Freckles on B+W film

[Sazerac]

I've noticed freckles on the sky areas of my TMAX 100 film. I use the XTOL developer at 1:1. Do you think that this is undissolved crystals? The developer has been mixed for about 4 months, but I even notice it on fresh developer. I have some HC-110 that I could try next, but i like the XTOL & TMAX combo.

160364

[koraks]

This looks like either tiny bubbles (but I'd expect them to be more sharply outlined) or its just out of focus dust in your camera. It doesn't look like undissolved developer or something like iron contamination.

[Bob Salomon]

This looks like either tiny bubbles (but I'd expect them to be more sharply outlined) or its just out of focus dust in your camera. It doesn't look like undissolved developer or something like iron contamination.

Clear white circles can be air bells, linear clear ones are more likely dust or other contaminants, dark circular ones are not air bells.

[koraks]

I sometimes get air bells along the margins of 120 film; their minus density on the negative and thus darker on the print. They are however more sharply outlines than the dark spots in this scan. I'm ignoring the white specks as they are evidently dust/debris and I assume we're not discussing those as their origin is evident.

[Bruce Watson]

I've noticed freckles on the sky areas of my TMAX 100 film. I use the XTOL developer at 1:1. Do you think that this is undissolved crystals?

Nope. It's not TMAX, and it's not XTOL. What it is, is dust, dirt, general grundge. It's... user error.

Cleanliness is one of the main fights in chemical photography. Everything has to be clean. Your film holders have to be clean, and they have to stay clean. I learned that my 5x4 film holders can only live in a few places. 1) on my scrupulously clean loading/unloading table in my darkroom, 2) in my (hopefully washed) hand, 3) in a one quart size (don't you love imperial measurements?) zip lock freezer bag, or 4) in the camera. That's it. I don't ever set them down on anything in the field. Once you get them clean, you've got to keep them clean.

Then, you have to clean out the inside of the camera bellows on a regular basis. And because dirt in the bellows comes from air around the bellows, you have to clean the outside of the camera too.

You have to clean (I use an anti-static brush) your film holders before you load them. Dark slides too.

You do all this, it will reduce, but not eliminate, dust and dirt blocking light during exposure (causing low density areas on the negative).

Then there's the problem of the darkroom itself, all the equipment, and your processing. This is where you get stuff stuck to the film causing areas of increased "density" on the negative. This is a whole battle all on its own. Basically it comes down to periodic cleaning the darkroom (walls, ceiling (especially), cabinets, surfaces, floors), learning the benefits of steam distilled water in making up chemistry, in rinses, and in rinsing off equipment after use, how to prop drying equipment so that it doesn't collect dust while drying, etc.

It also means using a lot (or, like me, all) of your chemistry "one shot". I resolved a lot of "tiny dark spots" on my negatives by moving to one shot fixer. Go figure.

It's a battle that can't be won. But... you can make amazing progress. I eliminated perhaps 90% of the spots on my negatives (which weren't really all that bad to start with). This in turn cut my spotting time by roughly 90%. This is a really large reward for some not so hard work. Just sayin'.

[djdister]

The white-ish marks in your sky area are most likely from dust (on the film, inside the camera) rather than air bells in processing.

[RSalles]

Bruce wrote:
"It also means using a lot (or, like me, all) of your chemistry "one shot". I resolved a lot of "tiny dark spots" on my negatives by moving to one shot fixer. Go figure."

Bruce, please try to explain that to me - even with the "go figure" end of the sentence.
The other day I found a sort of ectoplasm inside the fixer bottle, one that I used 2 or 3 months ago the last time.

Cheers,

Renato

[jp]

I'm betting dirty fixer. Been there done that. Sometimes if you keep using the same dirty bottle for fixer, it will get chunky and leave stuff on your film. Sometimes fixer still fixes well but has been used too much. I'm not an advocate of 1-shot fixing as it's wasteful, but find a happy medium between clear fixer and dirty fixer maybe by keeping the bottle clean inside or tracking use. If it's not that, it's probably dust, but dust is usually crisper.

[Bruce Watson]

Bruce, please try to explain that to me - even with the "go figure" end of the sentence.

The other day I found a sort of ectoplasm inside the fixer bottle, one that I used 2 or 3 months ago the last time.

What's to explain? One shot means you use it once then toss it. Why this promotes cleanliness is because it keeps you from transferring contamination that your chemistry picks up from one batch of film to the next batch of film. Contamination can add, meaning your second batch comes out dirtier than the first batch. And that's why I one shot every step of the process.

