Color vs. Black & White Film Processes

Brian Poon November 30, 2014

In this post, I wanted to discuss the process of developing film at home, more specifically what materials are needed and considerations should be made. The chemicals and steps for each process will vary depending on what kind of film you choose to shoot (color vs. black and white), but only slightly. In fact, the processes share the same principle steps/chemicals: a developer, stop bath/bleach, fixer, and final rinse/stabilizer.

The Chemical Process

The first step in developing your freshly exposed roll of film is to treat it with a developing solution, which creates your gray tones or colors. In black and white film, the developer converts the silver halide crystals in the emulsion layer into silver particles. In color film, the developer is oxidized when reacting with the exposed silver halide crystals. This oxidized developer then reacts with dye couplers resulting in the formation of color dye. Color film consists of multiple emulsion layers, each sensitive to a specific type of light and containing a specific set of dyes.

The second step in the development process is to stop the action of the developing solution. In the black and white process, an acetic acid solution known as a stop bath is typically used to neutralize the alkaline developing solution. In the color process, a bleach step is used to indirectly stop development by converting the silver halide crystals into soluble silver halides, effectively breaking down the silver image and stopping the formation of color dyes.

Following the stop bath/bleach is the treatment with fixer. Fixer dissolves and removes the remaining silver halides making the image permanent and light-resistant.

The final step is either a final rinse with distilled water (black and white) or a stabilizer (color), which protects the dyes from fading.

Temperatures and Flexibility

The biggest differences between the two development processes are the temperature ranges at which the chemicals must be at and the flexibility of those ranges as well as the times of the individual steps within each process. For the most part, black and white processing occurs at room temperature (~20-24 degrees C) and the development times will change depending on what temperature you choose to process at.

Black and white processing tends to be a lot more flexible in its temperatures and times. This is where experimentation comes in and is what draws a lot of photographers to the B+W process. By playing with temperatures, times, and dilution factors of the chemicals, the final characteristics of the developed film such as acutance (sharpness), grain, and shadow detail can be changed. Additional variation can be introduced by swapping out and combining different chemicals, i.e. "A" developer with "X" stop bath" and "Y" fixer will yield different results when compared to "B" developer with the same stop and fix solutions.

Color developing on the other hand is much more rigid in its process. Very little variation can be made within each set of chemicals. Doing so will usually lead to undesired change. For example, the developer is very temperature sensitive and should be closely monitored throughout the processing time. Any change outside the recommended temperature will lead to color shifts. Fortunately, the introduction of film scanners and digital editing helps alleviate some of the pressure, but caution should still be practiced. The chemicals in the color process typically run at a higher temperature range (~38-39 degrees C), meaning the use of water baths is necessary unless you live near or in a volcano.

Materials

Below is a laundry list of items I use to develop film at home. As a side note, this list is based on personal experience and I have not tried alternatives, meaning there could be better solutions out there! The goal of each of my kits is to keep it is small as possible.

Color (C41) Process

Chemicals

Tetenal C-41 Press Kit: This kit includes a developer, a combination bleach and fixer (known as BLIX), and a stabilizer. These come in powder form.

Misc. Items

1000mL Amber Glass Bottles: These bottles will store your rehydrated chemicals from the press kit. It is important to protect your chemicals from light!
Graduated Mixing Beaker/Jug: I only use one to mix all my chemicals, making sure to wash well between each.
12" Glass Thermometer: Be sure to get one that is of high quality (reacts quickly to temperature change) and is long enough that cannot be lost when dropped into a jug of chemical.
Paterson Tank: I recommend this particular brand because it eliminates the need for an actual dark room. Chemicals can be poured in and out with exposing the film to light. Pretty ingenious really.
Film Clips: These will hold your film as it dries.
Film Changing Bag: This will keep your film protected from light as you move it from the camera to the Paterson Tank. There are different sizes. I recommend getting one that is a little bigger than you think you will need. The last thing you want is clutter in a bag which you cannot see into.
Timer
Funnel
Gloves

Black and White Process

Chemicals

Kodak D76 Developer
Photographer's Formulary TF-4 Rapid Fixer: This solution is nice because it combines the stop bath and fixer into one solution. I actually use a newer formulation called TF-5 since it is carried at my local store. There is little difference between the two.

Misc. Items

Same items listed above in the Color Process

General Tips

Distilled Water: If the tap water in your area is not clean, use distilled water for mixing your chemicals. If you choose to end your process with a water rinse, use distilled water. Tap water can leave residue on your developed negatives once dried.
Keep It Clean: If you have the bathroom space, it is recommended you process your films there versus the kitchen as this will eliminate the possibility of contaminating your foods with chemicals. If you do use the kitchen area, be sure to clean well after each processing session.
Practice with Changing Bag: If you have not used a changing bag before, I highly recommend practicing with a dud roll of film before the real deal. It can be challenging to properly insert the roll into the reel when you cannot see it.
Keeping It Cool: Keeping a moderate to cool temperature inside your home or wherever you process is a good idea, especially for the changing bag process. A hot environment will make your hands sweat and make the emulsion of the film susceptible to smearing. This happened to me one hot summer day. Do not let this happen to you!
Dry Your Film in the Bathroom: The steam from your showers will help settle all the dust in the air, which means less dust on your film.

