Today, after my various research, rosemary appears to me to be an effective basic product. It is preferable when choosing between other natural products for making a natural alternative developer.
Indeed, rosemary natural developer keeps very well, lasting several days. You can even store it in the refrigerator away from light, in a smoked glass bottle or opaque plastic.
Rosemary contains very powerful active components: monoterpenes (essential oils). Phenolic diterpenes (carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmanol). Terpenes (ursolic acid, oleanolic acid). Phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, etc.) as well as flavones (luteolin) which have recognized antioxidant and/or antimicrobial properties. Rosemary therefore has very important antimicrobial, antifungal and antioxidant powers which will allow us to make a good natural developer.
My development tests
Thanks to its cocktail of molecules, I was able, after making a liter of rosemary developer and after 18 days, then 23 days of storage, to successively carry out and successfully complete development tests for four black and white films in 6×6 and 24×36 formats. Then, still using the same developer but this time after 26 days of storage, I was also able to develop 14 baryta paper prints in 18×24 format. The results obtained were remarkable.
Making Natural Rosemary Developer
To make this natural developer, you can use either freshly picked rosemary leaves or leaves that have dried in a dry place away from light.
1) Decoction: Place 30g of rosemary leaves in 1.2 liters of cold, natural or demineralized water and let them soak for 5 minutes.
Then make a decoction of these rosemary leaves and bring them to a boil for about 15 minutes.
Finally, let the product cool slightly and filter it through a fine nylon coffee filter.
2) Preparation of Rosemary Developer for developing prints on barium-based papers.
Diluting the three necessary natural products in your decoction to 25°C, in order.
Namely: 1) 15 to 20 g of vitamin C, then 2) 47 g of sodium carbonate, and finally 3) 6 g of iodized table salt.
If necessary, with a little citric acid, adjust the pH of your developer to around 10.5, the average value recommended for a standard paper developer. To achieve this value, proceed with small doses of citric acid (2 to 3 g) each time, monitoring the pH. At the end of the preparation process, filter your product again before use.
The temperature for developing barium papers in your natural rosemary developer is between 33°C and 36°C.
Development time: between 3 and 6 minutes, depending on the desired result.
3) Making the Rosemary Developer, this time intended for processing black and white films.
I recommend following the same working method. However, when making a developer for processing films, it is advisable to use demineralized water for the decoction to avoid limescale particles. To make this developer for films, 12g of vitamin C will be sufficient. For the other substances necessary for the composition of this developer, do not change the values indicated above. Simply add two drops of dishwashing liquid at the end of processing to facilitate the product’s penetration into the emulsion. Remember to always filter the developer before use.
With a natural developer, I recommend developing films at 25°C. Development time is between 17 and 20 minutes, with the tank being agitated by turning and rotating it every minute.
- Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is a small evergreen shrub of the Lamiaceae family, which includes other plants such as the many culinary aromatic plants, mint, thyme, lavender, sage, wild thyme, lemon balm, basil, oregano, savory, marjoram, etc. The particularity of rosemary is that it remains green all year round and is resistant to diseases and parasites. It can be found almost everywhere on different terrains and is easy to grow in your garden and even on your balcony. It can be picked all year round depending on its development on the terrain, particularly on calcareous soils. An aromatic plant used in cooking but also for medicinal use and in herbal medicine.
Jacques Revon
Honorary journalist, author, photographer.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Revon
