PDF · 24 pages
Home Developing Guide
Every step of developing black and white film in a bathroom, with photos.
A roll of HP5 going into the camera on the stairs.
A free letter, every Friday
One roll, from the camera to a print
My first roll of the winter, from loading it on the stairs to a fibre print drying over the bath.
A roll of HP5 going into the camera on the stairs. 01Load
Load it in the shade
I load the film on the stairs, out of the sun, and wind on until the counter reads one. A fogged start costs me two frames, never the roll.
My card of times taped above the bath. 02Develop
Develop it by the clock
In the bathroom with the light off I wind the film onto the reel, then it is all timing: developer, stop and fixer, at the times on my card.
A contact sheet with two frames ringed in red. 03Choose
Choose on the contact sheet
I print the whole roll on one sheet and go over it with a loupe. Most rolls give me one frame I want to print large, some give me none.
The quay in fog, the print that came from this roll. 04Print
Print it on fibre paper
Under the red lamp I make a test strip, then the print, and hang it to dry over the bath. This one was the fog on the quay.
Latest posts
- 52
Developing my first roll of the winter
The bathroom, the tank and the timer: how this week’s roll came out.
- 51
Loading film without fogging the start
How I load a camera in the shade so the first frames stay clean.
- 50
Reading a contact sheet with a loupe
How I choose one frame from thirty-six, and what I mark on the sheet.
- 49
The tram in the rain
One wet street, one tram and a slow shutter speed.
- 48
Fog on the quay
Cranes in the fog, and why grey days are good for black and white.
- 47
A stairwell and one shaft of light
Metering for a bright window in a dark stairwell.
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About me
I have shot film for thirty years, and for the last ten I have developed it at home, in a bathroom with a towel under the door. I walk the city with one camera and one roll: the trams, the quay in the fog, the stairwells of old buildings.
Every Friday I send a letter about one roll: what I shot, how I developed it and what I learned from the contact sheet. What I sell is what I wish I had when I started: a developing guide, a chart of times, a kit list and two courses, one for your first roll and one for printing.