This might be the most complete tutorial I’ve come across on developing black and white film with coffee (yes, it really works!). In addition to the recipe, it’s got pictures of every step, including the final results.
Check it out at Photo Utopia!
Tag: developer
Piss as a developer accelerator
There’s a funny (and actually educational) thread at APUG about using urea, a component of urine, as an accelerator for film developers.
Fomapan 100 film in Diafine developer reference
Luke Healey has posted another Diafine EI test (see his previous test of Tri-X), this time of Fomapan 100. Check it out in his photostream at Flickr (larger version available there).
If you’re not familiar with Diafine developer, it’s got several magical properties: it’s a split-bath compensating developer, so it’s difficult to get blocked shadows or blown highlights, one batch can last for well over a year, its temperature range is wide enough (21–30°C / 70–85°F) that you don’t need a thermometer, they recommend you not use a chemical stop bath (just water), film needs to spend at least 3 minutes in each bath (but can spend more), and since the development time is the same for every film, you can develop different emulsions in the same batch at one time. If you’re gentle with the agitation, it’s quite fine-grained. In short: AWESOME.
For more info, see the Diafine group on Flickr, Grant Heffernan, or Sherman Dunnam Photography.
You can buy it from Calumet Photographic, B&H, and Amazon.com in the US, among other places. For the UK, hit Retro Photographic.
Alkaptonuria patient’s urine used as film developer
This is bizarre:
This picture of a patient who had alkaptonuria (Fig. 1) was taken by my father, Dr. Ian Maxwell, in 1957 and was developed using the patient’s own urine [emphasis added].
Alkaptonuria was the first described “inborn error of metabolism.” This rare (< 1 per 250 000 births) hereditary recessive disorder is characterized by a triad of excretion of homogentisic acid in the urine, ochronosis (dark pigmentation of the connective tissues) and early-onset arthritis…
Continue reading and see urine-developed photo in the Canadian Medical Association Journal
Via f295 DIY Photography Forum member taco
Review and samples of Ilford’s new Harman Cool- and Warmtone print developers
Silverprint have done a quick review of Ilford‘s new Harman Cooltone and Warmtone B&W paper developers.
According to Silverprint, "Having now had a chance to lab test the new Ilford Warmtone and Coldtone developers, we can state categorically they are the most effective specialised print developers ever placed on the market."
Continue reading and see samples at Silverprint News.
Agfa chemistry, including Rodinal, is back!
From Silverprint News:
"As they promised, the German company a&o, who aquired Agfa’s chemical range after the dissolution of AgfaPhoto, have lost no time in relaunching the range onto the market . All products are available apart from one or two of the more esoteric ones, Viradon toner and Sistan image stabiliser, and these are unlikely to be made again. However all the favourites are there, including Rodinal neg. developer and the Neutol print developers, and we are expecting the first big delivery on 1st March."
Washing soda film developer test drive: coffee and vitamin C
Justin Ouellette took two washing soda-based DIY film developers out for a test: coffee (aka caffeinol or folgernol) and vitamin C, with Rodinal as a reference.
I tried coffee once and got no development whatsoever. While this seems uncommon as I’ve never heard or read about this happening to anyone else, it does illustrate the [hopefully obvious] point that testing weird developers on rolls that you actually care about is a bad idea. Against that hope of obviousness, I tested it on a roll I was really excited about and learned the lesson the hard way. Dumbass. I haven’t tried it again, but Justin’s results are inspiring enough to make me want to give it another go.