One stop fixer is more controversial because the fixer isn't completely exhausted when I toss it out. But I got tired of film that made a great clean 50cm print but with little tiny spots I could see on a 1m print. When I started using fixer one shot, these tiny spots went away. So... go figure. Sub 5 micron chunks of silver maybe? IDK. All I know is, they went away when I started one shot fix, and they never came back.

As to slime in your fixer bottle. I've not had that since I started using steam distilled water for mixing. Then again, I stopped mixing fixer stock. I mix a working dilution direct from the liquid concentrate (Kodak Rapid Fix, but without the hardener). Just what I need at the time and no more. So there's less opportunity for slime to grow.

[Michael Rosenberg]

I agree with Bruce about the fixer being the possible culprit of the dark spots. I always mix my fix the day before to make sure the chemicals are well dissolved. I also recommend not storing fixer to reuse, as the fixer may reduce to a sulfide. Also good agitation is required, especially for the the first couple of minutes of fixing.

Mike

[Ken Lee]

Bruce, please try to explain that to me - even with the "go figure" end of the sentence.


Sometimes native English-speakers, even when being helpful, forget when they use colloquial expressions. :rolleyes:

Regarding darkroom chemicals, "one shot" means single-use. You use it one time, then discard it.

"Go figure" means "Think about that", but what it really means is that we should not be surprised. For example, "I left the cover on the lens and made an exposure. The photograph came out black. Go figure". Nenhuma surpresa

[RSalles]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks. I know exactly what actually means one shot. What I didn't see was the link between spots and fixer reuse.

Ken,

Thanks for the helping hand, I got the sense of the colloquial expression. The "go figure" had to me the sense of "I have absolutely no idea the reason why it happened, but it did".

But for Bruce, the "go figure" it's not a complete mystery anymore: he seems to relate it to cross-contamination between chems, what's really makes sense.

Some time ago I have read in a website from a experienced photographer - which I don't recall the name anymore - that spots can appear sometimes by the stop bath, and that's why he used to plunge the negatives into a 1 minute water bath before the stop bath - with diluted acetic acid.

Cheers,

Renato

[jp]

Some time ago I have read in a website from a experienced photographer - which I don't recall the name anymore - that spots can appear sometimes by the stop bath, and that's why he used to plunge the negatives into a 1 minute water bath before the stop bath - with diluted acetic acid.

Cheers,

Renato

Won't happen with Tmax, but some weaker films will get tiny pinholes from the chemical reaction of the stop bath. They are very easy to see.

[agregov]

The white specks are probably dust. The dark splotches are something to do with chemistry IMO. I'm an XTOL user and have encountered this phenomenon (dark splotches) with Tri-X sheet film. I saw the splotches occur from a same developer mixing as no splotches, so I don't believe it was XTOL in my case. I process in a Jobo (3010 drum) so I don't believe it was an agitation issue for me. I experimented with adding a pre-wash and diluting my stop bath to twice recommended strength (weaker). I was never able to narrow it down as it was an intermittent occurrence. But my guess it was stop bath for me. I think the theories around old fixer are also plausible. As a next step, I would make sure your development tanks are well washed and start by using fresh stop bath and fixer (one shot as others recommend) and see if that solves the issue long term. Continue to work backwards from there.

[loonatic45414]

Four things I've learned to incorporate... 1) vacuum the bellows periodically, 2) give the film a final rinse with distilled water after development, 3) dry film in a place with as little moving air as possible, 4) use a funnel with a filter when pouring chemical in a bottle or transfer as such before use.

My one question involves drying. Blot, squeegee or hang wet diagonally?

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

[Sazerac]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I should have clarified that the white is the dust from the negative/scanner. Those are just part of the process and something that I can identify and deal with. I'd love to save up some money and get an 850 for wet scanning, but for now I'll limp along with what I have (an ancient 2450) which just a perfectly good job of scanning my banal and sometimes amateurish images while I am learning LF. ;)

I like the fixer idea because I haven't seen these dark bubbles occurring on my color images. I probably have used the same container for fixer way too long. I typically mix a fresh bottle of fixer to coincide with each 5L of XTOL but I have been re-using the same container for some time. I don't think that the fixer is completely exhausted when I dispose of it, but it keeps me on track to have fresh chemistry. I also mix a new stop bath at the same time.

Thanks again for everyone's ideas! I'll get a new bottle for fixer and mix up the spare stock to see if that solves it.

