Author Topic: C-41 Home Processing: Success (Read 12056 times)

Ed Wenn · « **on:** February 21, 2011, 05:11:06 PM »

After a hiatus of several years (for the reasons previously discussed) I've recently dived back into the toxic waters of film processing and am thoroughly enjoying myself as well as being quietly pleased with the results. I'll have more b/w to share in the coming months, but it's colour C-41 that I have a backlog of so I'm concentrating my efforts there to start with (although I did process 5 rolls of 120 b/w just to get my mojo back before trying out the colour).

So far I've run 4 rolls of Agfa Ultra 100 through the 'lab' and I wanted to share some of the results and also thank 'Chemical' Al Cooper, Photo Utopia & my mate Jay Reevo (not a FW member, but the guy in the 2nd video podcast who took us to the Lillian Bassman exhibition). I couldn't have done it so easily without your sage advice.

The excellent blogpost by Photo Utopia entitled Processing Your First Colour Negative Film was especially helpful - in fact indispensable - because the Tetenal kit that I ordered (thanks to Matt at AG Photographic) didn't actually describe a method, just the dev times and the mix ratios.

Anyhoo, here are some examples from the first roll. All taken in Poznan, Poland last September with a Pentax ME Super and a couple of lenses. There seems to be a lot of green going on, but that can't be helped when you're taking pictures in a military museum which is located in a park :-)

LT · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2011, 05:14:47 PM »

superb Ed - they look great. Colour eh? Might be tempted one day - you'll have to bring your stuff down to Kent sometime and give me a tutorial - I have some Ektar 120 that needs developing ..........

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2011, 05:20:34 PM »

No worries, at all & thanks for the thumbs up. I'm sure you'd learn a lot from someone as precise and methodical as myself. After I've given you (of all people) a tutorial in how to process film, why don't we pop down to see the Arena people and tell them how awesome I am at everything else?

Seriously though, if you really fancy it then we could get my people talking to your people and set up a meet on neutral territory sometime soon.

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2011, 05:24:07 PM »

Ed, these are superb!

astrobeck · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2011, 05:32:20 PM »

hats off to the chef!
Looks like you got the chems all happy and the prints are great.

excellent results!

Isn't it nice to not have the lingering smell of fixer when doing color?

Chris A Fraser · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:06:12 PM »

Spectacular!! Great stuff!

Lino · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:24:17 PM »

This looks really good. Really nice colors.
Too bad i can't get my hands on one of these colortec kits.

sapata · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2011, 06:43:37 PM »

They look amazing Ed... !
The first shot is the the perfect photo of the perfect coffee

I also like the 3rd one...

I never tried colour processing before and these pictures are very inspiring, well done !

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:53:41 PM »

Wow! am I ever impressed! I have the C-41 chemicals in the closet..just haven't been brave enough to actually do it! Maybe this will get me going! again..these are excellent!

Mojave · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:34:15 PM »

These are gorgeous! And you shot with a Pentax ME Super! That was my first real camera. I got it for Christmas when I was 18 and I just shot with it this weekend.

I am too afraid to develop color and I am so envious of your terrific results!

Francois · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:39:20 PM »

I'm really impressed Ed.
Looks like all that cooking came in handy after all

You should add to your nick "Ed, the C41 mixmaster"

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #11 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:58:35 PM »

Gee, thanks everyone. How very supportive of you. I'm blushing.

The processing was really just a question of putting trust in some fine individuals (basically those listed above) and not deviating from what they told me to do. There's a school of thought that C41 is actually easier than b/w and I'd agree with that for entry level stuff like wot I do. It's super simple because the dev time is always 3.15 min at 38C/100F. As for the whole temperature thing...I just use the Al Cooper method (as described to me by Jay Reevo) of filling a big bowl with hot water, waiting till it gets to about 1 degree above 38C and then just crack on with it.

Let's be absolutely clear about one thing: if you see me doing it...it honestly ain't that difficult. And whilst self-deprecation is something I practice frequently in the sphere of photography, in this case I'm just being honest.