After developing the film, I scan the negatives into my computer using a CanoScan 9000F, make any adjustments in Lightroom if needed, and call it a day. I read great things about the Epson v700 but the price difference between the two made me go for the CanoScan and so far I do not regret the decision.

I hope this post helped reveal how accessible developing at home is and I encourage every photographer out there to try it themselves.

How Film Works and Reasons to Keep It Around

Brian Poon November 4, 2014

Film is a technological marvel. My opinion might be skewed because I am a science geek. Oh well. It's still amazing. Can we take a minute and look at how it works? Skip to the next section if you're not interested.

How Photographic Film Works

Let's start with "simple" black and white film. If you were to unravel an undeveloped roll of film and separate it from the paper backing, what you would be left with is a plastic base covered in an emulsion made up of millions of light-sensitive silver halide crystals suspended in a gelatin layer. When the shutter is depressed and light strikes the film, photons liberate the electrons on a given silver halide crystal causing the reduction of silver ions and the formation of metallic silver atoms. The more light that strikes a given crystal, the more metallic silver atoms are formed. At this stage, a latent image is formed, which is basically an invisible image waiting for development. The appearance of film with a latent image does not differ from unexposed film.

When exposed to a developer, silver halide crystals with enough silver atoms are converted to macroscopic silver particles, which appear black to the naked eye. These silver particles remain on the film during the fixing process and the remaining unused silver halide crystals are washed off. At the end of the development process, what you are left with is a "negative" or reversed image.

Seen above is a scan of a film negative from a black and white roll after developing.

Prior to the invention of scanners, all photo printing was performed in the dark room using enlargers, photographic paper, and another set of chemicals. By projecting light through the enlarger and the film negative onto photosensitive paper, another latent image is produced. Once taken through a development process, a "positive" image is created on the paper. Today, it is possible to forgo this part of the process, although some film enthusiasts may strongly disagree. In my current workflow, I simply scan the film negative and a positive image is created using software. It isn't as fascinating as the darkroom process, but it certainly is more practical when you are lacking space and time.

Seen above is the "positive" image created from a negative film scan and software processing.

Color film works in a similar fashion, but involves several emulsion layers, each capturing a different color, as well as protective layers in between each emulsion layer. Because of the complexity of color film, the required labor to manufacture it is much greater compared to black and white film. Thus, only a few factories remain in the entire world.

Poloraid or instant film is the most complex of them all. It basically has all the chemistry of film itself and the developing process wrapped up into one small and scientifically precise package. Here is an excellent video put together about instant film.

Sustaining these high-output factories does not make financial sense since the world has mostly shifted to digital. Thus, we have seen factory closures of larger companies such as Kodak. Interestingly, the rise and sustainment of companies such as Lomography and the Impossible Project have clearly demonstrated that there is still a market for film and instant film. More recently, an Italian group by the name of Film Ferrania had their kickstarter campaign successfully backed and will be building a new factory using the parts from an older factory, which was originally founded in 1923. This group recognized the desire for film and instead of trying to sustain the old factory designed for the larger demand of the past, they decided to build a new smaller factory to meet the needs of today's market.

Why Keep Film Around?

Here are the reasons that keep me coming back to my analog cameras.

1) No LCD on the Back

With digital it is easy to want to preview each shot after it is taken, which leads to a couple of unhealthy habits. First, you're missing out on the moment while staring at the back of the camera. Secondly, one tends to make negative judgments about themselves with each preview, which can affect the rest of the shooting for the day. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one can become complacent and not want to chase after that perfect shot. With film, you have no idea whether or not you captured the moment. The only choice is to keep shooting until you think you got it.

2) Distancing Yourself from Your Shots

On a similar note, not being able to instantly download your shots onto your computer and being forced to wait for your film to be processed before being able to view your images allows you to lose the emotional attachment. Everyone loves their own shots more than their peers. That is the honest truth. By waiting to view your images, you are able to distance yourself from your photos and let yourself make judgements based on photographic principles such as composition and light instead of emotion.

3) Learn from Mistakes Faster

Did you meter correctly? If not, the roll will be blown, not just one frame.

3) Less $$$ Upfront

Film cameras can be had for pennies compared to their digital counter parts. Admittedly, the learning curve for analog photography is a little steeper, but it isn't anything a little internet browsing can't solve. Although the upfront cost of analog is much lower, it is important to consider the time, space, and financial cost required for processing and development of your film before investing in an analog system.

4) Access to Larger Formats

Although digital is now commonplace in the 35mm format, getting into digital systems for medium format (MF) will cost you an arm and leg. New digital backs for MF systems can cost anywhere from $15k - $60k and that is just the back. You would still need a body and lens (add another $5-10k). Digital solutions for large format (4x5 and above) do not exist at this point in time. If you want to shoot that, you will have to look to analog.

