Developing B&W Film

This is all just for B&W film. As you probably know, color development is more complicated because you need the temperature warmer throughout the process. You also need a different set of chemicals.

First, to get the film from the camera to the developing tank, you must first be able to unravel and re-ravel the film in the dark. My brother recommends that you waste a roll of film so you can practice this in the light before trying it in the dark with a real roll. Here my brother is doing it in his light tight film changing tent:

Here's a photo of what he's trying to do inside the tent. This metal reel is part of the developing tank system (canister with a reel inside, which holds the film, topped with a lightproof cover and watertight lid).

Viola! Here's the film, now inside the developing tank. My brother uses a 500ml developer tank. It can actually hold 2 rolls at once, but we are just doing one roll this time.

After the camera to tank transfer process, you're left with the film roll backing. You can throw this away:

Now, on to the chemical process. Here is the developer my brother uses. It's HC-110 by Kodak.

Since this developer is highly concentrated, you need to dilute it with the proper amount of water, at the right temperature. All the instructions for diluting it are on the bottle.

For this entire process, you can find the right timings and temperatures for all possible developers and film types here: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php
My brother uses the iphone app version of this, called Massive Dev Chart (it comes from the same site). It's $8, but worth it if you plan to do this a lot. Sometimes my brother does tricky things, like reads the timing for a different ISO than his film, to purposely overdevelop the film.

Here my brother is taking the water temperature with his handy non-contact thermometer. Don't worry if the water doesn't remain the same temperature throughout the process, with black and white film, it only needs to be around the right temperature.

Now that the developer is diluted, and at the right temperature...

...it can be poured into the developing tank, where the film is. Pour slowly to give the liquid time to travel through the light tight top without overflowing.

This is where you need to use a timer. The iphone app is nice because it automatically starts the timer over at each step, so you don't have to worry about stopping and starting whenever you complete each step.

The entire developing process basically consists of slowly spinning the tank (called agitating it) for the first entire minute, as well as for 10 seconds every minute after the first. This is needed for the developer, the stopper and the fixer. You need to spin the liquid around in the tank every minute because the chemicals near the film get used up.
Agitating:

After each agitation, you need to tap the tank once against the counter to release any bubbles that stick to the film:

Most of the process is just waiting though:

When the iphone app timer moves on to the next stage, it's time to pour out the developer and add the stop bath. My brother saves the chemicals for re-use. About 500ml of the developer mix can develop 4 rolls before the film uses up all the chemicals.
As you can see, the developer comes out a different color than when it went in. The blue-ish tint will go away after a day or so if there is still active chemical in the developer. If the developer is all used up, it will remain blue.

This is the stop bath my brother uses. It's an indicator stopper, so it will also change color when the chemical is all used up.

Still following the iphone app, now he adds the stop bath:

Don't forget to agitate the stop bath for the first minute, and for 10 seconds every minute after. Also, don't forget to tap it after every agitation.

After the timer for the stop bath stops, pour it out and save it. It's not obvious in this photo, but the stopper is now slightly blue as well.

This is the fixer my brother uses. Fixer lasts even longer than the stop bath will, so he saves it too.

Now pouring in the fixer (you can see the blue-ish stopper in the back):

Agitate and tap the fixer, just like the developer and the stopper, always watching the iphone:

After the timer is done, pour out the fixer and save it:

Now it's safe to open the tank and check out your film!

However, you are not done yet. The time is actually still running for the rinse.

The water rinse is generally timed for a while, so my brother just leaves the water running:

After the rinse, my brother then puts a drop of this photo-flow 'soap' for 15 seconds. It's not necessary, but it helps the film dry without chemical spots. He will then rinse it out one last time.

And the final step is to hang the film up to dry! Then you can scan them into your computer and print them, which is what my brother does, or learn to develop them in a dark room.


Now that we went through all that, my brother also bought this old developing machine that basically does it all for you. You just have to add the chemicals, and the machine gets them to the right temperature, agitates them, and pours them out, all on it's own settable timer. It beats being 'on call' for the entire process, but it would set you back several hundred dollars for a used one.
And here it is in motion: