How to Develop Film without a Darkroom
The digital cameras have affected the old school of photography badly and are the main reason why developing a film has become a dying art. However, few professional photographers still like to do the darkroom film developing. It is also an effective teaching technique for beginners who must know the basics of photography.
You need to avoid direct light during the photo developing process and that is why this is always performed in the darkroom. If you do not have proper setup then you can develop a film even without the darkroom.
Instructions
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1
Find a proper place:
First of all, you need to locate a proper room for this exercise. Normally, you need to plenty of water during film developing so kitchen, bath room or laundry room can be ideal places. Just setup a small table to place all your stuff and start working. Make sure that your workplace is in a peaceful corner and no one is visiting over and again. -
2
Prepare the film for process:
Next thing you need to do is to load the film in developing tank. Make sure that there is complete darkness in the room otherwise your film will be fogged and it will be a futile exercise. The best way to do it with perfection is to use a changing bag as it is specially designed to keep the light out. -
3
Add developer in container:
Now, after you have brought out the canister in the light, you should add the powdered developer in tank along with film. After pouring the developer, shake the tank at least for nine minutes. However, make sure that you are not doing for too little or too much time as it can affect the quality of film. Mostly, the exact time is mentioned on the film so check it before putting the film in tank. -
4
Stop Bath:
Now it’s time for stop bath which means rinsing the pictures with water. Make sure that temperature of water is not more than 68 degrees F. Rinse the prints in running water at least for one minute and your pictures are ready to be cleared of fixer. For this purpose, you need to pour the water out and add fixer in the tank. After a couple of minutes, rinse the pictures with water and then use wetting agent to avoid water spots on the film. -
5
Hang the film:
Last but not the least; you will hang the film to dry. Do not touch the film at least for one hour.
