Sean, thank you so much for the shout and the kind words. Seriously means a lot coming from you as a big fan of what you do, whether it’s your photos or this channel. I’m really glad the videos were helpful for you and I’m sure this one will be for many more to come. You did a great job with this one. 📷❤️🎞

If you can, please store chemicals (developer, stoping bath, fixer, all separately) in canisters or bottles and once these are full, drop them to waste or recycling centres. These kind of places are in almost every city in developed or developing countries, pun intended. ;) Small amounts of chemistry shouldn't do any harm to water supplies, but minimising it is one of the things we're all could do better. I'm doing it since 2003 and this kind of responsibility is a part of the process for me.

Great video, always great to see how-to videos on developing film. I would recommend NOT unspooling the entire film out from the canister or the film roll ahead of spooling to the Paterson reel. Instead pull the film out so you have a few inches, then spool right to the reel, twist/crank the reel to pull the film out of the canister/roll and into the reel. This avoids you potentially twisting, kinking, touching (ie 3:52 7:49) the film while you are in the changing bag. Also regarding the disposal of the development chemicals. At 21:52 I would highly recommend folks to NOT pour these film development chemicals down the drain, it's not good for the environment. Instead I bottle mine up in a separate recycle container (like a plastic milk container) and bring this down to my local waste disposal company. Most of the waste management companies offer a free service to dispose of harmful chemicals such as for paint products and they will also take the used film processing chemicals as well. Hope this helps. Cheers!

Can I recommend that even when you’ve not used all of the reels that a tank comes with, you put them in the tank anyway. This stops the full reels from moving up and down the black centre-piece and possibly leaving the film out of the developer

Yes! I love the shoutout to Matt! One of the things I love about the film community is how tightknit and small it really is at its core :)

Hi Sean. I can suggest 3 things. As I know, Paterson tanks need only 500ml for 120 film. It is indicated on the bottom of the tank, and is the amount I'm using without problems. You can reuse stop bath multiple times. In fact, Ilford's has an indicator with its color. But I test it touching it and, if it feels rough, it's OK, if it feels soapy, no. And for fixer, not all films need the same time, Kodak Tmax, for example, needs much more time. And it also varies with the strengh of the fixer. I usually cut a piece of film and put it into the fixer. I use 2x the time it takes to get totally transparent.

Started processing film in 1957 in a Yankee Clipper Tank. Then moved to center threading stainless steel...for me, bygones in the digital age. Some tips though;120/620 film, I used to leave the paper back on and let it fall away as I rolled the film onto the reel. Separate the tape from the paper when you get to the end. Reduces fingerprints and offsets some of the film's tendency to curl during loading/handling. Trim a very slight bevel on the corners of the film before starting to load the reel. That reduces the likelihood of a sharp corner snagging as you load. 35mm: I always rewound my 35mm fully into the cassette. That's how I knew the difference between an exposed roll and a fresh one if labeling or other method got messed up. An old fashioned bottle opener popped off the non spindle end of the cassette. Leave the film on the spool as you load, handling is easier. Cut off the tongue and cut the bevel. But an extra caution here; Make sure the cuts are between sprockets (not through the sprocket hole) or the chances of a snag really increase. If you do choose to use a squeegee after washing and wetting agent, make sure the squeegee is very, very clean and wet it in the last wash water (either rubber or sponge type). Try to go over the film only once, if possible, and in one direction only. Keep the film in the same orientation. Remember, the emulsion is super soft at this point until it dries and scratching is even easier to do than usual. Squeegees are frequent culprits of scratched emulsion. Add an extra clip at the bottom of the drying film to avoid any chance of nasty curling.

Hi Sean, just a couple of points and suggestions... 1. I prefer to load the 35mm straight from the cassette unto the reel rather than pulling it all out first. The long length of film can really get twisted together and hard to straighten in the bag (or even in the darkroom with the lights out) 2. Try not to touch the surface of the emulsion when handling the film. 3. The stop bath solution can be reused multiple times. That's the reason it's coloured. It is exhausted when it turns purplish 4. The wetting agent does not make the film hydrophobic. Instead it reduces surface tension of water so that what remains after squeegeeing will spread evenly and not bead and leave marks after drying.5 5. Don't squeegee too many times. You risk damaging the film.

When I rewind 35mm film, I try to leave the leader sticking out of the canister a bit and not rewind to the point where the film has all gone back into the film canister. Then when I develop, I can trim the film leader square and actually start winding the film onto to Patterson reel before I put them into the changing bag. For me, the hardest part is getting the film lined up and onto the reel correctly.