5) The Aesthetic

This is the hipster response. Simply put, there is a feel to film that cannot be denied.

6) Conversation Starter

Analog cameras always tend to draw eyes and make it easier to break the ice with strangers before taking their portrait. In most cases, the person you are talking with has previous experience with analog photography and loves to reminisce about it as much as you do.

Many past analog shooters tell me they have shot enough film and digital is all they will shoot now. From a business standpoint, I completely understand. The high output and fast turnaround time of digital cannot be matched by analog photography. But from an artistic standpoint, analog does offer something different, both in workflow and aesthetics. It is a nice change of pace, especially for those born in the digital age.

Beauty Portrait

Brian Poon December 26, 2013

A couple of weeks ago, I did a test shoot with some friends of mine. The approach for the shoot, despite being in a very familiar environment (my apartment), was different. The portion I had spent most of time my pre-visualizing was the portrait of Kim, the female subject. The aim was a beauty portrait. I do not normally do beauty. Bluntly speaking, for me, photographing female subjects is very difficult, much harder than photographing male subjects. Although some of the challenge can be attributed to a number of items, I think much of it is due to the society and the well defined parameters it has set for what should and should not be seen as "beautiful." It sounds cold, I know. I do believe in the mantra of everyone being beautiful in their own way. But at the same time, no one can fully deny that mainstream media has not shaped our perception of what is attractive to the human eye. Clothes, hair styles, make up, the human body. It's all included in the list. But what is even more interesting is how this affects self-perception. As a result, people, women especially, spend more time criticizing themselves than complimenting. From a photographer's standpoint, these societal pressures create a bit of a challenge.

Onward...

The second big difference coming into this test shoot was my mental approach. A few months ago, I dove headfirst into the realm of film photography and put myself on digital hiatus, during which I learned two main lessons. The first was being more critical of what was in my frame. I started a "Project 120" on my Facebook page not only to share the images I had captured, but to force myself to post images I had not framed perfectly. The goal was to learn how to frame the hard way, which meant learning through failure and posting those imperfections, not as punishment, but rather as a method of reinforcement. In practice, it simply forced me to be more aware as I shot.

The second lesson I learned was to shoot at a slower pace, which compliments the first. Having to physically wind the film after a shot forces one to recompose and refocus, assuming the camera is hand held and not on a tripod. I lugged along my film camera on my rock climbing trips and asked a few of my buddies to let me take their portraits. They were gracious enough and let me harass them for 3 minutes in front of their peers (thanks guys!). One frame in 3 minutes. Not exactly snapping away. Each portrait had a slower pace than with my DSLR and in a way, it helped the portrait come together because the subject assumed the process would take longer than with digital, thus allowing more time for me to compose and, more importantly, for the subject to relax and simply be themselves.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I wanted to do a studio-type portrait session again with my digital set up along with my strobes. I wanted to see what impact going on digital LOA had done for me.

Here's the set up I had pre-conceptualized:

The set up was meant for the female subject. The overall feel I wanted was a comfort, "at home" type of beauty portrait. I asked Kim to bring clothes she felt comfortable in and were somewhat revealing but still PG-13. As for the lights, I used a large octabank on my main light and a beauty dish on the back light. The purpose of the backlight was to simulate sunshine coming through the window, which is what my subject's back was against (not shown above). Why not use real sunlight? Well, it was winter time in Seattle. That should be enough to tell you why I could not rely on the sun to make an appearance. But despite (or in spite of) my cruel assumptions, the sun DID show up and it came full force. There wan't a single cloud in the sky. Here's an ambient light shot at f/11, ISO 100 at max sync speed WITH a 2 stop ND filter:

Snapshot of the ambient light at (an effective) f/22, ISO 100.

I originally planned to shoot at a wider aperture, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. The space in my apartment is less than ideal as a portrait studio, but I can make things happen if lights and props are positioned strategically around, almost like cramming one last object into a full closet and then quickly closing the door before it all comes tumbling down. I had set up the lights and rearranged my apartment furnishings to make the shot work at a specific shooting angle. But with the unexpected appearance of the sun, the shot now involved really intense flare that I could not frame out without compromising my composition.

I decided to turn the negative into a positive and utilized the sun as a third light. I metered my lights in such a way that the sun was now a second kicker. The new orientation for my subject still involved the window but instead of her laying comfortably on the couch, I had her sit up on the window sill. I used a piece of white tulle I had leftover from another shoot to help diffuse the harsh sunlight that was blasting through the window (seen above). It also helped blur out the unsightly building behind her.

Shooting film changed the way I shot this session. Simply comparing how many frames I took in this session (about 50 including test shots) compared to what I did a year ago (over 200) was pretty revealing. I felt more at ease and spent more time communicating with my subject instead of on the back of my camera. Always a plus. Below is the final shot. It's not going to win awards, but I believe it is a step in the right direction and I think I am finally starting to find my "style" (more on this in a future post). Keep scrolling for more shots.

...and a fun behind-the-scenes shot!

Keep Shooting