First 4x10 development - more uneven development

[dgc]

Sorry, need to clairfy. I leave my negatives emulsion side up. They are presoaked in water beofre I slip into the developer. I then start my timer. I agitate continuously for the first minute, by lifting a side of the tray (short side) off the surface, then dropping it gently which takes about two seconds, I then move my hand clockwise to the next side (long side) and do the same. I do this to all four sides within 10 seconds ( so a total of six times in the first minute). For the remainder of the development, I do this to all four sides once - 10 seconds per minute... it's my adaptation for intermittent agitation as performed with roll film.
I've tried shuffling film, but I think it's difficult for long negatives like this, 5x4 and 7x5 are far easier...

I hope that's clearer. Shout if not.

Car

That makes perfect sense, for some reason I had in my mind you were lifting the negative rather than the tray.

[dgc]

You might try Brush Development. Pre-soak and brush the surface gently as you will when the negative goes into the developer. Emulsion side up so your brush strokes take care of any air bubbles before going further.

Use a Hake/Richeson Magic Brush and when the negetive goes into the developer you go up and down, then side to side. Then down and up, and side to side from the other end. Simple and you don't need to put pressure on the negative in the developer, just lightly across the surface.

Nice even development. Learned from my Uncle who learned from Jorge Gasteazoro who used to be on these forums. The procedure is simple and results in clean negatives without uneven development.

Thanks for this, though I would only be tempted to use this method using ortho film and red light!

[ic-racer]

If not fresh film, try again with fresh film.