[Aaron1971]

We use what is called Bodhi Soap Nuts for laundry detergent. They are the dried fruit of a tree that I believe is in Africa (could be wrong, it's 0530) that has the same characteristics of detergent. Here in Japan there is a big mold problem. My wife tried everything to get the smell out of our clothes, we even ended up throwing some items away. She started using the Nuts and within 2 washings the mold smell was completely gone and we have been using the same bag for 2 months. There are better alternatives out there...

[titrisol]

Given your latitude 400 speed film is handy.
From the ones you have Ilford HP5 and TriX are my favorites, even though the new Delta400 is also veyr good.

You should try to develop film yourself, then you can scan it and send to print without the need for a full-fledged-darkroom.

Now if you decide to send your film out, first decide on a lab and then make a trial to match your exposure to their development. Most labs run standardized cycles and thus thay claim films are too contrasty or too flat meaning only that the exposure is not mathced to their development cycles.

To do that select an "average scene" (one with whites, blacks and all the in-betweens) and then meter the light for box speed.
Expose -2,-1,0,+1,+2 stops from what the metering said, then a blank and then another scene in the same way.
After you send the film you will receive the scans/prints. Check for shadow detail and for whites that are not "bloomed" and select the best of the exposures. It maybe an inbetween as well, even though it is genrally safer to overexpose by 1/2 stops.
In that way the next time you load this film you will set the ISO accordingly. If it was 400 then -2=100, -1=200 [-1/2=320], 0=400, [+1/2=500], +1=800, +2=1600

Re Toxicity/Chemicals
Developer uses the same stuff used in hair dyes plus caustic (drain-o) or sodium carbonate (washing soda), and it is diluted to a point where it is quite safe. You should not drink it (DUH!) but it is safe to put your hands into.
Developers like Rodinal or HC110 are used even more diluted, and vitamin C based developers (Kodak Xtol, Ilford Ilfosol, patterson FX39) are also available.
Stop bath, use citric acid, white vinegar, or just plain water
Fixer is safe by itself (chlorine remover in pools), overtime it tends to accumulate silver from the films (which is a heavy metal) so if you use the fixer one-shot it should not be a problem for the environment given the minute amounts of silver.
Side note:In the US I found that plumbers use silver compounds to maintain the drains by preventing growth of tree-roots in them and that is supposed to be safe for septic systems.

[mk07138]

Just to throw in my two cents, I just started processing my own BW film in my bathroom and its pretty easy to do.

Here is a relatively simple procedure that I found easy to follow:

Flickr: Discussing Developing black and white film on a budget (ish) in I Shoot Film

In fact I have it bookmarked in my browser so I can refer back to it as often as need be.

I've been goofing around with some different films and have had a lot of fun shooting with Delta 3200 at 1600. It suits my personal style very well and it has handled many different situations well, from bright daylight to pretty dark twilight.

I also like Ilford's Pan f plus and fp 4 plus quite a bit.

[jgredline]

Just to throw in my two cents, I just started processing my own BW film in my bathroom and its pretty easy to do.

Here is a relatively simple procedure that I found easy to follow:

Flickr: Discussing Developing black and white film on a budget (ish) in I Shoot Film

In fact I have it bookmarked in my browser so I can refer back to it as often as need be.

I've been goofing around with some different films and have had a lot of fun shooting with Delta 3200 at 1600. It suits my personal style very well and it has handled many different situations well, from bright daylight to pretty dark twilight.

I also like Ilford's Pan f plus and fp 4 plus quite a bit.

Thank you and thank you!!

[mk07138]

No Problem! I just developed a roll of Delta 3200 last night and I'm ecstatic about the results, can't wait to print them. Wish I had a scanner that I could use to show them off. . . . . . but I'm a poor grad student and as such I can barely afford to buy the film, let alone get a scanner to put it all on my computer.

I'm currently waiting rather impatiently for some friends to return from their winter break so that I can use their enlarger and their scanner equipment.

