These photos are from the first rolls of films that I developed myself last year - and as such, they are full of all the beginner mistakes that you make when starting something new. These particular photos have ‘bubbles’ on them, left behind by the chemicals as the film dried after developing. I didn’t realise at the time that there was an optional stage of ‘wetting agent’ that would have stopped this which is frustrating, but here we are.
Funnily enough, I’ve now run out of all the other chemicals I had, and now I have a big bottle of wetting agent just sat in a cupboard haha. We live, we experiment and we learn right!
I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to develop my own films again - on one hand, it was a really tactile, methodical process that I enjoyed doing - and the feeling of seeing the photos that you took straight from the tank was pretty awesome (I must also add that the feeling of a blank roll from the tank is also incredibly gut wrenching - high highs and low lows this film business) . On the other hand, I now have my ME/CFS diagnosis and on top of working full time and all my other hobbies (crochet, knitting, reading and cuddling my cats) developing my own film just seems like something thats easier and less effort to outsource now. (Chronic illness, the gift that keeps giving). I guess I wouldn’t say I would never do it again, just not in a hurry.
If you want an accurate reflection of how this film looks when done right, this is not the post (haha) however I will refer you to this review on Emulsive.
Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Kodak TMax P3200
Location: Harewood House, Leeds
