[BigMackCam]

A couple of days ago I finished shooting a roll of 35mm Fomapan 400 that will be my second for home processing. This evening, I decided to transfer the film into my tank, in advance of developing it tomorrow. But I did something stupid...

Working inside my Paterson changing bag, I used my bottle opener to get the top off the film canister. In doing so, I scratched my thumb against the sharp open edge. It felt sharp, and I wondered momentarily if I'd nicked myself, but thought not. I took the film out, loaded it onto the reel, put that in the tank, put the lid on the tank, then took my arms out of the bag - at which point I discovered that I had cut my thumb, and it was bleeding. Not profusely, but a drop or two... and it was smeared on the thumbs of both hands - which leads me to think some of it got onto the edges of the reel, possibly the edges and back of the film, and - whilst unlikely - perhaps even the leading end of the emulsion side too, when I was threading it into the reel :0

What to do?

My first thought is that maybe an hour before I begin development, I could fill the tank with room temperature water, let it stand for a few minutes, agitate, repeat that a few times; then empty the tank, refill with clean water and do the same thing again. Hopefully that will dissolve and remove any blood before I move onto the development stage.

Do any of our esteemed and more-experienced film shooters have other suggestions?

Even if it's washed off completely, will the blood affect the emulsion in any way?

In case I'm unable to remedy this, does anyone know the correct development times for box-speed Fomapan 400 in Rodinal 1+50 plus ~2ml A RhD positive?

Next time, I'll be more careful (or find something else to screw up)

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 01-04-2022 at 12:06 PM.

[StiffLegged]

It’s already coagulated. You’re screwed.



Well, probably not completely, but you’re right, you’ll find something else to bork next time. Just carry on and stew it through the juice!

[BigMackCam]

It’s already coagulated. You’re screwed.



Well, probably not completely, but you’re right, you’ll find something else to bork next time. Just carry on and stew it through the juice!

LOL

Well, I figure all's not lost... Either the shots come out OK and I post a few of them here, or they don't... and I post them over at lomography.com instead

[JohnMc]

It always calls for blood.


The standard 60 second pre-soak will do what it can and as you don't know how much or where, it makes little sense to do any more. Just remember, nothing makes the cut feel better than stop bath.

[StiffLegged]

Either the shots come out OK and I post a few of them here, or they don't... and I post them over at lomography.com instead

Job’s a good ‘un then!

[BigMackCam]

It always calls for blood.


The standard 60 second pre-soak will do what it can and as you don't know how much or where, it makes little sense to do any more. Just remember, nothing makes the cut feel better than stop bath.

Ha ha I should be OK... I'm just using water in between the develop and fixing cycles

[BigMackCam]

Actually, even if the shots are ruined, I can still get something useful from this (aside from learning to be more careful)... I've heard that Fomapan 400 doesn't do that well in Rodinal, coming out very grainy. I'm sure there'll be a few shots that don't have blood on them, or at the very least several areas of each shot that aren't contaminated... so I'll be able to examine the grain and decide if I want to continue with Rodinal for my next roll of the same film. If nothing else, it'll further my education in film developing

[StiffLegged]

… nothing makes the cut feel better than stop bath.

That only stops the bleeding. You still have a damaged thumb and it needs fixing!

[BigMackCam]

That only stops the bleeding. You still have a damaged thumb and it needs fixing!

I see what you did there... After the stop bath, the film needs fixing, but so does the thumb. Very clever. You weren't in the Cambridge Footlights by any chance, were you?

[FozzFoster]

For film development, when adding 1 part blood, be sure to equally match 1 part sweat and 1 part tears.

[StiffLegged]

You weren't in the Cambridge Footlights by any chance, were you?

Not I, I only met (and photographed) Michael Palin and Terry Jones many, many years ago and just the once. I managed to cut the head off the devoted fan standing behind them who never forgave me. I had nothing to do with the Oxford Revue either!

[Dartmoor Dave]

The effect of the blood will depend on what sort of places you were photographing. If they were normal, happy places then you should be fine.

But if they are dark places where bad things once happened? Oh, boy. . .

It's probably too late now and the blood on the film will have awakened malign forces on its own. I suppose you could try an exorcism ceremony, or just use holy water throughout the development prcoess, but basically: you're doomed. Any lurking evil in those places that you photographed will have fed on your blood on the film, and now there's a psychic link that can never be broken between you and those eldritch forces that will never rest until they've claimed your soul.

!

[BigMackCam]

But if they are dark places where bad things once happened? Oh, boy. . .

It's probably too late now and the blood on the film will have awakened malign forces on its own. I suppose you could try an exorcism ceremony, or just use holy water throughout the development prcoess, but basically: you're doomed. Any lurking evil in those places that you photographed will have fed on your blood on the film, and now there's a psychic link that can never be broken between you and those eldritch forces that will never rest until they've claimed your soul.

That sounds awful, David... so, given the circumstances, would you stick with the Massive Dev Chart timings or... ? Where's Clive Barker when you need him, eh?

[tuco]

I doubt all frames are lost. Develop it as a single shot.

[jbinpg]

Add a bit of green food colouring, Mike, and you can get a faux-Caffenol effect! - Jack