I would like to ad i few things, washing your film is optional just as using a stop bath, u could just use water to get the developing chems of and stop it, a stop bath is just quicker, i also reuse my stopping chems. Also, I use regular dish washing soap at the end, it works for me to. So if you are a bit short on money just get the tank, developer and fixer and you good to go. Ilford also recommends to wash the film for a minimum of 10 min. Still, very well made video! I can also recommend ''shoot film like a boss'' on you tube. Cheers mate.

Thanks for the memories. I starting doing my own developing about 45 years ago.

I used to love spending time in the dark room!!! I had the same equipment! thank you for taking me back 20 years

Hi Sean, I put your video to the ultimate test, with 40 years experience in photography but zero experience in developing film. I bought a 6x6 pinhole camera to start a complete new project, f 167., of Ondu. Exposed a roll of FP4Plus, that was a challenge itself as pinhole photography is very differrent. Purchased the Paterson starter kit. Developed the film for 4:20 minutes. Precisely followed your instructions and the result is magnificient. Thanks mate - that's been a once in a lifetime experience, ...and it is what amateur photography is all about. Much appreciated, brgds István

After watching the whole video I have to say that this has become my ultimate guide on how to develop film. I watched tons of other videos online in the past few months (as I'm waiting for my Pentax to be fixed at a local store and finally start with film photography) but none of them is so full of information as yours is. You're truly the best Sean, as always. Thank you!

Talk about nostalgia for me. I developed my first film in the mid 1950's as a teenager with essentially the same equipment except that the "premium development tanks" were made of stainless steel and had a narrower top. Developers of choice: D76 or Microdol(?). Other than that it was exactly the same process. Temperature variation was the key element and more sensitive than development time if I remember correctly. Your video makes me want to do this again, even if I have less patience than I had when I was a teenager.

Really great run through of the basic developing process. Just an FYI though, most developers and fixers are *really* bad for the environment to pour down the sink. *Please* look up proper ways to process your developing solutions before you pour them away, or just pour them into an empty bottle and take them to your local waste disposal/recycling centre where they can deal with them properly. I know an occasional hobbyist probably doesn't produce very much waste in the grand scheme of things, but with film photography seeing such a resurgence I think it's really important that we set the right example for everyone who's coming into the hobby. One individual won't have an impact but *millions* of us all doing it definitely will!

I really wasn't expecting this series from you as you always say that you are more of a digital photographer. As always, love the way you teach things and really motivate the rest of us to go create outside of our comfort zone

This film is brilliant because of the clarity of communication you've used to describe the process.

Great video again, brings back memories! I was going to mention about spooling the 35mm film direct from the canister, and getting it started before putting it in the changing bag but it’s already been said here several times! Also as you rewind the camera listen for the film coming off the spool and stop rewinding. Preventing the end going into the canister. If it does go in you used to be able to buy a little retrieval tool, basically two thin pieces of metal which you push into the canister and catch the end of the film. Saved a lot of hassle. I don’t know if they are still available though. Looking forward to the next video, not done the scanning!

I've watched many videos on this subject, but this one was by far the easiest and clearest to understand. I followed your video, took notes, and just completed my first pass at developing a roll of 120 film. I made some mistakes with water temp and timing but based on what I see on the developed film that is hanging off a hanger, it seems to have worked. Thank you so much.

One thing I haven't seen anyone mention in these videos relates to that bit of tape holding 120 film onto the paper. Some people like to leave it on and fold it over, as in this video, others cut it, and still others tear it at the film. All fine - but when you peel it off the paper or off the film, DO IT SLOWLY. This tape actually produces sparks from static electricity if you rip it off quickly, and depending on where the body of your film roll is at the time these sparks can actually leave light impressions on the film, like little tick marks. If you do this in the open, in a darkroom, you can clearly see the sparks. I try to have the film roll cupped in my right hand when I peel the tape, just in case there are sparks, so the film is mostly shielded, but the most important thing is to peel slowly.

Film developing at home can have environmental impact as well as lead to issues in your home. Study before developing or making a darkroom for prints. Home with well water and septic system: Ph levels in developer and stop bath can change your ph levels in your well water. The acidic levels in stop bath can actually lower a ph in your well and affect the water that goes into your well, over time. This can lead to low ph on your home, which will damage and erode copper piping and lead to leaks in the house, and a rusted water heater. Eroding pipes can put metals in your drinking water, not safe. Fixer can leave silver in your septic and well systems, don’t ever dump fixer in a drain. Septic systems themselves can also be damaged with film developing and darkroom printing . Most film companies advise against processing at home with a septic system. The running of water for long period for rinsing film and especially fiber prints can over flood your septic and cause major issues with your leaching fields and ecosystem of your septic tank. The chemistry itself can also kill enzymes in your system and cause septic back up and even tank damage. Please study the risks before processing and printing at home. If you have a well, or your neighbors have wells, and a septic system, digital is probably the way to go. There may also be laws in your neighborhood or state that prohibit film developing at home. Be advised.

