Though photography is an art form now several centuries old, there’s still something so humbling and powerful about the film developing process: all that blind fumbling and anticipation. Traditionally, developing analog film is a careful blend of art and science, pinned together by precision. Moreover, standard chemicals used in the darkroom have some degree of toxicity, meaning that these chemicals — in addition to their eye-watering smell — are bad for the artist and the environment.
A couple decades ago, a group of photography students discovered that they could replace the hazardous and environmentally detrimental darkroom chemistry using a university staple: instant coffee. Thus, Caffenol was born, the original eco-processing film developer recipe. Soon after, artists brought together by the internet realised that they could process their films using essentially any base which contain phenols, an organic compound which can be found in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, spices, and even combinations of the above, including wine, beer, and tea.
I’ve enlisted the expertise of three masters (Karel Doing, Phil Hoffmann, and Dagie Brundert) in this niche but international community of “eco-processing” devotees to deliver this not-exhaustive-but-extremely-exciting guide to some amazing experiments in experimental analog film production and processing. These experiments — which include plant-based “phytograms,” spicy turmeric and nutty toners, organic film developer and DIY darkrooms — are fascinating activities for people of all ages and levels of experience, particularly if you’re looking for a pick-me-up to get-off-the-couch. In the last week, I’ve pursued each of these experiments myself, and have included my results below with each example.
Experiment 1: “Phytograms”
Difficulty level: Beginner and up
Materials needed:
-1 liter water
-2 tablespoons washing soda
-1 tablespoon vitamin C
-A handful of plants
- a roll of film OR photo paper
- diluted photo fix (I use this one)
The “phytogram” was invented by Karel Doing, a UK-based artist who has been working with analog cinema for around 30 years. Karel’s father was an ecologist and his mother was a fashion designer, so it’s not entirely surprising that Karel’s PhD work found him working to bring together ecology and the arts. Eventually, Karel — pulling inspiration from artists like Man Ray and his “rayograph” — discovered that plants soaked in the washing soda and vitamin C mixture can be laid over freshly exposed film, acting as a developer of their own and burning beautiful shapes into the film’s sensitive surface.
About his phytograms, Karel said: “It’s very much about the contact between the plant and the film strip. [It’s not unlike] what we are going through now, this idea of contact between two things, [I]t’s very much about you as an artist going out there, touching the plants, selecting the kinds of pieces that you want to use [It’s] sort of a conversation. [I]n a way, it’s all about touch.”
Gathering materials for Phytograms
THE PROCESS
To make Karel’s phytograms, begin by taking your daily walk. Because it’s springtime, plants are more full of phenols than ever. Keep a close eye out for plants with interesting shapes!
Once you’ve found everything you like, put your mixture of plants in a bowl and combine it with 1 liter of water and the above amounts of washing soda and vitamin C powder. Believe it or not: you’ve made a developer! Then, leave your plants to sit for a while, ensuring that they will be nice and coated by your mix.
Vitamin C Powder
Plants in solution
When you’re ready, pull an entire roll of film out from the canister or a sheet of photo paper out from the protective dark bag and leave it to sit in full daylight. This is typically totally verboten in film processing — which is part of why this is so cool! Lay the soaked plants on the exposed film or photo paper for as long as you like. If you want very high-contrast images, try leaving them on for just a few minutes. If you like a more detailed image, leave them out longer. (I left my phytograms out for a day).
Phytogram printing
When you’re feeling ready, dunk your films or photo paper into a fixer and let it be for about five minutes. Then, rinse off the fixer with plenty of water and leave it to dry.
Experiment 2: Toners
Difficulty level: Beginner and up
Materials needed:
-1 liter water
- 4-5 crushed walnuts
- 5-6 crushed turmeric cones or 19 tablespoons of store bought turmeric
- exposed & developed film or photo paper
For these recipes, I consulted with Canadian filmmaker Phil Hoffman, co-founder of the world’s dreamiest experimental film residency and a maestro of eco-processing, or what he calls “process cinema.” Phil, much like Karel, finds poetry in merging the fragility of nature with the temporality of the moving image. In a beautiful essay included as part of LaborBerlin and Archive Books’s Film in the Present Tense, Phil writes that eco-processing, “helps to release film from its once and for all death grip on time — to bring film emulsion into the life-world by connecting it to human bodies and the cycles of the earth.”
THE PROCESS
The above ingredients call for two separate recipes: one for a walnut toner, which will give your film a yellow tint (a blue tint if processed as a positive, but this is for the more advanced eco-cinema practitioners!), and one for a turmeric tint, which will give your film turmeric’s signature orange-yellow stain.
For the walnut toner: boil 1 liter of water. Crush 4-5 walnuts and immerse them in the boiling water. Let sit until no longer boiling, but still hot. Immerse the film in the hot water for 10-30 minutes and move it around occasionally. When satisfied, wash the film and hang to dry. NOTE: If you would like your film to be as clean as possible, remove the walnut bits from the mixture before adding the film. If you are okay with some scratches, leave the walnuts in.
