“I rly want to go dancing with you.”

“But I don’t wanna be creeped on and I don’t like anywhere you can dance in the city, so I was wondering if you wanted to have a private little dance party in my bedroom?”

“I’d make us a playlist that’s sexy and playful.”

Later, our bodies move together to the beat. I am ecstatic. It is queer joy. Distilled.

—

I’ve been somewhat intensely experimenting with eco-processing and hand developing black and white Super 8 film (Kodak Tri-X 7266) over the past few months. I started developing film with caffenol, and soon moved into plant-based developers others had crafted, before starting to develop my own recipes. I experimented with development time, temperature, and how often you mush the film around in the developer with your hands.

 —

A Queer Process for Developing Tri-X 7266 Super 8 Film to Negative

—

You will need a darkroom and 3 large buckets with:

• 3L of Developer (Recipe Below)
• 3L of Salt Fix (Recipe Below)
• 3L of Clear Water (Just a Regular Bucket of Water)

—

Developer Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 150g Plant Matter
• 1L Boiling Water
• 2L Room Temperature Water
• 162g Washing Soda
• 48g Vitamin C

Process:

• Before collecting the plants, ask permission, and thank them after.
• Boil 1L of water, and pour over plants.
• Steep in the sun for 1+ hours.
• Strain solids out of mixture and add 2L room temperature water.
• Bring the temperature of the mixture to 24 Celsius.
• Add 162g Washing Soda and mix until dissolved.
• Add 48g Vitamin C and mix until fizzing stops.
• Use solution shortly after mixing.
• Ensure solution is at 24 Celsius before using

—

Salt Fix Recipe:

Ingredients

• 3L Hot Water
• 1 kg Salt

Process:

• Add 1 kg salt to 3L hot water.
• Mix until water has absorbed all the salt.
• Cool mixture to room temperature before using.

—

Hand Processing Your Film:

Prepare yourself to enter the darkroom. Ensure your basic needs are met, asking yourself if you are hungry, thirsty, need to use the washroom, or have any other unmet needs that may impact you in the next 20-30 minutes.

Enter the darkroom and situate yourself. Where are each of your buckets? Imagine or practice the action of moving film from one bucket to another. Developer to water. Water to Salt Bath.

Set your phone to ‘Do Not Disturb,’ turn on a queer dance playlist, and set a timer for 16 minutes, before placing your phone screen down, not to be touched until the timer goes off.

Turn off the lights, and over the next minute pull the film out of the cartridge*, praying while you do. Invoke the goddess of darkness. Of beauty. Of transformation. Invoke your ancestors. Your mentors. Those who have and continue to influence your work. Offer libations towards a beautiful image.

*Note: At  the very end of the cartridge, you’ll feel the film stop, just pull a bit harder and the film will free itself.

Put the film into the developer, and mush it around with your hands for the next 15 minutes until the timer goes off. Dance to the beat. Imagine your lover’s hands on your body.

After the timer has gone off, you can briefly turn on a light to examine the image, and decide if you want to push the film development any further. If you want to develop the film further, turn the light back off, and return the film to the developer for another 1-5 minutes depending on the result you’re looking for.

Thank the goddess for working with you through this process, and move the film to the water bath. Swish the film around in the water for 1-2 minutes.

Move the film to the salt bath, and leave covered for 12-24+ hours.

Dispose of your eco-developer and water bath by pouring it down the toilet.

After 12-24+ hours, rinse the film in clean water, and hang with clothespins to dry.