way also means I don't need to retrieve it or fiddle around prying open the canister in the changing bag. But loading the lead onto the reel before putting it into the changing the bag makes even more sense and would save me even more time. I should try that next time

[@doyoudevelop]

Apologies for the 4k version -- it's still processing. Hang tight!

[@8bit_cat72]

5 years is a long time to develop photos, even stand development takes mere hours.

[@doyoudevelop]

You get great tones though.

[@8bit_cat72]

@@doyoudevelop Can't argue with great tones.

[@I-SelfLordAndMaster]

You’re not supposed to be here are you? Serious people gravitate here.

[@AI-Hallucination]

Ffs bro what you using soil

[@baladino]

Jahan , thank you for sharing your technique.

[@nelsono4315]

very informative video. Thank you!

[@GaGaBisii]

Very interesting - thanks for the walk-through, answered a lot of my questions

[@doyoudevelop]

Thank you so much!

[@lukasmeixner6328]

Thanks Jahan! Always nice to learn something new! I have to improve my drying process...

[@doyoudevelop]

Happy to help buddy! :)

[@Desert_Night_Owl]

Here's a big savings for bulk film: Eastman XX in 400'. Downsides are it may not be available everywhere, and it won't fit in a 100' bulk loader. Still waiting to try bulk loading myself !

[@doyoudevelop]

Yes! I think Atlanta Film Co sells some of that, if not at least it's similar as it's ISO 250/200.

[@Desert_Night_Owl]

@@doyoudevelop sells the 400' roll though? I say that specifically because your savings end up being under $5 a 36exp roll, despite what the initial cost of the giant roll is.

[@richardsimms251]

Very very well done Thank you. RS. Canada

[@ralphstark9961]

I have Jobo Mistral 3 and while it is expensive has cut down amount of dust spotting I need to do tremendously and I feel it is totally worth the money.

[@doyoudevelop]

Absolutely, that's a great investment!

[@datfly3034]

This is great. I believe that a stop bath also limits contamination of the fixer with developer, extending its life.

[@doyoudevelop]

Yes!

[@gavinjenkins899]

If you don't re-use it (white vinegar 1:4 or less is totally fine and much cheaper), you can sacrifice your stop every time to neutralize your developer to dispose of it without corroding any piping.

[@chrislewtas]

Hi, thanks for this. It's a great resource. One quick question, what gloves are you using?

[@doyoudevelop]

Thank you for tuning in! Powder free nitrile gloves.

[@chrislewtas]

@@doyoudevelop Brilliant! Thanks for letting me know.

[@cescpfont3807]

Thanks so much for leting us know your dev workflow. I am mostly shooting hp5 and trix because I mainly shoot indoors, would it be DDX still the developper to use? I am using HC110 dil B mostly but I would love to know if DDX it's your to-go Dev or any advices will be great!

[@doyoudevelop]

Excellent choice of films! HC-110 is great! DD-X might give you slightly finer grain and perhaps a better overall tonality with HP5, but that's about it. Give it a go if you want, but with HC-110 you also can't go wrong :)

[@cescpfont3807]

@@doyoudevelop Thanks for your time! Yep I don't mind grain in my pics, actually that's something I like about them. Can't wait to see your darkroom tips! After 7 years shooting film, I am willing to print my negs in darkroom, and leave the scan process. Take care!

[@doyoudevelop]

Nice! Yeah, you could try Rodinal perhaps? That'll give you even more grain and very sharp images. Not too great for pushing though .. Yes, darkroom printing is something magical. I'm looking forward to working on that video!

[@b6983832]

@@doyoudevelop For black & white, I personally like the look I get from Foma films (Fomapan 200 and 400) and HP5. Tri-X is also fine, but it is very expensive in Europe. Not worth paying almost the double price compared to Ilford. Not super fine grain films such as Ilford Delta or TMAX. I mostly use Rodinal or HC-110, occasionally also D-76/I-11, diluted 1:1. I don´t like super fine, almost invisible grain in my work. For color (RA-4 in darkroom, or slides) this is different. Grainy color does not look fine in my opinion, but as you said, color is a different story as everything is standardized.

[@mynewcolour]

Yeah, there is definitely a knack to the kaiser retriever - they really should give better instructions on how to use it. It does work though.

[@doyoudevelop]

Yeah, I have like a 30-40% success rate with them. The other ones are like 90% ..

[@bobbysingh5167]

I don’t understand how you avoid using a bag or loading in a darkroom. Can you please show or describe this process?

[@doyoudevelop]

Oh that's not possible, maybe that wasn't clear. With the lights turned on I pre-load the first few centimetres of film onto the reel and then turn off the lights. This just means the loading process is easier because I don't have to fiddle around in darkness trying to get the film onto the reel.

[@tomasnovotny4108]

The sink is pretty cool. What brand is it?

[@doyoudevelop]

It is! Not sure about the brand actually

[@alphascorpii185]

Five years ? It's a bit long, I usually develop for 5 to 12 or 20 minutes, one hour for stand development, but I never tried 5 years... 🙂

[@domenicming9551]

what happens if you don't fix tx for 7 min?

[@doyoudevelop]

Nothing horrible, but i've had better negative quality after a longer fix. Also less curling. This isn't 100% proven though, just my personal experience :)

[@domenicming9551]

@@doyoudevelop I see, and what does 'quality' mean in this scenario? also you're speaking on all fixers or only acid rapid fixers?

[@doyoudevelop]

@@domenicming9551 They just look better compared to when I was just starting out, no curl, good dye removal, nice dry ..

[@nickfanzo]

Shoot ilford film if you’re worried about price

[@doyoudevelop]

Actually the Ilford Pan 100 and Pan 400 emulsions are lovely and also cheaper than FP4 and HP5. Not the Kentmere ones btw, but just Pan 100/400. I don't think they are available everywhere though.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

hmmmm… Nobody uses stainless steel reel and tanks anymore

[@mynewcolour]

I do for a single roll, they use very little volume of chemicals. I prefer Patterson tanks. I don’t like the steel spirals, they are relatively fiddly when mint and infuriating/useless if then they get bent.

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

@@mynewcolour I've never tried Patterson tanks. Must be good though as that seems to be the go to now. I bought my SS 135 and 120 tanks decades ago. Still works great.

[@doyoudevelop]

I'd love to use them! Thing is, where I live, I haven't been able to get my hands on any. And once you find something that works (the paterson), it's often risky to mix things up. But out of curiousity, i'd love to try some.

[@brandoboe]

Now do a video for people who have a more modest setup…I.e. the kitchen sink.

[@doyoudevelop]

That's a good idea!

[@rafadoto355]

p̶r̶o̶m̶o̶s̶m̶