Developing medium-format film puts control of your images into your own hands.
Medium format refers to cameras that produce negatives or slides of either 2.25-by-2.25 inches, 6-by-4.5 centimeters or 6-by-7 cm. Since the 1960s, most medium-format cameras have been high-end models from companies such as Hasselblad, Mamiya, Pentax and Bronica with some lower-end models from Yashica and Seagull. At the lowest end, cameras such as Diana and Holga also classify as medium-format. All of these cameras use 120 or 220 film, although Hasselblad also had a film magazine that used the 120 width and height, but produced 70 images on a long roll. Developing film from these cameras can be done at home with some basic equipment.
Instructions
1. Take the film off of the spool from your medium-format camera in total darkness. Remove the paper backing from 120 film. There is not paper backing on 220 film. You can use a changing bag for this process, available from photo suppliers. It is essentially a light-tight plastic bag into which you insert your arms. If you do not have one of these, you can do it in a dark room, but it must be totally dark. Any light leak, even minor, can ruin your film.
2. Load the 120 or 220 film onto the film reel in total darkness. Practice this with a piece of throw-away film that has already been developed. Once you can do it with your eyes closed, you are ready to load the real film for development. At no point can two parts of the film touch.
3. Insert the loaded film reel into the film tank and seal the lid. Once you do this, you can work the rest of the process in room lighting.
4. Mix your chemicals the way the manufacturer recommends, taking care to use the right temperatures. Storing these chemicals takes a special precaution as you need to keep them in brown photo bottles. This will help preserve the chemicals longer by keeping them from exposure to light.
5. Pour the developer into the film tank and close the stopper on the top. Agitate your tank by inverting it repeatedly for the first minute. After that, invert the tank once every minute for the duration of development. Development times will vary depending upon the type of chemical you use and the manufacturer. After the recommended time, pour out the developer and pour in the stop bath. Agitate it for 10 seconds, then drain this chemical. Pour in the fixer and agitate it every minute for a minimum of 10 minutes, although you should give it 20 or more minutes. Empty the fixer and place the film tank under temperature-controlled running water for 40 minutes or more.
6. Open the film tank and carefully remove the film from the reel. Place one film clip on one end of the film strip and another on the other end. Hang it up to dry from one of these clips. When dry, you can cut the negatives apart in three-frame segments to make them easier to work with in your enlarger or scanner.
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