[Image description: an overhead view of two jugs of caffenol-c developer being made. One jug has a stirrer in it and the other has a thermometer in it. Also visible on the desk are a roll of pink masking tape and an empty jug, and glimpses of other equipment including some paint splattered digital scales, a pair of scissors, an eraser, a green cutting mat and a silver ruler.]
Michelle is always eager to reduce the impact of her practice on the environment and as the chemicals used to develop camera film aren’t particularly kind to the environment we decided to use DITTO as an opportunity to skill-share.
Niamh generously shared her extensive knowledge of traditional film photography, and Michelle shared her experience of working with more experimental plant based developers. We settled on developing the 120mm film shot at MeshDance with caffenol-c, which is made from bog standard instant coffee! We will share some of the outcomes in another post!
The caffenol-c recipe we used was from a workshop Michelle had previously attended with Melanie King. If you are interested in finding our more about sustainable processes, we would highly recommend checking out Melanie’s How-To videos which cover making developer using everything from coffee to mint tea, and even freshly harvested seaweed!
Other websites with great resources about sustainable photography include London Alternative Photography Collective and The Sustainable Darkroom, and Land Art Collective also have great resources about sustainability more generally.
[Image descriptions: From top to bottom, left to right: equipment and ingredients for making caffenol-c developer sat on a wooden desk including a set of paint splattered digital scales, a tube of vitamin c, a jar of instant coffee, a bag of soda crystals and some plastic jugs; an overhead shot of coffee granules dissolving in a jug of liquid with a hand holding a stirrer in the left hand side of the jug; two jugs of caffenol-c developer sat on an untidy wooden desk waiting to be topped up with water, a piece of bright pink tape on each jug has ingredient quantities written on it; a wooden sink filled with empty developer tanks, reels and a squeegee; a strip of negatives being held up to the light in a darkroom; and a strip of negatives in a dryer in a darkroom.]
Image credits: Michelle Duxbury & Niamh Donnelly, 2023