Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Bulking up redux

So just to recap:
  1. Found a bulk loader at the thrift store
  2. Stopped at Walgreens to grab as many empty film canisters that they had, after unsuccessfully trying this at Rite-Aid this morning (their mini-lab machine is long gone)
  3. Found out that not only does the photo lab next door not carry bulk film (expected), but also -- to my dismay -- the photo place they partnered with for developing chemistry went out of business. A year ago.
So now I'm on the cusp of making the big financial outlay: buying the actual film, and (now) the powders to mix up my own magical brew to process this film. I'm already loathe to spend "real" money, and now it looks like I'm going to be laying out more to get the chemicals shipped to me. Total financial outlay to date is $1.09 for the loader, plus tax. Total projected outlay for this project... priceless? No, wait, that's not right.

Tell me again that film is worth it. I'm having my retro-tech regrets a bit early, and all because I need to spend an extra $15 or so plus shipping for chemistry. I need talking down here, people. Deeeeep breathing.

3 comments:

Olivander said...

Dude, do it. My last batch of Diafine finally died after something like 2 years. Once you take the plunge into home development, you'll be amazed at how quick and easy it is. I have the process down to 20 minutes from camera to rinse. And Diafine is practically fool-proof. Works at any temperature you yourself are comfortable in; no fiddling with different development times for different films; as pointed out above, has a ridiculously long shelf life. The only thing is that it's inherently a push-process developer. You need to expose with that it mind. But it's okay, because Diafine comes with a table that tells you what exposure to shoot at for various films. If you've got a darkroom or -bag and a bathtub, you're set to go!

Strikethru said...

I am wanting to see a documentary film about this effort, actually. One of us typecasting types has to make the leap into video documentation of our endeavors.

mpclemens said...

The wife wants a Flip camera so bad, too. I'm not sure I want my ugly mug plastered all over the 'nets, especially as it struggles to read developer-stained notes I wrote down years prior.