…all went well. I have a developed roll of 35mm Tri-X hanging from the shower curtain rod as I type this.My developing setup in the old house incorporated a dry sink in the form of an 11″ x 14″ Kodak Duraflex darkroom tray. There is no surface large enough for the big tray in the guest bathroom but there is a sink with an almost flat 9″ x 14″ bottom. I was cautiously optimistic that it could take the place of the larger tray. Also, in the old setup I had more than enough additional counter space for the graduates and bottles to develop medium format film or multiple rolls of 35mm film. I have substantially less counter space in the new setup but, once again, I was cautiously optimistic that I could make it work for developing at least one roll of 35mm film without compromising the room’s use as a proper bathroom for guests.
It was a close thing, but in the end it all worked. The 8″ x 10″ Duraflex tray with a very small dish rack I use to hold, and dry, all of the developing equipment fits nicely between side wall and the sink bowl. The four 300ml graduates I use for developer, distilled water stop bath, fixer and wash water fit nicely along the back of the sink on either side of the faucet. The jug of distilled water sits on top of the toilet sink immediately alongside the vanity. The fixer working solution and the little bottle of Rodinal are in a drawer below the sink. It’s all very compact and very convenient – for one roll of 35mm film.
Just for fun, before I started developing the 35mm film I got out the four 600ml graduates I used for developing medium format film in the old setup. They did not fit behind the sink bowl and there was no other space for them in the room. I could get away with using the same 500ml fixer bottle but I would have to mix a fresh batch of fixer twice as often. So, I have a very workable film developing setup for single rolls of 35mm film, with no realistic prospect of adapting it for larger format film or multiple rolls of 35mm film. (Keeping the room usable for guests was an important consideration for both of us.)
The actual developing process was without incident, and having a wet sink for immediate washing up was a nice plus.
Mere Film Photography 