Sunday, June 17, 2012

Dignans method for color negative film

I found this recipe some time ago, but never tried it like it is. Today I exposed a piece of 35 mm color film, C-41,  and develop it according to Patrick D. Dignan and Donald Qualls, but I changed a little the recipe according to my needs or possibilities:

Bath one:
5,5 g CD4 or 110 ml of a 5% solution of CD4
4,5 g Sodium Sulfite
Water to make 500 ml
(here I left bisulfite out because I don't have it and I don't know why it is there, maybe the bath preserves better but with just sulfite it will last for a while, I hope).
First minute agitation and then leave for some more 5 standing at room temperature

Bath two:
22,5 g Sodium Carbonate
1-2 g Sodium Hydroxide
0,5 g Potassium Bromide
Water to make 500 ml
(in the second bath I used a little of Sodium Hydroxide to get pH = 11,8 instead of 10,9 I was reading, maybe my tap water is too acid, I suppose).
6 minutes always stiring at rooom temperature.

Then I made the bleach bath of Franz Dietrich, dichromate+sulfuric acid, very diluted, 1:5, and just one minute always stiring and then fixer, Sodium thiosulfate, prepared with Sodium Sulfite and Sulphur. See Recipes.

Well, it works very good indeed and without coffee. I think I already tried without coffee but only with sodium hydroxide, some grams only, and it was a disaster. If the second bath was again with sodium hydroxide, it would need some acid to lower the pH. Here are some of the pictures developed in Dignans room temperature method.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

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