[creampuff]

B&W processing is easy to do and you get much better consistency than sending it to a lab. It does not cost much to get started.

You only need the following:

Equipment:
Light tight changing bag (to remove exposed film and load it on the developing reel
Scissors (to trim the film)
Developing tank with film reels (recommend the plastic Paterson tank)
Funnel
Measuring cylinder (and small plastic syringe)
Containers to hold chemicals
Thermometer
Timer
Film clips

Chemicals:
Developer
Stop bath (some people don't even use it)
Fixer
Hypo clearing agent (removes the fixer and reduces washing, optional)
Wetting agent (to reduce streaks and uneven drying, optional as a few drops of dish washing liquid works too)

Seeing the film developed is very satisfying and easier than most people imagine it to be.

I'd recommend those starting out to use a liquid developer as it is easier to dilute and mix up. e.g. Kodak HC-110, Ilford Ilfotec or Ilford Ilfosol S (what I use). I try not to reuse my developer. Using a developer in powdered form such as Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 is much cheaper but there is the hassle of mixing up and storing that I'd rather avoid.

Usually use Ilford FP4 or HP5 but I'm using Lucky SHD100 (a cheap and surprisingly good Chinese film).
For beginners, I'd suggest not using Kodak T-Max or Ilford Delta.

[Finn]

Stop bath (some people don't even use it)

Count me among those who don't. I used to when I could acquire it locally, but now I have to mail order everything and B&H won't ship stop bath. Now it is just a water rinse, and it seems to work just fine.

[creampuff]

Count me among those who don't. I used to when I could acquire it locally, but now I have to mail order everything and B&H won't ship stop bath. Now it is just a water rinse, and it seems to work just fine.

A stop bath mainly consists of a weak acid. You could use citric acid.

[titrisol]

2 rinses with water seems to be sufficient, however if youw ant to halt development quicker

White (distilled) vinegar diluted 1+4 is sufficient for film
or you can buy citric acid and dilute 1 tablespoon for 700 ml [2x35mm film]

Count me among those who don't. I used to when I could acquire it locally, but now I have to mail order everything and B&H won't ship stop bath. Now it is just a water rinse, and it seems to work just fine.

[HarryN]

Hi - I could use a little advise on taking black and white photos.

My daughter is getting married this spring. She will be wearing a traditional white gown with a lot of white beads. He will be wearing I think a black suit - who knows what shirt type.

The photos would seem to be quite an interesting challenge, as there will be a wide range of lighting conditions and the exposure needed for her dress are quite different than his suit. In general, her skin tends to over expose relative to his skin tone.

Of course there is a photographer who will be mostly taking DSLR photos. I of course will be using film.

As is painfully obvious to many, color photos often don't hold up well. My father's wedding pics in B / W are still fine due to the silver make up, but my wife and I's wedding photos have already lost a lot of color.

I am toying with the idea of taking a few rolls of pictures with Tri-X or something similar. Some of this is for the "effect" and some for the idea that the photos will be around a long time - at least the negatives.

Despite my history with cameras, I don't have an artist eye, but I have used Tri-X back in the 70s and manged to stumble around with it and do a little developing in college. Nonetheless, I don't have time to get set up and goof aournd with developing B / W film right now, so I will need to find a pro film processing shop to do it, or can pay someone here if there is interest.

So, the questions:

- I found TX 135-24 Tri X pan at B and H Photo - is this a a good choice for a situation like this ? It appears to be a silver based film vs the other B / W films that are more like color C41 oriented.

- I have a Spotmatic F w/ 55 / F1.8 that I have had since new and just picked up an ME Super with a 55 and a Vivitar zoom (dang heavy one)

- I am really just staring to get back into taking photos. The last roll was Kodak pro 100UC, but it was mostly outdoor use. (still need to get it developed somewhere good and reasonably priced - ideally with a good scanner)

Most likely, I will shoot with one, and my brother, who is even less adept at photography, with use the other.

