Francisco and Oscar, just jump in. I do want to, and will take a community college class on B&W Darkroom Photography at some time in the near future, but in the mean time, it is easy. For now I will work with HP5+ and Tri-X with HC-110. I downloaded the data sheets from the Kodak and Ilford web sites. Ilford also has a good document on first time film processing. There are a zillion websites that have basic how to guides. I did procrastinate for a little while after I bought the supplies, but if my negatives came out alright then it can't be that hard. Believe me, surely there are benefits to having a precise process down, but there was enough latitude in the process to put up with my all thumbs performance.
P
pshinkaw
Guest
I learned how to develop B&W negatives and enlarge photos from my father over 40 years ago. He set up a darkroom in the basement room we used for a fallout shelter. Winter 1962 was cold and a little tense because we lived so close to Washington DC, and temperature control was a little tricky in an unheated basement.
Many years later I volunteered for a couple of summers at a hospital medical illlustration studio/lab, and learned some of the more technical aspects of photofinishing.
These days, all of the information you really need is available on the Web. The rest is just gaiining experience by doing it.
This is one of the better web sites with a succinct guide to B&W film processing. There are probably hundreds more out there. My suggestion is to just start somewhere and get a fee for what it is like. As you gain experience yo u will be better able to judge what works for you best.
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/4792/
However, once you start, you will use A LOT of film! You may also want to start bulk-loading 35mm film. It will cost you less in the long run, especially when you are learning, because not only is it cheaper per exposure, but you can customize the length of your rolls in order to avoid wasting film. For example, if 16 exposures is about all you can shoot during lunch, why waste the other 8 shots or keep the film in the camera until tomorrow? Roll what you need, shoot what you need and develop a roll every day.
-Paul
Many years later I volunteered for a couple of summers at a hospital medical illlustration studio/lab, and learned some of the more technical aspects of photofinishing.
These days, all of the information you really need is available on the Web. The rest is just gaiining experience by doing it.
This is one of the better web sites with a succinct guide to B&W film processing. There are probably hundreds more out there. My suggestion is to just start somewhere and get a fee for what it is like. As you gain experience yo u will be better able to judge what works for you best.
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/4792/
However, once you start, you will use A LOT of film! You may also want to start bulk-loading 35mm film. It will cost you less in the long run, especially when you are learning, because not only is it cheaper per exposure, but you can customize the length of your rolls in order to avoid wasting film. For example, if 16 exposures is about all you can shoot during lunch, why waste the other 8 shots or keep the film in the camera until tomorrow? Roll what you need, shoot what you need and develop a roll every day.
-Paul