Try To Run, Try To Hide

Warning! This is a mostly AI-generated thing.  I am not exactly thrilled with how it was written. 

Have you ever been gifted something, tucked it away, and then forgotten about it? Several years ago, I was given the equipment and chemicals to develop my own film, and it ended up collecting dust for a long time. There were a few reasons for that: I wasn’t actively using film in those days, film can be expensive, and, honestly, the idea of developing it myself was quite intimidating. However, last weekend, a situation forced me to revisit this long-forgotten gift, and it turned into an unexpected adventure.

The Dilemma: Last weekend, I found myself in a bit of a photography predicament. I had taken the wrong lenses for the DSLR I had brought with me, and to make matters worse, I had brought the wrong DSLR for the lenses I had on hand. In my other bag, I discovered a few 35mm cameras with film. One of them was a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 with an automatic lens, so I decided to load it with 35mm film and hope for the best.

DIY Film Development: Initially, I considered sending the film out for professional development, but then I thought, “Why not give it a try myself?” I took my last roll, loaded it into the Canon EOS Rebel 2000, and headed outside to shoot a sacrificial practice roll. That was on November 6th. The next morning, I decided to dive into the world of DIY film development. Little did I know, it would be quite an adventure.

The Trials and Tribulations: If anything could go wrong, it did. The black bag I used for loading the film into the development tank broke, which was a major setback. The film was also slightly exposed to light when I cracked open the canister, leaving me lamenting the potential loss.

Once I managed to get the film onto the reel, I thought I was on the right track. However, it seems the film got off the rails (literally) somewhere along the way, leaving me with another moment of lament.

My containers for mixing the powdered chemicals turned out to be too small, but I was already committed and on a tight schedule, so I decided to approximate the quantities, relying on my best judgment. Since I’m neither a post office worker nor a drug dealer, I didn’t have a scale that could measure quantities as small as I needed. This meant I had to wing it with the powdered chemicals.

Temperature control also proved to be a challenge as I had only one microwave. My chemicals were a little warmer than I would have preferred, but I hoped it would still work.

The Surprise: Once everything was mixed up, I forged ahead with the development process. A fun little side note – the leaky lid of the tank tried to explode off toward the end. Fortunately, I had the foresight to work over the sink, so it wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been.

Needless to say, when I finally finished the process, I was surprised to see images on the developed film. I scanned them that night, and unsurprisingly, the quality was all over the place.

Here is most of the roll:

In conclusion, my adventurous dive into DIY film development might have resulted in images that ended up with that “badly exposed Polaroid” look—entertaining, but not quite what I was aiming for. Nonetheless, this experience has only ignited a stronger resolve within me to perfect the art of film development.

In the next few days, I’m planning to invest in larger containers and mix the chemicals correctly. I’m eager to give it another shot. I’ve already purchased a couple more rolls of film, allowing me ample room for practice and improvement.

As I reflect on the trials and errors of my first attempt, I’m reminded that mastery often stems from repeated practice and learning from mistakes. The haphazard yet intriguing results only fuel my determination to achieve the stunning, high-quality images I envision. This journey has rejuvenated my passion for analog photography and has become a stepping stone toward honing my craft.