A drawer full of film

Film photography has had a resurgence lately. Leica just re-issued the M6 camera, and Pentax said they are working on bringing back a film camera. And there are plenty of “toy” cameras around like the Holga that can be fun to play around with. When I transitioned over to digital I sold all of my film cameras. Over the past 5 or so years I have had some old film cameras given to me. I need to get them out of storage and see if they still work. But if you’re like me, you still have a drawer full of undeveloped film. I even have some single-use cameras in the mix. I recently grabbed one of the single-use cameras and turned it in for development.

Ilford HP5-Plus

The camera I turned over to the photo lab to get developed was the Ilford HP5-Plus 35mm single-use film camera. This panchromatic black & white, negative film camera is pre-loaded with 27 exposures of Ilford film. The camera features a fixed shutter speed, fixed focus wide-angle lens, built-in flash, and is pre-loaded with ISO 400 speed film. The film is in medium contrast and ideal for mixed lighting.

Ilford’s description

This is Ilford’s description of the camera: “If you are looking for a highly versatile and traditional black and white film, look no further! ILFORD HP5-PLUS is a panchromatic film designed for general use in a wide variety of shooting conditions. Exhibiting notably wide exposure latitude, it responds well to use in mixed and difficult lighting and provides medium contrast for greater overall control. It has a nominal sensitivity of ISO 400/27° when developed in standard black and white chemistry, and responds well to push processing.”

The chemicals and the lab

The developing process for the film is critical. There are essentially 4 steps: developer, stop bath, fix, and rinse. The developer turns the silver halides in the film into black and white grains, which create a negative image. The process involves precise attention to the right temperature of the chemical, and the proper timing in the chemical for the appropriate film speed (ISO). The developer temperature is essential as it affects the reaction rate of the developer solution. Generally, the recommended temperature for the developer solution is around 20°C (68°F). If the temperature is too high, the developer solution will develop the film too quickly, resulting in a high-contrast negative. If the temperature is too low, the developer solution will take longer to develop the film, resulting in a low-contrast negative. Always follow the manufacturer-recommended development time for the developer solution with the corresponding film speed. In general, developer time is around 7-10 minutes.

The rest of the steps are not as critical. Next is the stop bath. The stop bath essentially stops the developer’s action. The stop is an acidic solution such as acetic acid or citric acid. The temperature can be in the range of 64-75°F. Now it’s time to fix the film. The fixer makes the image permanent by removing the unexposed silver halides from the film, leaving only the black and white grains that make up the image. The fixer’s temperature is more important than the stop bath. The temperature for the fixer should be around 68°F for about 5-10 minutes. Last is the rinse. The film needs to rinse in fresh, flowing water to remove any residual chemicals from the previous steps. The final rinse should be done for at least 10 minutes.

Now the part about the lab. The photo lab’s machine develops the film with a consistent temperature and proper time when inputted by the photo technician. As a consumer, you expect the film to be developed properly by the photo lab. If the development was properly executed, then you will have usable images. If the development was not done properly, then you will get poor-quality images. I know that single-use cameras have plastic lenses and do not produce sharp images. The environment also contributes to the exposure of the fixed aperture and shutter speed of the camera. If the scene is too dark the images will be underexposed. If the scene is too bright the images will be overexposed. Let’s now see how my images turned out.

My opinion

Do you think my images cover a wide variety of shooting conditions with a wide exposure latitude? Do you think the film responded well to the mixed and difficult lighting conditions? Do you think there is medium contrast within the images? Do you think the film responded well to standard black & white chemistry?

Well… I did have a variety of shooting conditions from nature hikes to Legoland. I even let the niece and nephew play around with the camera too. Out of the pre-loaded 27 exposure film camera, I actually got 28 and ½ frames. Of course, not all the frames turned out. I am showing a sample of the images that are recognizable. As for the wide exposure latitude with medium contrast, I really don’t see that. I see heavy contrast with a narrow exposure latitude.

I do not think the film responded well to the mixed and difficult lighting conditions. For the most part, I felt that they were slightly under-exposed. There were a few frames that looked overexposed, but the shadows were too dark (high contrast).

The last question I asked: Do you think the film responded well to the standard B&W chemistry? I have used single-use cameras throughout the years. They are convenient and great to play around with. It’s fun to see what will turn out because of the lack of controls (aperture and shutter speeds). I have never had a single-use film camera turn out results as bad as this one. The grain is blotchy, messy, and large. I think these images turned out as they did because of the chemistry, not the camera.

B&W developer is the most crucial chemical in the process. The developer needs to be at a steady temperature with the appropriate development time for the corresponding film speed. A fresh developer is also key to good film development. When the developer temperature fluctuates, that affects the exposure latitude and contrast. When the developer is exhausted, it also affects the exposure latitude and contrast. When I developed film by hand I always used fresh developer. The rest of the chemistry is important, but you can use an exhausted stop bath and fixer, and be sure to rinse the film well before hanging it to dry. What do I think happened to my film? I think the temperature was too high, and the development time was too quick, resulting in a high-contrast negative with large blotchy grain.

Conclusion

With my past experience shooting and hand-processing film, I could tell right away something was not right. When I noticed the shallow exposure latitude, high contrast, and blotchy film grain, I knew the chemistry and/or temperature was off. This just made me think that it was time to hit my storage unit and find my old developer reels, tanks, jugs, and temperature gauge. I need to order some film chemistry and try to get back into processing my own film again. That will definitely be a blog post.

I enjoy using single-use cameras. This experience with not deter me from getting more single-use cameras. One of the great things about using a disposable camera is the simplicity, just point and shoot. Use the single-use camera for vacations, holidays, weddings, or just for fun. If you have never shot film before, a single-use camera is a great option. I would recommend the Ilford camera or any of the other brands on the market. There are even specialty cameras that come with filters for creating fantastical scenes or artistic expressions. Now go out and grab a camera and snap away!

Do you like shooting film?