The 2nd run through I timed the entire process from setting everything up from scratch, spooling the films onto the Patterson reels, getting the water ready, then processing 2 films, fixing, washing, hanging them to dry, clearing up and putting the whole shebang back in its box. It took 45 minutes which I think is pretty quick given that I don't have a darkroom or any pre-prepared space to do this in. I have the chems mixed, but other than that I start afresh every time.

Randy B · « **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2011, 07:10:58 AM »

Wow, that looks great!!! Pretty impressive considering you're still new at it. Good to know it's not too difficult since I'm not sure how much longer there's going to be local labs to do my 120 films at a good quality.

jojonas~ · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:46:14 AM »

phew! it worked! haha

mighty inspiring seeing your results ed. the shots look just great!

I really like the tone you got there.

now I just need to buy me those glass bottles and I'll be on my way too soon enough~
I'll be sure to have that post from photo utopia printed and with me the day I dance the development groove with the chemicals.

LT · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2011, 10:50:13 AM »

Quote from: jojonas on February 22, 2011, 09:46:14 AM

... the day I dance the development groove with the chemicals.

you have a development dance too? So do I - I only do it when I'm in the darkroom alone, but I know I throw the meanest shapes in there.

I think we need a feature on the next video podcast. Development dances from around the world. Now there's a thought.

CarlRadford · « **Reply #15 on:** February 22, 2011, 01:06:26 PM »

Great stuff - must give colour a go, must give colour a go, must give colour a go - thats me done

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #16 on:** February 22, 2011, 01:13:01 PM »

Quote from: leon taylor on February 22, 2011, 10:50:13 AM

I think we need a feature on the next video podcast. Development dances from around the world. Now there's a thought.

Clips of various photo geeks from around the world dancing in very dark rooms....box office gold!

jojonas~ · « **Reply #17 on:** February 22, 2011, 02:06:26 PM »

haha! all I'll say is; a dark room without music is not a place for me

I imagine the video clip now.. smooth moves, fast shoes... and even agitation

original_ann · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2011, 03:37:28 PM »

First go at it? GORGEOUS!! It's nice to hear about Tetenal and great to see these other helpful links!

Francois · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2011, 04:30:27 PM »

Wow... I'm not the only one who steps around the darkroom...

Mojave · « **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2011, 05:55:17 PM »

Oh heck, I think I'll give it a go Ed. You've convinced me. Not sure what kit to get. I'll have to see what Freestyle has. Or maybe Adorama. I have have some Nightbird Holga pinhole pano shots to develop. Its a test roll so its perfect for this.

LT · « **Reply #21 on:** February 22, 2011, 08:37:38 PM »

is it ok to use reels for black and white after some colour developing? or is there a contamination issue?

salvo · « **Reply #22 on:** February 22, 2011, 08:54:21 PM »

Quote from: leon taylor on February 22, 2011, 08:37:38 PM

is it ok to use reels for black and white after some colour developing? or is there a contamination issue?

I have been doing c41 for ca. 1 year now and the same reels and tanks have been used for both processes, as long as they are washed and clean I have not experienced any problem

I have also been impressed how easy the process is, that's allowed me to play more with colour (and cheaper than sending each roll to a lab). Also using the Tetenal kit from AG.

Francois · « **Reply #23 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:34:27 PM »

After a good rinse, the tank and reels should be good as new for another process. And if you wash the film in the tank itself, there's even less chance of contamination.

Besides, if there was such an issue, you would probably have already had the problem even with regular B&W.

Contaminated developer usually results in oversized grain... and I doubt that just the dried stuff on the surfaces would be enough to do any real damage.

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #24 on:** February 23, 2011, 12:03:20 AM »

Quote from: Mojave on February 22, 2011, 05:55:17 PM

Oh heck, I think I'll give it a go Ed. You've convinced me. Not sure what kit to get. I'll have to see what Freestyle has. Or maybe Adorama. I have have some Nightbird Holga pinhole pano shots to develop. Its a test roll so its perfect for this.

Go for it, Erin. I think you'll really enjoy how easy it is to at least get started and get some decent results.

