Developing my first roll at home
I had been sending film to a lab for a year. Waiting a week for scans was part of the charm, until it was not. So I bought a small tank, two bottles of chemistry and a thermometer, and cleared the bathroom.
The hardest part is the first five minutes: loading the reel in complete darkness. I practised with a spoiled roll in daylight, then with my eyes shut, then in the changing bag. My hands knew what to do long before I trusted them.
The numbers that matter
Temperature, time and agitation. Keep the developer at twenty degrees, follow the datasheet to the second, and invert gently for the first half minute of every minute. Rinse, fix, rinse again, and hang the strip somewhere dust-free.
When the negatives came out clear and sharp I laughed out loud in an empty flat. Two frames were ruined by a scratch, which I consider tuition.