Walnuts
Film processing
For the turmeric toner: boil ½ a liter of water. Grate fresh turmeric or use store-bought turmeric into the boiling water and leave to cool slightly. Immerse the film in the hot water for 10-30 minutes and move it around sometimes. When satisfied, wash the film and hang to dry.
NOTE: Be sure to use bowls that you do not and will not eat out of. This goes for both toners. Film is likely to shed some of its silver during this process, and you don’t want to end up eating that later!
Experiment 3: DIY Darkroom
Difficulty level: Intermediate and up
Materials needed:
- 3 buckets or bowls for developer, water bath, and fix
- room with ventilation and water source (bathroom is standard)
- black blanket or towel for light leaks
- masking tape (for blackout cloth)
- latex gloves (for developing)
- dropcloth for spills
Now, this one’s going to sound really, really simple, but it’s important to get sorted before you move on to making developers. The key to making a DIY darkroom at home, more than anything else, is to be in a room with proper ventilation. This can be a fan or a window, which is why bathrooms tend to be favourable — that, plus they’ve got plenty of taps and faucets to provide water to wash your film when the time comes. The important things to remember will be: tape a dark cloth of any kind over light which can seep around door frames or through windows, and be willing to wait to develop your film until it’s pitch-black nighttime. If there is a tiny bit of light leaking, don’t panic: if these experiments have taught me anything, it’s that film is much more forgiving than you might think! Finally, I always like to cut open a large garbage bag to set under my developing buckets/bowls, which makes cleanup super easy.
Experiment 4: Organic Developer
Left-over vegetables containing phenols
Difficulty level: Intermediate and up
Materials needed:
- 3 buckets or bowls
- scale to measure
- thermometer
- 24g vitamin C powder
- 90g washing soda
- anything that contains phenols
dissolved or steeped in 1 liter water
and resting at 30º C (more below)
-1 roll of film, shot but not processed
- bottle opener
- darkroom materials (incl. latex gloves, photo fix, and water)
- music!
For this recipe, I consulted with Dagie Brundert, known internationally as the queen of DIY developers. Dagie’s work with eco-processing has taken her around the world, from the Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles to the fields of southern Sweden, where she currently resides on an artists’ residency. Dagie is a font of wisdom in the world of DIY developers, and I consult her website, YumYumSoups, before every mix I make.
Inspired by hearing about caffenol around a decade ago, some research quickly led Dagie to discover the magic potential of phenols. Intrigued, Dagie experimented by substituting the instant coffee for red wine, and it worked! Over the years, Dagie has experimented with all kinds of organic ingredients, from rhododendrons to seaweed to mushrooms and, most recently, sugar beet leaves. For Dagie, the sense of wonder that the organic materials really work to process film never gets old, and neither does the international community of eco-processors. About us, she says: “I love the feeling, and I love to know that everywhere on this Earth, there’s here and there a crazy weirdo experimenting at night with — funny juices, and it’s just wonderful. It’s like a big community of witches, in a way. Witches that exchange a magic potion recipe.”
THE PROCESS
For this round of organic developer experimentation, I searched for vegetables in my fridge that were likely not going to be finished: some parsley, some spinach, and half a red onion. I boiled 1 liter of hot water, put the veggies in a pot, and poured the water over the veggies, then let them steep overnight.
Veggie tea
The next day, I strained the “veggie tea,” discarding the remnants of the onions, parsley, and spinach and setting aside the liquid.
Veggie tea solution
Then, I poured this liquid into a bowl and added 90 grams of washing soda and 24 grams of vitamin C powder. I stirred the soup and took the temperature to ensure it was 30º C.
I set the developer bowl on top of a deconstructed garbage bag. Next to my developer, I set a bowl of water and a tall bucket for my fix. I made sure to be very confident which bowl was which before turning off the lights!
Once my darkroom was all set up and ready to go, I made a Spotify playlist that was 23 minutes long. The first 15 minutes of the playlist were set to be the same album, followed by one 2-3 minute song, and finally, a five minute song. This is a carefully calculated playlist, because films developed in organic (non-caffenol!) chemistry needs to be steeped in the developer for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minute segment ends, I know it’s time to move it into the water bath, and so on. Finally — most importantly!! I covered up my computer with a towel and made sure to put my phone on Do Not Disturb. And then the fun starts!!!
With the lights off and the doors closed, I used the bottle opener to crack open a canister of black and white 35mm film. Then, I quickly pulled all of the film out of the reel and put it in the developer, making sure to immerse all of the long roll in there. With the lights of my computer on super-super-super low and set to “night mode,” I pressed “play” on my playlist and then turned the brightness fully off. For the next 15 minutes, I sang, danced, and swirled my film around in a bowl (with gloves on!). When the music changed, I knew it was time to move it into the water bath, and when it changed again, it was time for the fix.
When the fix music ends, you’re all set to turn on the lights!! And this is always the most exciting part…...
Film results

Truly, no matter how many times I develop films this way, it’ll never get old. These experiments are a great way to bring some more enjoyment and entertainment into your at-home quarantine, and can hopefully reduce some of your household waste at the same time!
If you try these recipes at home please send us your results at hey@artsoftheworkingclass.org !