Last week was a pretty big week at WFLBC Headquarters, aka my garage. I home developed my first roll of film. It was a roll of Japan Camera Hunter StreetPan 400 black and white film shot with my Minolta Hi-Matic AF2. A reliable combo which eliminated equipment failure as an excuse for poor results.

Home developing has been on my to-do list for a few years. I've talked myself out of it many times. I didn’t have the space. I didn’t have the time. A bunch of excuses that didn’t hold water. I was scared. I found the prospect of developing film intimidating. Enter the current global pandemic.

My local lab, the appropriately named “The Lab” in Vancouver, was running reduced hours with longer turn around times. Their hours and location made visiting nearly impossible.

Basically it was going to be digital only for the foreseeable future. But wait, it's Leo’s Camera Supply to the rescue. After a quick search for home developing gear I found the Ilford/Paterson film processing starter kit. Everything I needed in one box and Leo’s had 1 in stock. A quick phone call to make sure I could actually buy one as they’re “closed” due to covid-19. Thankfully they had online purchasing and curbside pickup with proper social distancing and sanitation measures in place. Good job guys.

The hardest part of the whole process was loading the film onto the reels inside a dark bag. I should mention that the dark bag isn’t included in the kit but I picked one up on Amazon for a decent price. If you have a light tight room in your house the dark bag isn’t necessary. The chemicals were easy to measure out, the tank was simple to use, and the directions were easy to follow. There’s a great app called Dev It that’s super handy for chemical ratios, timing, and everything else related to the developing process. I’d also watch a couple YouTube videos in advance of your first attempt.

Did it going completely perfect the first time? Not even close. I had planned on doing 2 rolls at the same time but botched loading the second roll onto the spool so badly I ruined it and gave up. The roll that I developed had some scratches and other blemishes from fumbling around so long inside the dark bag but I’m pleased with the results overall. The scratched shots have an aged look to them that I kind of like but I’d rather not have as many imperfections next time.

If you’ve been considering developing your own film and haven’t pulled the trigger now is the time. If a clumsy moron like me can do it then it can’t be that hard. The Ilford/Paterson starter kit is a great first step for black and white. Maybe I’ll try color next.

Scott.