FWIW, here's the kit I bought: http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/tetenal-c41-kit-5l-682-p.asp (not sure whether you can get anything equivalent in the US). Because I had 20-30 films to process I went straight for the 5L pack rather than the smaller 1L....otherwise I might have started off with the 1L kit.

Heather · « **Reply #25 on:** February 23, 2011, 12:33:12 PM »

I'm glad we're finally breaking the myth that C-41 is difficult

Still, because I like prints, I send my stuff off. Even though I have used a C-41 kit and it's not "hard" as such but I know I'd be spending a lot of time to get those prints done in a darkroom so... I like to spend my time paying someone to operate a machine to sort it out for me instead

For the record I started with the 1litre kit and it's quite simple to "split" it into 2 batches of 500ml working solution each and the stock solutions keep for a fairly long time unmixed but open. Apparently it'll keep better if you use that "protectane" heavier-than-air gas to keep oxygen out of the bottle but i didn't bother with that. 500ml is the working solution amount for my paterson tank for medium format and that's wot i was processing mainly.

astrobeck · « **Reply #26 on:** February 23, 2011, 01:24:33 PM »

I've used this kit from Freestyle in California.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/20411-Arista-C-41-Liquid-Color-Negative-Developing-Kit-1-Quart?cat_id=1001

Worked well.

Photo_Utopia · « **Reply #27 on:** February 23, 2011, 04:03:14 PM »

Well done, I'm glad you finally jumped in the water is warm

Thanks for mentioning the blog post...

I'm happy you found it useful.

I've used a few of these kits over the years both E6 and C41 and can attest to the longevity of the negs and slides as they seem to have lasted from the 1980's. I think the pre wash is very important as the development time is short and it helps keep the developer at the required temp.

I find it easier to develop than mono and also quite nice for moderate pushing. I processed 16 120 rolls in my first kit, they all look good the last 4 I gave a slightly extended development time of 3:45.

Try it folks!

Nigel · « **Reply #28 on:** February 23, 2011, 08:20:50 PM »

Wow, I'm very impressed. I'm going through a 'colour looks better than b&w' phase, that I have every so often, so the timing couldn't be better.

al · « **Reply #29 on:** February 23, 2011, 11:01:57 PM »

Well done Ed, see told you it was easy :-) Great instructions from photo utopia too, some good tips. I pre-soak my films too.. wasn't sure if you're "supposed" to do this but it always seemed to be the easiest way to make sure everything had the best chance of staying up to temperature.
I'm not sure that a little temperature error makes all that much difference for those using the hybrid film/scan to digital method (I guess nearly everyone) as I the scanner always seems to do a reasonable job of adjusting the curves for each channel.

One tip very well pointed out is when agitating the blix which is supposed to be continuous, remember to let the pressure out of the tank (but lifting the lid just slightly and slowly) soon after starting and again just before opening the tank at the end. That stuff is pretty nasty, and has a habit of leaking/spraying out of the tank under pressure if you're not careful.

But as everyone who has tried it has been saying - C41 is easy, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! With the price of B&W film these days and the fact that you can still often get hold of colour print rolls for free from friends clearing out after their digital conversion it's got to be the most cost effective way to waste film!

al · « **Reply #30 on:** February 23, 2011, 11:10:53 PM »

Quote from: Heather on February 23, 2011, 12:33:12 PM

For the record I started with the 1litre kit and it's quite simple to "split" it into 2 batches of 500ml working solution each and the stock solutions keep for a fairly long time unmixed but open. Apparently it'll keep better if you use that "protectane" heavier-than-air gas to keep oxygen out of the bottle but i didn't bother with that. 500ml is the working solution amount for my paterson tank for medium format and that's wot i was processing mainly.

Yeah, unless you're getting through loads then splitting to 500ml is a great idea. I've been using a dry kit and have had success splitting the dry ingredients by weight (after lots of mixing each powder to ensure even distribution in the batches) and also mixing up the working solutions as 1 litre, then freezing half of it (the usual don't try this at home and get mixed up with the ice cubes warnings apply here!!) I read somewhere that this wasn't supposed to work, but I tried it anyway, kept the frozen solution for months and it worked fine.

Author Topic: C-41 Home Processing: Success (Read 12056 times)

astrobeck

astrobeck