Photography Info & Reviews.

Comment from Habeas Corpus
Time July 11, 2009 at 9:28 am

First is the developer, called Dektol. You leave the paper in there for 2-4 minutes and that is where you picture emerges.

The second is called “stop,” which is a weak acid. You leave it in there for 30 seconds. Although it stops the developing process, it doesn’t stop is COMPLETELY, so don’t turn on any lights until your picture is in the…

FIX! The third chemical, which is clear. You leave your picture in there for 3-4 minutes, but I leave it in there for 5 just to play it safe.
After that is the wash, which is nothing more than water. You can leave it in there for 3 minutes and it should be good.

Also! Dektol is a clearish brown color

Stop is yellow and turns PURPLE when it no longer works!

Fix and wash are both clear.

I hope I helped!

Comment from It’s That Guy
Time July 11, 2009 at 10:26 am

Well first you have to develop the film. Then you use the negative to expose a print.

First you put the print in developer. You watch while the picture comes up. This is the fun part. About a minute and a half.

Then you put it in stop bath. This is actually just diluted purified vinegar. The acid stops the development. Maybe ten seconds.

Then you put it in the fixer (or ‘hypo’ which is short for sodium hypochlorite, I think I remember). The fixer dissolves all the left-over photo emulsion so the picture won’t get dark in room light. About eight minutes.

Then, in the old days you had to wash the print in running water for 8 minutes. Today there is ‘RC’, resin-coated paper that doesn’t really get wet, so you only wash it a minute or two. There used to be also an optional ‘hypo clearing solution’ that neutralizes the fixer so you don’t have to wash the prints so long.

For film the steps are the same, except you don’t see them because the film is in a cannister and you pour the chemicals into it. First a developer, then a stop bath, then a fixer. The stop bath and fixer are the same but you use a different kind of developer for film. The same chemicals but in a different ratio.

I used to do this back in the 60s. I really enjoyed it in those days. But today, with Photoshop, getting a good picture is almost trivially easy. In the darkroom you’d often throw away five or six prints before you got one that was just right.

Comment from Henry Ate My Eggo
Time July 11, 2009 at 9:08 pm

You got chemicals for film processing, and chemicals for processing the print. Two separate processes.