Developing in coffee? Probably not everyone's "cup of tea".
For some time now I have been exploring the properties of coffee as a film developer. First of all a few facts about the brew.
1. Caffenol does increase film speed (testing will reveal your personal film speed).
2. Caffenol does result in finer grain (varies from film to film).
3. Caffenol, in it's basic formula, does result in overall fog (which does not necessarily degrade printing/scanning quality and can be controlled with potassium bromide).
4. Caffenol smell can be off-putting to some (I am a self confessed coffee junkie so no problem for me).
My first tests last year centered around Caffenol-C-M - the basic starting point. I looked for a subject with great contrast and a wide tonal range.
The cement pipe was photographed in bright midday sunlight. The shadows were placed on Zone III and the highlights, which had to display detail, fell one third of a stop above Zone VII. IMO, a real test for any film/developer combination!
Although the resulting negative displayed slight overall fog, it scanned beautifully and would probably print well on Grade 2-3 paper.
Image captured with Rollei SL66 and 80mm lens. Fuji Acros film.
I have since standardised on Caffenol -C-L and will post some results soon.
Regards,
Lawrie.
