It’s finally here. All of those joy-soaked, laughter-drenched years have mercilessly clicked along like the worn beads of a prayer rope that’s been worried too many times. Ladies and gentlemen, my eldest is officially a teenager. The late nights have already begun. The stolen hugs and kisses and cuddles squeezed in between the pacing and the tears and the desire to be heard. Both of us screaming into an abyss because our love is so fierce and we need to create a bridge back to each other in any way that we can. Send help, or at the very least, a lifetime’s supply of chocolate. Please.
She wanted a moody and somber photoshoot, a side of her frequently nourished by the mp3 player that’s taken up residence in her ears seemingly 24/7. Yes, I am aware that I sound crotchety and old. No, I don’t give two shakes of a lamb’s tail that I do. In keeping with my grumpy, old woman persona, I also decided to shuffle around the kitchen in my slippers and mix up my first batch of caffenol. Why would I do this? Because it’s cheaper, duh. My Millenial side is also feebly waving a “Save the Planet” flag while my inner child is hopping maniacally around my head in glee for the sheer sake of seeing what’s possible. Who am I to deny these different versions of myself?
I followed Mark Klotz’s recipe to a T and found myself dumbstruck by the results. Who knew that instant coffee, washing soda, and vitamin C powder could produce such beautiful images? While I followed the formula exactly, I winged the development time a bit more. These were shot on Ilford Delta 3200, rated at 800, with my medium format Mamiya 645 1000s camera, and I chose to develop the negatives for 12 minutes. I did follow Mark’s recommendations a little more closely though for decreased agitation, so I agitated for the first full minute, then only for 10 seconds every 3 minutes after that. Check out Mark’s post for full details of his process: https://www.markklotz.com/blog/tw3b7d2h3fxdmrsas7g529wgy8pw47
After the final rinse and hanging the negatives up to dry, I was delighted by their depth and crispness. I was honestly expecting thin and possibly foggy negatives, but still hoping I could salvage something. As I scanned them in the next day, I had one of those weird experiences that I suspect mad scientists have, where you want to run around and show anyone and everyone the images, screaming in their faces that they were developed in coffee and oh my god isn’t science the coolest things ever?! Such a great way to make friends, let me tell ya…
But most importantly, my daughter is thrilled with them and it was wonderful spending some special one-on-one time with her. So without further ado, here are 13 images for a newly minted 13 year old…prepare to feel a mood, bruh.