Ok - my appreciation for digital photography just went up a notch Seeing how you fiddle with film roll, making sure you don’t touch the film, using chemicals with precise measurements and timing, and knowing that every single step of this process can ruin your entire work is really admirable.

16:42 digital truth has a devchart app that I find to be absolutely invaluable. You can input the film stock, developer, dilution, ISO if it's pushed or pulled, and it'll give you the development times with a timer. If I used just one film stock I'd go with handwritten notes but I love trying out and playing with different film stocks. It's not a free app, but it's definitely worth the few bucks I plunked down for it.

Error correction: Ilfostop (bath) is not a one-shot use and discard. It is as reusable as the fixer. Even better, it contains a dye which changes the solution color from light yellow to dark purple when it is exhausted. Kodak's Indicator Stop Bath works exactly the same way. If you are just starting doing your own development, you can do yourself a big favor by buying any other brand of tank than a Paterson, which is an example of what you would get if you set out to design the worst tank on the market. Try the AP tank, which is also sold in the US a the rebranded "house" tank at B&H, Adorama and Freestyle (and cheaper too).

As someone who is just about to embark down the road of developing my own b+w film, this is super, super helpful. Thanks so much Sean!

I seem to be watching these in reverse order as I thought I was only interested in scanning negs. Now I fancy a go at developing. You're a bad man ;).

Looking forward to your part 3. Everyone of your KZfaq films are so engaging. It's a feelgood things to watch your KZfaq.

Fond memories of the hundreds of rolls I developed from Jr. High through college as a sports and race car shooter. Thank you for reminding me.

Hey Sean. Pretty thorough tutorial, very well done. I'm sure this will help a bunch of people getting started. Looking forward to part three. 🙂

Although I am not interested in doing this for myself, I have found the process fascinating to see. Can't wait for the next one.

Shawn thank you for the tip on the timer. It’s gonna make things a lot easier.

You can actually re use your stop bath longer than you can your fixer. Speaking of fixer, fixing time should be 5 mins. Agitating will add grain as well as contrast. I agitate 10 seconds every minute around 3 agitations every minute. Great method though.

I'm about to develop a film for the first time and this is the kind of video I was looking for. Thank You.

Brilliant... Brought back 30 year old memory back of the photography dark room at school... It added to my love of it... I brought an enlarger and developing tank but that was as far as I got as a 13 year old boy it got to expensive 😭.... Love digital but I also love printing this would be great to try again 😊... But the Mrs was sat next to me as I was watching " I would like to try this again " 😡was the look on her face 😆... It will happen ... Thanks for this series and all your work massive love ❤️ take care you and family ❤️

Learned all this as well as a few hints and kinks in high school in the 1960s. Used to load my own 35mm cans from hundred foot bulk reels of plus-x and tri-x. Digital dark rooms smell a lot better, but not nearly as much fun.

Thanks for the video Sean. I have watched many different channels on developing film, your workflow is clear and simple. Greets from Worcester South Africa 🇿🇦📷🎞

Beautiful work, Sean. Back with film and my Graflex Crown Graphic 2x3. A childhood camera my parents gave me 70 years ago. What's old is new again. Thank you so much. Loved the tutorial.

Use your stop bath over and over don’t throw it out . Most will turn purple when exhausted.Only fixer having silver compounds should not go down the sink.

Brilliant Sean,,, That episode took me back some years,,, I learnt it at college,,, so i come home built a shed and made a dark room in a third of it,,, complete with enlarger ect... I still have all the equipment,,, my hope was to get back into it when I retired,,, but never did,,, maybe one day tho,,, Looking forward to part 3 now,,, I saw a Quote the other day,,, it said Everyone thinks their a photographer until they put it on M,,, I suppose now you could say everyone thinks their a photographer till they attempt to develop their own??? Best Wishes.

Just tried developing my first 2 rolls of film! 2 mistakes... 1. I buggered getting 1 of the rolls on to the reel. I could tell something went wrong but I couldn't figure out how to fix it while blind. I think the film was touching itself at few places and in these spots it ruined the development. Oh well... only lost 4 photos from a 36 roll film. 2. I full on dumped out my fixer lmao. I'm pretty happy. I was nervous. Thanks for your vids Sean. You're doing great things, mate.

