Expert: Don Wood - 6/22/2005

Question
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Followup To
Question -
What are the differences with devloping, enlarging, and such with black and white film and color film?  Like how are the steps for doing color film different from black&white film?

 I've taken a basic black and white class but now I'm interested in taking a color photo course.
Answer -
Both films must be loaded into your dark tank in the dark. After the placement in the tank and cover on, then you can turn on the light. Difference between B/W and color film developing lies only in the chemicals used. But when enlarging prints, you must do it in the dark for the color paper. B/W of course, you can use a small red bulb so you aren't truly in the dark. You can see the paper develop and can pull the print when you judge it is fully developed. Color paper development must be in the dark so it is more of a time process with evaluation after the print is dried. You can see the print in the final rinse but not be able to judge the color balance until after the drying process is completed. Did you notice the difference between the final step in B/W and color printing?
There are actually two types of color film development. I was speaking of the negative developing of both processes. With transparencies you must first develop the film as b/w then replacing the image with the introduction of the color developer. Some transparency film requires the use of a bright light to be used before using another step of developing.
Techniques of enlarging are the same in both color and b/w. Dodging, burning in, cropping etc are the same except that with the color you cannot have the safelight on to help you navigate the darkroom.
All this being said, the same question witll not be asked 20 years from now. Everything by then will be done in the digital darkroom. All that we do today are antique processes.
Hope that this helps, thanks, if I can help further, let me know.
Don


         FOLLOWUP


   Ok, so when developing color paper, how does it differ from b&w(developer, stop bath, fix, water wash-steps for b&W)?  And if you develop color paper and pure darkness how do you move it from tray to tray and time it.

Answer
I gotta say it, you do it very carefully. IE, you can have a very dim light under your tray table where you can see it but there is no bounce light to contaminate the developing print. You do have the same steps, color developer, bleach bath, water bath, and stabilizer. I used a deep tank, with the timer sitting 5 feet away from the tank, its phosphorescent letters provided the information for timing. There wasn't enough light leak to make a difference. Darkness is critical for the exposure as any light will introduce a color shift. While in the DR, try closing your eyes and moving from the enlarger to the trays. It requires that you use your hands to locate the tray, and you then dunk the print, your timer starts, I used to start the timer just before I dunked the print, timing it so it hit the fluid right on the button, after the bleach bath you then can turn on the white light. It is more difficult than B/W but the basics are the same.
Difficult to talk about it, requires some work to smooth out the kinks, but it's very satisfying after you have the dry print in your hand.
Another difficulty with printing involves using the proper filtration on your enlarger light to enable the true (actual) colors. I would suggest that you go to the library and get a book on color printing. Or you could Google it and find the information.
Glad to help, please ask again.
Don