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[Alpo]

I asked a question last evening. And one of the responses was to ask if I knew how to use Google.

 

I had a dream. In the dream I was making a photograph from a negative.

 

I don't know how to do that. I've seen it on television and movies but I don't know how it's really done. I know how to process film. I've been taking exposed film and turning it in a negative for 20 years or so. You take the exposed film and you put it in a developer, which turns the exposed silver black. You leave it in there for a certain length of time - depending on the temperature of the developer. Once it has been in there the correct time you remove it and put it in the stop bath. This stops the developer from continuing to turn the silver black. It stays in the stop bath for a certain length of time, again depending on the temperature of the stop. Then you put it in the fixer. This does two things. It makes all of the unblackened silver fall off of the acetate. And it makes the blackened silver cling to the acetate. And it stays in the fixer for a certain amount of time, depending on the temperature.

Then finally you take it out of the fixer and you put it in the wash. This washes all of the chemical residue off of the negative.

To make a print, according to TV and movies, you put a piece of photographic paper in a holder. You put a negative in front of a light source, and shine the light through the negative onto the photographic paper. For a specific amount of time.

You notice that termkeeps popping up - for a specific amount of time. That's very damn important in photography.

Once you have exposed the photographic paper, you turn off the light source, then you take the exposed paper and put it in the developer. For the correct amount of time. Then you put it in the stop. Then you put it in the fixer. That's as far as they ever go in the movies. The picture shows up on the paper while it's in the fix.

So my question was does it have to be washed, like a negative does. They never do that in the movies.

Instead of asking, and drawing down more wrath from people that feel that I should do my own research instead of asking other people, I went to the search engine.

I asked it how to make a photograph from a negative.

All of the hits were telling me how to do it digitally on my computer, using this program or that program or the other program.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=making+a+photograph+from+a+negative&t=fpas&ia=web

None of that is what I wanted to know. I did not want to do this digitally, in the light. I wanted to know how to do this - analogly? - in a darkroom.

Edited August 12 by Alpo

[Rye Miles #13621]

Try Chatgbt or Google’s AI Gemini and be specific. 

[Subdeacon Joe]

I asked:

 

I'm getting into film photography. How do I develop the film and get prints? Do i have to wash the print after the stop bath? can you detail the process of printing the photos from the negatives, please 

 

I got this answer:

 

To develop film and make physical prints, you load exposed film into a light-tight tank using a [changing bag](https://www.freestylephoto.com//5470-Ilford-and-Paterson-Film-Processing-Starter Kit), treat it with chemical baths (developer, stop bath, fixer), wash it, and hang it to dry. Yes, you must wash photographic paper in a running water bath after the stop bath and fixer stages to make the print permanent.Do You Have to Wash the Print After the Stop Bath?No, do not wash the print right after the stop bath.The stop bath only halts development.You must move the paper from the stop bath directly into the fixer next.If you wash it with water before the fixer, the remaining active chemicals can react unpredictably, and the image will not become permanent.The final water wash happens after the fixer stage.The Process of Printing Photos from Negatives (Darkroom Printing)To turn a black-and-white negative into a physical paper print, you need an enlarger, a red/orange safelight, and four flat trays: Tray 1 (Developer), Tray 2 (Stop Bath), Tray 3 (Fixer), and Tray 4 (Water Wash).Set Up the Enlarger: Place your dry negative into the negative carrier of the enlarger. Turn off white room lights and turn on your safelight.Project the Image: Turn on the enlarger light. Project the negative downward onto the baseboard. Adjust the height and focus knob until the image is the right size and sharp.Make a Test Strip: Place a small strip of light-sensitive photographic paper under a key part of the projected image. Use a card to block parts of it in timed increments (e.g., 2, 4, 8 seconds) to find the correct exposure time.Expose the Full Paper: Place a full sheet of photo paper on the baseboard. Expose it to the enlarger light for the correct number of seconds you found with your test strip.Develop (Tray 1): Slide the exposed paper face-down (then flip) into the paper developer. Gently rock the tray. The image will slowly appear over 1 to 2 minutes.Stop (Tray 2): Pick up the paper with tongs. Let it drip, then place it in the stop bath for about 10 to 30 seconds to stop the chemical reaction.Fix (Tray 3): Move the paper into the fixer tray for 2 to 5 minutes. The print is now safe to view under normal room light.Wash and Dry (Tray 4): Wash the print in a tray of clean, running water for 5 to 10 minutes to wash away residual chemicals. Hang it or lay it flat to dry.