The only thing I would add would be to be very certain that the film is dried in a place that has no dust (or dog hairs etc) flying about. Dust will stick to the wet film and you have to re-wash it to remove it. Also I was never comfortable using a squeegee on my film. One tiny bit of something on the blade would scratch the whole roll. I just ran the film between my wet fingers to remove excess water. The Photo-Flo should cause the water to run off evenly. Good fun!

Oh, memory lane!....I well remember the blisters on my thumb from the stirring rod in those Paterson tanks!.....must dig out my old Nikkormat!...🇬🇧🌈😎🍷

Wow Sean, that takes me back to the late 1970’s. Don’t think the Parrerson kit has changed at all. Back in the day I did B&W, colour negatives and slides. Always fun when it came out at the end. Sadly I sold all my kit. I still have all the negatives, all still useable. I’m going to have to purchase it all again ;-). Good explanation.

So much work and it is not done yet but lots of fun!Thanks for all the work!

I've really enjoyed this mini series on developing film, Sean. It seems like quite a meditative process in a way. Wonderful to have to actually wait for the rewards - something we seldom do in our modern world. Keep up the great work. Hope you're safe and well.

So you're telling me that there's no longer the need for dark room, red bulbs etc.? Mind blown. Thanks for this series. So inspiring.

my favorite as this was my first time and your video was the easiest to follow!! I unspool the whole roll and use the tape side to start the roll on spool, I found this tip really good from another video. Thanks you so so much for this video. I used ur exact measurements in a tank that fit 2 120 rolls

I learned years ago rather than using the film squeegee to remove your photinal(sp?), wet your fingers instead with the solution, using your first and second fingers as a "squeegee": This of course is a matter of preference but one piece of grit or hard substance on your rubber or foam squeegee runs the risk of scratching the swelled and super-soft film emulsion)sometimes from top to bottom).

I have one of these tanks, somewhere! I used to load the tank under the bed clothes. I never used to unroll a 35mm reel. Just cut off the leader and feed it into the spiral and unroll the cassette as you wind it on. Thanks for the memories! PS: no comments about adding used developer and stop bath to the water system? These chemicals used to be highly toxic, suspected of causing cancer etc.

You even took the time to film your phone separately, great tutorial man! I won't start with film any time soon, it absolutely is not my kind of shooting, but i really enjoyed watching your tutorial and am excited to see how the results turn out!

This was such an exciting process to watch!! I have searched this many times and never really felt confident enough to develop my shots I took abroad as I didnt want to mess them up. You took us through step by step and now I think I am ready to give it a shot!

Great video's Sean. You know you can reuse stopbath just like fixer. Mark. Calif.

Great video Sean, as always! I'm really curious about film even though I actually started in photography doing film about 15 years ago but changed to digital quite soon after that and forgot all about the process. Just recently I've been having that itch to go back again and learn it and experiment with it. Can't wait to see the last part of this series, thank you for sharing it! Keep up the good work and stay safe! Greetings from Scotland!

Love this focus on your film photography!

Oh Dear ! There are couple of things I would never do myself. There's no need to pull out whole film as you can pull it gradually from cassette during this process and the main reason why is if you do that you risk scratching the film and develop micro static electricity discharges causing small white marks over your photos. Another problem is leaving your fingerprints on film where developer will have limited access and may leave uneven grain density in places. I've developped hundreds of rolls and thank God for digital photography !

Thanks for taking the time to do this video. Brings back a lot of memories. Not too sure about tiping the chemicals down the sink like that. Terrible for the environment ;-(

Hi Sean, good to see you getting in film - good you, I want to recommend the Samigon Multi-Format Autofeed Reels for use with 120 film. The Samigon reels have the wider feed ramp that makes working with 120, much easier. And for 135, when you rewind your 135, go slowly, and listen for the click when the film comes off the take-up reel and then STOP. Now you can pre-feed the leader onto the Paterson reel (before putting it in the bag) - leaving the film safely in the canister. These two methods have a high success rate. Cheers.

Another great video. Love watching and learning process of bringing the photos to life.

Great video. You have a good way of simplifying and explaining for beginners like me

Thank you so much for this video. This gives me complete confidence that I could develop my own b&w film one day. No scanner setup currently, but I’m heavily considering it! Thanks again!!

You never fail to inspire us thank you Sean❤❤

You’re amazing. Thanks for sharing this stuff. Your work is top notch. I’m always left inspired after watching your videos.

Sean ruin 2 films for us and that was so helpful, thank you very much 👍🏼

Forgot to add …. some great tips there .Thank you .

This is fun to watch. I can’t wait to see your results!

