I have two practice rolls of 35mm that I can use as test rolls. I am not worried so much about messing things up too terribly. However, its just the idea of something I have spent time and effort doing being so fragile for a tense 30 minutes. That is what gets me. I think I am ready. I hope I am ready. I have been reading, re-reading, and watching every video I can about Caffenol. Each one gives a little different recipe, and a little different process. I just hope that I can get it done right.
(11/03/2012):
I got up early this morning and made my way into Johns Creek to visit a photographer that was liquidating her entire dark room. Hoping to pick up a few last minute supplies at a steal. Then I headed into Buckhead to pick up my reels from a jaded former art student. Hopefully my contribution will help him eat tonight.
After these little field trips I suppose I am ready to begin. I’m not working on too much of a time crunch, however I do want to get at least one roll processed before I go out with my girlfriend tonight. At least to get a test baseline done before shooting tomorrow for something that matters.
Starting with a single roll of 100TX that I shot about 4 years ago, if not longer. There lies another problem. I know none of these rolls have been properly temperature controlled. So who even knows if the emulsion is any good, or if any images are going to be present.
As I enter the darkroom I feel strangely confident. I have done this before. Its just like riding a bike. After fighting with the reel a little bit I had everything on and ready to go. I mixed my chemicals according to yet another recipe I found and even though I was told that the mixture smelled foul, it really wasn’t that bad. I did find however that I ended up with way too much after it was all said and done.