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Talked to my dad about his old Pentax Spotmatic from the 70s and it hit me how much we overcomplicate things today
He said he just shot whatever film was on sale and developed it in his bathroom sink with a coffee can and a thermometer, while I've spent $200 on a motorized film processor and still mess up the temperature by half a degree - has anyone else gone back to basics and actually gotten better results?
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lewis.diana2d ago
Buddy of mine shoots medium format with a old Rolleicord from the 50s. He develops everything in his kitchen sink. Uses a plastic storage tub for a water bath. Coffee filters for agitation. We're talking zero gear beyond the camera and some chemical powder. His negatives look incredible. Perfect grain, no scratches, consistent density. Meanwhile I've got a temperature controlled Jobo outfit and still get uneven development sometimes. He laughed when I told him my setup. Said something about how I'm using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
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That coffee can method @lewis.diana mentioned is exactly the kind of thing I used to roll my eyes at. Thought it was just lazy old timer stuff. But last year my temp controller died and I had to develop a roll of Tri-X in a changing bag with a used gatorade bottle and tap water. Turned out better than half the stuff I'd done with my fancy gear. Really made me rethink everything. The whole sledgehammer to crack a nut thing is dead on. We get so caught up in perfect tools we forget the process is pretty simple if you just pay attention.
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