Coffee Break
A little while ago, I found out that there was a niche community of people using alternative processes to develop film. Probably the most common of these is Caffenol, which is where film is developed in coffee. It sounded insane to me, since I had always mentally conceptualized film chemistry as something which was akin to alchemy- it just works, and you don't ask any questions. However, apparently caffeic acid, which is found in coffee, especially lighter roasts, can chemically develop the silver in film emulsions.
You also need washing soda and vitamin C, but those are also pretty cheap and generally available. The commercial chemical you do need is fixer. There are some experiments in the alternative process space using things like seawater for fixer, but I figured I'd take it one step at a time. Plus I live quite a drive away from the ocean. This is Ilford HP5+ with the Caffenol Delta-STD recipe.
I don't really have any experience with black and white, or developing in general, but I really like these results. There's so much dynamic range in the shadows and highlights, and even though I had a good number of shots which were pretty underexposed, Caffenol was able to save them into usable images. After doing this test roll I finally had the courage to develop the roll that I put through my Canonet over the holidays, and even sans sprocket holes, I loved the images.
This roll was challenging because I had light leaks on half the roll, and also didn't really know how to make good use of my built in meter. However, Caffenol came though with great results! When I was scanning these, I was really struck by how insanely sharp that Canonet lens is when I nail the focus.
But I know what you're thinking, because I was thinking it too. What amount of this success is due to how versatile HP5+ is instead of the utility of Caffenol? Well, I took the diligence to shoot through a roll of Agfa APX 100. What? Yeah, I hadn't heard of it either. It was discontinued in 2006, which means that the last roll produced could by now have a driving permit. My friend who gave me this roll didn't know how long he had been sitting on it, so it could have been long, long expired. This is what the Caffenol C-M(rs) recipe yielded.
 
So if you didn't know about Caffenol, now you do. If you've heard about it, you might have also heard some of the people hating on it. I think because the ingredients aren't explicitly made and sold as film chemistry, you do have to do a little work to make sure that your ingredients are what they need to be, but let's be real, it's not that difficult. I'm certainly going to use Caffenol from now on, because I like the way these images turned out. I also love how it's much less toxic and less expensive than a lot of commercial chemicals. If you think anything about these images or this post is compelling, I invite you to give it a shot!
This is very cool! I've only shot only a couple rolls of film so far. Unfortunately I rely on the lab, but now you've definitely piqued my curiosity into possibly devoleping my own negatives and scanning instead of paying the middle man fee with the lab development. Are you going to try ir with any other BW film stocks in the future?
Quote from Guest on February 7, 2021, 11:53 pmThis is very cool! I've only shot only a couple rolls of film so far. Unfortunately I rely on the lab, but now you've definitely piqued my curiosity into possibly devoleping my own negatives and scanning instead of paying the middle man fee with the lab development. Are you going to try ir with any other BW film stocks in the future?
Thank you! I have that same impulse. It's such a rich experience to be able to shoot a roll, and see images from it without having to depend on someone else. I was very lucky to be given a scanner from a friend, and even though the scans aren't the best, it certainly works good enough for me. I want to shoot through the rolls of HP5 and Agfa that I currently have, as well as one roll of B&W Fuji Eterna. Then I'd be interested to try Tri-X and other Ilford stocks such as FP4. However, unless these films offer something magical, I could definitely see myself relying on HP5 going forward. It's a versatile speed, has a ton of exposure latitude, and relatively affordable as well.
Awesome work! What a fun experiment. I had heard about this but never dug into exactly how to do it. I have also heard of other crazy developers (I think there's a beer one?) Your experience with this one makes it seem more approachable. I have only developed a handful of rolls, and it was using CineStills 2-bath C-41 kit. I was going to try their b+w kit next. You got me thinking though.
Did you have these professionally scanned or did you do it yourself? Always curious what peoples process is.
As for film stocks, I personally prefer the look of Tri-X for portraits. It is quite contrasty, so many prefer HP5 for maybe slightly truer tones. I think they're both great though.
Haha yes, apparently there's "Beerol" and "chutneyol"? I'm more hesitant about those though. I feel like the cheapest instant coffee you can find at a grocery store is going to be more consistent than the wide gambit of beers. Chutney just sounds messy. I'd give Caffenol a shot before dropping the money on a b&w kit! relatively little to lose, and if you end up not liking it, you can always use the washing powder around the house and the vitamin C to help your sailor friends stave off scurvy.
I do my own scanning on an Epson flatbed, which works out well because I can get the sprocket holes since I'm using 35mm in a medium format camera. It's kind of obnoxiously hipster though. I've been accused in Imgur of trying to trick people by faking the holes since "a camera can't expose the transport tracks." Will let you know if I do Tri-X with Caffenol!
Quote from Justin Tung on February 9, 2021, 4:37 pmand the vitamin C to help your sailor friends stave of scurvy.
Hahaha! Just what I need!
I do my own scanning on an Epson flatbed, which works out well because I can get the sprocket holes since I'm using 35mm in a medium format camera. It's kind of obnoxiously hipster though. I've been accused in Imgur of trying to trick people by faking the holes since "a camera can't expose the transport tracks." Will let you know if I do Tri-X with Caffenol!
Did I already ask you what camera you're shooting with?
These photos were taken on my Mamiya 645, hence the sprocket holes and the weird aspect ratio. The other camera I used over the holidays was a Canonet QL17 GIII. I've been trying to see if I can't use my M645 for all my film shooting, but the Canonet is just so darn convenient. I can slap it in shutter priority, focus and fire. The M645 makes me feel like I'm aiming a canon sometimes.