This is what am going to do in 2020 develop b/w film. Thank you for uploading.

I've processed a few rolls of 35mm in the past, the issue I never solved was the negative had a crazed pattern, like fine random lines on some parts of the frame. Back then we never had internet or smart phones so it was hard to find answers. At the time someone suggested my temperature was off. Producing a print involved an enlarger and more chemicals. All this was done in the spare room at home, which took me a couple of days to make "light proof". Loading the film from spool to reel was practised over and over with an old film until I could do it with my eyes closed. Happy days 😀

You are amazing. Thank you!

Massive Development app will give you all the data you need for developing different films in different developers

Thanks for this very useful video Sean. I’m yet to try developing my own film but when I do I’ll be sure to circle back to you video.

The AP pro tank has been made more of a standard for hand developing over the Paterson and chemical wise is a little bit better when doing bulk development and there are also no dark bag needed feeder solutions.

Sean, so good! Just published a video on my experience shooting and developing film. Wish I would have had your video as a resource -would have saved me from losing a few rolls of film. Cheers!

Sean, I used to hate you and detest your videos. They would often "trigger" me. Now I love you. Strange times indeed.

When using 35mm, if you can avoid rewinding all film back into cassette makes things far more easier. No need to take end off cassette. When loading onto tank reel makes things a lot more smoother, ease out a length at a time when spooling, also avoids having lots of film spiralling in the bag. Not a criticism just a tip. 👍

It's easier IMO to unroll the paper as you're loading the film on the spool. Once the paper is gone, the film curls and gets very hard to load onto the spiral. I'm sure the final rinse should be at least 10 minutes. Nice results, though.

we did it the same way in high school in the 70s

For me, the hardest bit of film photography isn't the developing it's learning to live within a constraint of 24 or 36 images per roll again. Digital photography has made me wasteful. Great video Sean.

Thank you very much for the video and the information Sean, was planning on getting into film photography myself and your video and the references you gave are really helpful ☺️

Nice demo, Sean. Thanks!

Wait... You pour it down the sink drain all the time? Is this a good idea? I mean isn’t there a reason that actual darkroom and processing facilities whether old studios or photo schools use chemical drums to dispose used chemistry safely with the environment?

I would also reccomend looking at Ed Pavez on here, he’s done some very good videos on film and film photography. From there I started using cinestill DF96 mono bath, it’s one solution and pretty no fuss. It’s not as easy to control but you basically can’t over develop it. It will stop itself.

Watched atleast ten videos and ended up choosing to follow along with you. Did everything you said and just saw my roll and it worked out! Making a video on my channel about it soon. Thanks for making this video mate!

Careful on the 120 film when spooling onto the reel not to push in (dent) the film. You can end up with a dark half moon shaped mark that will appear as a white mark on your print.

Memories!!! I am getting all sentimental here! 🥰 Just one remark: I am surprised you're flushing those chemicals down the sink! We always collected ours and brought it to the collection points for chemicals and hazardous waste here in Germany. Shouldn't that be standard practice in the UK, too? Thanks for this trip down memory lane! 😘😍🥰

About the tank, i prefer to use the "Rondinax 35U" by Agfa, or the LabBox by Ars Imago...so you don't need any changing bag and you can process easly where you want with just the chemicals =)

I have been thinking about trying film again - I had hoped the Patterson spool process would have been improved since the 1970’s ! I well remember numerous times getting 75% on the spool and then it sticks.

Very detailed and understandable. Thank you!!!

Hi Sean! Love your videos mate. FYI you can reuse your diluted Ilfostop until it turns purple ish, then you know it’s exhausted.

Imagine being late on a Sean Tucker's video.

Many thanks for the video very informative

Great video, very helpful, always reliable. Thanks for making these beautiful and informative videos.

you have been an inspiration. hoping to learn more from you.

Thank you for yet another great video. Though for me, this video helps to remind me why digital photography is such a marvel! On a side note, from my film developing times, I recall that the squeegee caused more scraches on the emulsion than is saved me drop marks.

You should try One Bath from Cinestill..It's literally just one chemical, it's simple, easy to use and work as good. Saves me a lot of time developing and makes me want to shoot more.

Sean...we call that can opener that looks like an old beer bottle opener, a "church key".

That was a full body punch in the nostalgia. Unfortunately here all the ingredients are too much expensive to develop films. =/

Very good video. Many thanks for all the advice

That takes me back to the 80s. First my father showed me. He worked at a college and we had access to a darkroom. Then I made one in the house as a teenager.

Arista film spools are much easier to use and fit in the Patterson tanks. Arista spools have bigger “notches” to load the film without it popping out or jamming.