[Sedalia Dave]

Keep asking questions @Alpo. Some of us need to be entertained and occasionally we all learn something.

[Texas Joker]

When using a chatbot once you ask your question tell it to ask YOU x questions to make sure it knows what you want. really dials in the answers.

[Rye Miles #13621]

4 minutes ago, Texas Joker said:

When using a chatbot once you ask your question tell it to ask YOU x questions to make sure it knows what you want. really dials in the answers.

It even offers more info than you ask! 

[Blackwater 53393]

I typed in “How do I develop film and photographs myself?”

 

Google AI responded with a narrative on the subject that was easy to follow and offered video to help explain.

 

I don’t particularly mind the questions, but a lot of the answers are better when I look them up on my own.

[Eyesa Horg]

And then verify here 😎

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

I don’t particularly mind the questions, but a lot of the answers are better when I look them up on my own.

Sometimes the answers are even MORE entertaining than the questions.

[Subdeacon Joe]

I asked for a chart for exposure times for making ptints.

 

 

To make black-and-white photographic prints from film in a darkroom, standard RC (resin-coated) paper processing at 68°F–70°F (20°C) takes about 5 to 7 minutes total per print. Enlarger exposure times vary widely (typically 5 to 30 seconds) based on negative density and height, but chemical processing times remain fixed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Darkroom Print Chemical Timing (RC Paper)

• Developer (e.g., Dektol 1:2): 1.5 to 2 minutes. Agitate constantly by gently rocking the tray.

• Stop Bath: 30 seconds. Stops development immediately and protects the fixer.

• Fixer: 1 to 2 minutes. Makes the image permanent so it is safe to turn on room lights.

• Washing (Running Water): 5 to 10 minutes for RC paper (or 20+ minutes for fiber-based paper).

• drying: Hang or lay flat to dry (takes 15 to 30 minutes). [1, 2, 4]

Finding Your Enlarger Exposure Time

• Test Strip Method: Place a strip of photo paper under the enlarger, cover parts of it with opaque cardstock, and expose it in incremental steps (e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16 seconds). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

• Development Rule: Always develop test strips and final prints to completion (do not pull a print early from the developer to fix an overexposure, as it ruins contrast). Control lightness or darkness entirely using the enlarger timer. [1]

And

 

There is no universal fixed-time exposure chart for making photographic prints from negatives at home. Optimal exposure times—typically falling between 10 and 30 seconds for standard enlargements—depend heavily on your enlarger height, lens aperture, bulb brightness, negative density, and paper sensitivity. Photographers use a test strip method to find the correct time for each unique negative.Standard Starting Points (Averaged Density Negatives)Contact Sheets: 8 to 15 seconds at lens aperture f/8 (enlarger head set to roughly a 16-inch rectangle on the baseboard).Enlargements (8×10 inch): 10 to 20 seconds at lens aperture f/8 or f/11 with a Grade 2 or Multigrade filter.How to Make a Test Strip (Finding Your Time)Set up your enlarger, focus the negative, and close the lens down to f/8 or f/11.Place a small strip of photographic paper (cut from a full sheet) emulsion-side up on your baseboard under an important part of the image.Cover the entire strip with an opaque card, then uncover it progressively in set time increments (e.g., exposing sections for cumulative times like 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 seconds).Process the strip in your developer, stop, and fixer chemistry to see which segment yields the best highlight and shadow balance.

 

And

 

https://pressbooks.cuny.edu/photographywhathowwhy/chapter/printing-the-negative-2/