(sounds like the 2 stooges doesn't it )

Anyway, any suggestions for film choice and which camera to set up with color vs B / W ?

Thanks

Harry
-

[titrisol]

Hi - I could use a little advise on taking black and white photos.

My daughter is getting married this spring. She will be wearing a traditional white gown with a lot of white beads. He will be wearing I think a black suit - who knows what shirt type.

The photos would seem to be quite an interesting challenge, as there will be a wide range of lighting conditions and the exposure needed for her dress are quite different than his suit. In general, her skin tends to over expose relative to his skin tone.

Of course there is a photographer who will be mostly taking DSLR photos. I of course will be using film.

As is painfully obvious to many, color photos often don't hold up well. My father's wedding pics in B / W are still fine due to the silver make up, but my wife and I's wedding photos have already lost a lot of color.

I am toying with the idea of taking a few rolls of pictures with Tri-X or something similar. Some of this is for the "effect" and some for the idea that the photos will be around a long time - at least the negatives.

Despite my history with cameras, I don't have an artist eye, but I have used Tri-X back in the 70s and manged to stumble around with it and do a little developing in college. Nonetheless, I don't have time to get set up and goof aournd with developing B / W film right now, so I will need to find a pro film processing shop to do it, or can pay someone here if there is interest.

So, the questions:

- I found TX 135-24 Tri X pan at B and H Photo - is this a a good choice for a situation like this ? It appears to be a silver based film vs the other B / W films that are more like color C41 oriented.

- I have a Spotmatic F w/ 55 / F1.8 that I have had since new and just picked up an ME Super with a 55 and a Vivitar zoom (dang heavy one)

- I am really just staring to get back into taking photos. The last roll was Kodak pro 100UC, but it was mostly outdoor use. (still need to get it developed somewhere good and reasonably priced - ideally with a good scanner)

Most likely, I will shoot with one, and my brother, who is even less adept at photography, with use the other.

(sounds like the 2 stooges doesn't it )

Anyway, any suggestions for film choice and which camera to set up with color vs B / W ?

Thanks

Harry
-

Well, IMHO TriX will do a great job
I assume the wedding will be inside? to get good exposure get a grey card (or print one) and meter the light or use a flash
Get in the changing room of your daughter, take many pictures while she dresses, those are generally priceless

From the color films Ilford XP2 super is great for weddings, specially exposed as 200

[HarryN]

Thank you for the inputs. I appreciate it.

Harry

[filmamigo]

I love shooting black & white. I'm just now about to starting developing my own, to date I have been using a lab.

My favourite films are:

Delta 100 for smooth grain, especially in 120. My lab says Delta 100 gives the best results from a scanner.

AGFA APX 400. This has a nice traditional grain, not unlike Tri-X, but I prefer the AGFA. Please note, this IS still available. In Toronto, I was buying a lot of it as AGFA Silvertone (APX rebranded for the educational market) for $2-$3 a roll. It is now available locally as "ARISTA II", which you could also order directly from Freestyle, who are rebadging it.

Delta 3200. This stuff is AMAZING. It looks like 400 speed film that's been pushed one stop, so the blacks and whites are blocked up a tiny bit. But the image quality from very low light conditions is commendable, and often low light conditions are also low contrast so it doesn't hurt that the film is a little more contrasty.

[B Grace]

Another vote for Ilford Pan F as a favorite with Plus-X in second place. I'm currently shooting a free tin of Delta 400 and I'm not fond of the grain. The bad news is I have about 70 feet of it remaining and I'm too cheap to not finish it.

I often read of the efforts folks expend in controlling the chemicals during processing and printing and I chuckle a little. The enlarger and sink room in the lab I used during college was anything but controlled with a mass of folks dipping and dunking prints in large water-bathed trays with the grad assistants changing the chemicals every hour or so. I thought nothing of it and I still like many of the prints I made.