I have reached a milestone. From the raw chemical components I mixed my own developer and successfully developed a roll of film with said developer. And I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.
YashicaMAT 124G | Fomapan 100 | D-23
Mixing the developer was much easier than I had imagined. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I had the notion that to mix a developer “from scratch” would require respirators and hazmat suits. That may be closer to the truth than not for some developers, but not for D-23. Granted, safety precautions should always be taken, but we’re not dealing with PMK here. Consisting of only two chemicals, Metol and Sodium Sulfite, it has to be the easiest developer to “home brew”. Here’s the recipe I followed.
I was surprised at the sharpness and tonality that my negatives show, and even though it was a cloudless bright sunny morning, the highlights are nicely controlled. Certainly all qualities I desire. If D-23 works on 35mm as well as it did this 120 (and I see no reason it won’t) then I just may have to rethink my “go to” developer.
Do you use D-23? Have any hints, tips or advice on things to avoid with this developer? I’d love to hear it. As always, just leave them in the comments or email me directly if you’d like.
God Bless and Happy Shooting!
Negative Development 
Nice blog post! D-23 is a hidden gem. Seems to me most people are missing out on its beautiful tonal range and versatility. Stock is really fine grained. 1+1 adds acutance to the mix, and 1+3 adds acutance and compensation. I also like it replenished with DK-25R where the bromide buildup seems to add sharpness and even finer grain. May I add, the photograph you show here is a really good example of perfect exposure and great developing! Thanks for sharing!
John
Thanks, John! I haven’t tried D-23 diluted yet but will certainly be trying it out.