Developing

These notes here are my working practices but like cooking everyone has their favourite receipe and their own way of preparing the mix. I quite often find it frustrating when looking at film images that there is little or no supporting information like which film, exposure iso, developer used and time/agitation. My regime works for me but you will find your own combination of film/iso/developer that gives you the look you want to achieve.

Over the years I have tried all the film and developer combinations that came by but I have always come back to Tri-X and Rodinal/R09 because it just works!

The best piece of advice I was ever given was to keep the developing process alkaline. Most fixers are acid and on some of the older/softer emulsions like Efke/Adox can cause pinholes in the emulsion or worse. So my development regime is:

 

Developer
Water for stop bath
Moersch alkaline fixer
Water wash

 

Just keep the process simple as too many variables - film type, iso/exposure, type of developer, development time, temperature - will have you running around in circles and result in confusion. It is paramount you get to understand your film, how to expose it and develop it for the look you want.

My 11 year old son is just starting out with film and a beautifully refurbished Olympus Trip and I am restricting him to Tri-X and Diafine. Why? Because Tri-X has a wide exposure latitude - 320 to 1600 iso - and is more forgiving, especially in Diafine. He will learn how the film reacts to different light and exposure values and when it comes to developing with Diafine it is a shorter time and therefore not boring for him.

 

What's on the shelf - film

I tend to use different types of film for the seasons and the available light.

 

All year round:	Tri-X, Kodak Double-X 5222
Spring & Summer:	Plus-X, Agfa APX 100 and Efke/Adox 25, 50 & 100
Autumn & Winter:	Tri-X, Agfa APX 400
Indoors:	Tri-X
Film	Exposed at	Developer(s)
Kodak Double-X 5222	200 - 800	Diafine or HC-110 dilution 'H'
Kodak Tri-X	320 - 1600	Rodinal/R09 or Diafine
Kodak Plus-X	400	Diafine or Rodinal/R09
Agfa APX 100	100	Rodinal/R09 or Diafine
Agfa APX 400	400	Rodinal/R09 or Diafine
Efke/Adox CHS 25 ART	25- 50	ATM49 or Rodinal or Diafine
Efke/Adox CHS 50 ART	50 - 100	ATM49 or Rodinal or Diafine
Efke/Adox CHS 100 ART	100 - 200	ATM49 or Rodinal or Diafine
Fomapan Classic 100	160	Diafine

 

What's on the shelf - developer

 

Rodinal	Rodinal was Agfa’s trademark name for their concentrated film developer formula, patented by Dr. Momme Andresen in 1891.  It is the oldest continuously-produced developer formula in the world. Rodinal has a very well-deserved reputation for brilliance, gradation, and sharpness. Rodinal is not a “fine-grain” developer. Conventional wisdom has it that, with Rodinal, whatever grain structure is inherent in a film’s emulsion will be retained in the developed negative.  Rodinal negatives may sometimes look more “grainy” than negatives developed in the so-called fine-grain formulas, but they also have greater perceived sharpness. Dilutions are typically at 1:25, 1:50 or 1:100. Higher dilutions are possible and are used in conjunction with stand or semi-stand development. Used as a one-shot developer. The keeping qualities of Rodinal are legendary. My particular bottle was opened in July 2004. (This was posted 27/12/2008)
R09	This is the original Rodinal formulation from the pre-war days, and the replacement for the Calbe R09. Fine grain and an absolute classic developer which is ideally suited for use with older style films such as the ADOX CHS 25 and CHS 100. Used as a one-shot developer. Again, like Rodinal, this developer lasts forever in the bottle.
Diafine	Diafine is a two bath developer and probably the most foolproof. You mix the chemicals to produce two solutions, A & B. You pour in solution A and develop for 3 mins, pour solution A back in the bottle and then pour in solution B and develop for 3 mins, pour solution B back in the bottle. Then use water for a stop bath and the fix as normal. Simple and fast with nice results. You re-use the solutions constantly and Diafine is another developer with a long life. I regularly use this when I have exposed a roll of Tri-X at different iso values. From the manufacturers leaflet: "Diafine is usable over a wide temperature range with one developing time for all films. Fast, medium and slow films can be developed simultaneously without adjustment in developing time. Diafine is unsurpassed in its ability to produce the greatest effective film speed, ultra-fine grain, maximum acutance and highest resolution. Time and temperature have no practical effect if the minimum recommendations are observed. Diafine is an ultra-fine grain developer with the highest effective speeds."
Panthermic 777	Sometimes called the 'Life Magazine' developer, it dates from the 1940's. For decades it was the favorite developer of many of the most recognizable names in photojournalism, including W. Eugene Smith, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Andre Kertesz. It was the developer of choice at the Magnum and Black Star agencies. It is characterized by clear highlights, bright, open shadows, and a full, rich tonal range with a tight grain structure.
ATM49	A49 is a fine grain developer, especially for small format films and particularly where very large format prints or enlargements are to be made. Primarily suited to dish and tank development, it exhibits fine grain and finely compensates grey scale tones whilst yielding the highest film speed and is especially recommended for Push processing. ATM49 is the Adox branding of the Calbe A49 developer and very similar in to the Agfa Atomal developer. Used as a one-shot developer but once mixed shelf life is about one month.
Coffee	Yes, coffee and it works very well. Fellow Leicaphile Mark Anthony has a full description on his site: Developing Film in Coffee

 

What! No development times?

No, sorry but there are too many variables and my technique may not work for you. There are plenty of sites with advice on actual development times and solutions but take these as a starting point. Films and developers have changed in their formulation over the years and you need to check you have the right info for your film/developer combination.

Here are some good starting places:

The Digital Truth Massive Development Chart

For some serious education/information on films, developing and darkroom processes the best place on the net is the Analogue Photographers User Group (APUG). The collective knowledge, experience and wisdom there is invaluable.