How soon after shooting do you develop?

[Daniel_Buck]

I curious for those who don't shoot professionally (or for those professionals, when you are shooting for your personal collection), how soon after you shoot do you get around to developing the film? (large format)

For those who hand off to labs, how soon do you send them off?

Me being so immersed in everything digital at home and at work, I can't stand not seeing my photos soon, so I usually develop them the evening after I shoot, let them dry over night then scan them in the next evening after work. I'm also fortunate enough to live close by to sooo many nice areas for shooting (I go to Malibu, CA usually) I don't have to travel very far to shoot, so I can process within hours of shooting.

[Ole Tjugen]

In my case, it's "all of the above".

Some times I get it done right away, but other times it can take several months...

[Walter Calahan]

I can wait a few days. My life is full of deadlines, so who needs more.

[Diane Maher]

I can wait a few days. My life is full of deadlines, so who needs more.

Me too. I have some negatives waiting to be developed from the View Camera Conference still. However, I am working on a few prints at the moment that I need to get done and they have to get done first. I'll go back to developing film next week.

[evan clarke]

I always make 2 sheets of the same exposure so I can fine tune the second sheet if the first is not where I want it. I try to develop sheet 1 in a week or so, print it and study the print to make a good decision about the second sheet. If I am happy with the first one, I store the spares for a later experiment...EC

[Louie Powell]

No definitive answer - it all depends. If I am working around home, I may process the same day. If I am away, then I wait until I get home. I generally try to accumulate two or more sheets to process at a time, so a single sheet may have a longer dwell time than a batch.

And of course there is the matter of fitting processing in around the honey-do projects that always seem to take priority.

[Ralph Barker]

It's a wise man who gives priority to his honey-do list.

[fotographis]

If I am shooting Black and White, then I usually process within a few days. However, if I am shooting chromes, I usually wait until I have amassed enough film (both LF and MF) to justify buying the 5 liter one shot Kodak E6 kit, which only lasts a week before certain chemicals in the kit go to pot. I process all my film in a Jobo CPE.

[Oren Grad]

Anywhere from 15 minutes to several months.

[Ole Tjugen]

... to justify buying the 5 liter one shot Kodak E6 kit, which only lasts a week before certain chemicals in the kit go to pot. I process all my film in a Jobo CPE.

I have the 3-bath 5 liter JOBO chemical kit, and only mix as much as I need for each developing session. The stock chemicals last for years unopened, and at least a year when opened. I do all my E6 processing with a JOBO CPE-2 - small films in reels, 5x7" and up in paper drums.