Making Kodak D23

I have always bought commercially made developers and looked away at the possibility of making my own from raw chemicals mainly because chemistry was not one of my strengths.

The more I studied photographs which were developed in Kodak D23 the more I knew I wanted to try it because it somehow gave the look I was striving for which is hard to describe but to me resembles a type of pictorial look.

During the summer of 2020 when were all told to stay at home because of the Codind-19 pandemic, I decided bite the bullet and have ago at mixing some Kodak D23 using the spoon method.

Despite being a little nervous, I have to say the making of the D23 from raw chemicals went extremely well and on the first set of 35mm negatives I developed with it, I was pleased with the overall results.

I now need to do some more experiments with it as regarding development times for the films which I use on 35mm, MF and also 5×4 large format.

Kodak D23 Ingredients
100g Sodium Sulfite Anhydrous
7.5g of Metol
1L of Water

Mixing Kodak D23
Start with 700ml of water warmed to 104 degrees (40c). Dissolve a pinch of Sodium Sulfite in the warmed water. This will prevent the Metol from oxidizing as it is mixed. Next, add the Metol and stir until completely dissolved. Now, add the Sodium Sulfite and stir until completely dissolved. Add water to make 1Ltr. After mixing let the developer sit for 24 hours before use.