[Sazerac]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I should have clarified that the white is the dust from the negative/scanner. Those are just part of the process and something that I can identify and deal with. I'd love to save up some money and get an 850 for wet scanning, but for now I'll limp along with what I have (an ancient 2450) which just a perfectly good job of scanning my banal and sometimes amateurish images while I am learning LF. ;)

I like the fixer idea because I haven't seen these dark bubbles occurring on my color images. I probably have used the same container for fixer way too long. I typically mix a fresh bottle of fixer to coincide with each 5L of XTOL but I have been re-using the same container for some time. I don't think that the fixer is completely exhausted when I dispose of it, but it keeps me on track to have fresh chemistry. I also mix a new stop bath at the same time.

Thanks again for everyone's ideas! I'll get a new bottle for fixer and mix up the spare stock to see if that solves it.

[loonatic45414]

If you filter your fixer before using it, even if you transfer it to another bottle, that helps a lot.

I prefer one-shot myself, using a liquid fixer, 3 mL of the Photographers Formulary per 35mm/120 roll for most, 4 mL for Tmax, or 6 mL in 320cc in my Jobo when doing four 4x5 sheets then toss. The concentrate doesn't slime up & lasts forever.

You could probably mix the Kodak fixer in 1/4 the water then dilute for use to avoid the slime.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

[seezee]

If you filter your fixer before using it, even if you transfer it to another bottle, that helps a lot.

This funnel from FPP (http://filmphotographyproject.com/store/darkroom-supplies-16oz-funnel) has a fine mesh filter. I use it when re-bottling my fix. Very effective at keeping crud out of it.

[loonatic45414]

Coffee filter works too

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk

[Sazerac]

Well, I got a new bottle of fixer and a new container and it didn't solve the problem. I am using a MOD54 with XTOL at 1:1. I pre-soak for 1 minute and develop as normal. I guess the next thing to try is to mix the chemicals with distilled water to see if there are mineral issues with the tap. I have a basic filter on the cold line, but maybe something is getting through. Also, I feel like I dislodge all of the bubbles after each inversion, but maybe I need to give it a harder knock! ;)

[Michael Rosenberg]

If you use a filter it should be a 0.5, 1, or 5, micron filter to get out particles. These are membrane filters you can order from USA plastics, but you also need a hand pump to pull a vacuum. Even the distilled water will have particulates. It could be you need to look at agitation. I was very surprised how switching to rotary developing fixed uneven development.

Mike

[Michael Rosenberg]

One other thought. Is it possible that your developer is not completely dissolved, and that you have small crystals floating around and sticking to the film? You may want to try filtering the developer, or mixing longer while in a warm water bath to make sure everything is dissolved.

Mike

[IanBarber]

Well, I got a new bottle of fixer and a new container and it didn't solve the problem. I am using a MOD54 with XTOL at 1:1. I pre-soak for 1 minute and develop as normal. I guess the next thing to try is to mix the chemicals with distilled water to see if there are mineral issues with the tap. I have a basic filter on the cold line, but maybe something is getting through. Also, I feel like I dislodge all of the bubbles after each inversion, but maybe I need to give it a harder knock! ;)

I was having issues like this so rather than knock the tank on the table, I rap the side 3 times with a wooden spoon. Maybe its coincidence but (touch wood) not had a problem since

[Sazerac]

Thanks for the tip! I had originally suspected that it might be the developer so I'll give that a try. Would the undissolved crystals be visible?

[Dirk Rösler]

I have been using the same fixer bottle for 10 years, every time I wash it when doing a new mix small bits come out. I have never done one-shot fixing. I do rotary processing and never had a problem. Go figure! I can't see how particles can settle on film doing rotary. All my fixing errors so far were related to some sort of agitation issue (or lack thereof).

[Sazerac]

OK, so the plot thickens. I just got some color images back and I have two back-to back shots that are 1-stop difference in exposure. both are the same lens, same position but one has the spots and one doesn't. If it's not the developer, the lens or the camera could it be the film holder?

161502

161503

[Andrew Tymon]

If you turn the image on its side it looks like drips running down a surface to me.

[Sazerac]

I agree which is why I thought that it may have to do with the development process. Both of the images were processed at the same time in the same lab.

[seezee]

OK, so the plot thickens. I just got some color images back and I have two back-to back shots that are 1-stop difference in exposure. both are the same lens, same position but one has the spots and one doesn't. If it's not the developer, the lens or the camera could it be the film holder?

161502

161503

It's not as obvious in the 2nd image, but the marks are there too. Agree they look like drip marks.