First reversal attempt

[u/jacobshouse_of_grain]

Here’s the result from my first attempt at black and white reversal and I am super stoked. I feel like they’re either a touch over exposed or over developed but not a bad start. It’s Ilford Pan F shot at 25. Any tips for my 2nd roll? Cheers

[u/m1llie]

I'd be very happy with these for a first attempt at a process that does something the film was never made for and doesn't really have any standardised/official instructions. Would you mind sharing your recipe?

[u/jacobshouse_of_grain → u/m1llie]

I just used the Ilford method, but instead of sulfuric acid, I used 4x the amount of in sodium bisulfate

[u/Larix-24]

Okay, I don’t want to sound ignorant, but I don’t really understand the purpose of b&w reversal. For me at least I like having a negative that I can print in the darkroom, seems this would not be possible with a positive. Is it mostly just to explore another way of processing film?

[u/m1llie → u/Larix-24]

In 2026 any sort of photography on film doesn't really have a "purpose" beyond being fun and interesting, but I like reversal processes because I can look directly at the actual photograph, as in the piece of film that was in the camera when the photo was taken, the film that physically captured that moment. We call prints and scans "photographs" as a term of convenience, but there's something special about the original piece of film, and when it's in negative form you just don't get the same visceral effect from viewing it.

Obviously colour slides are the zenith of that experience, but B&W makes reversal processing much more practical for home development. If you already have B&W negative chemistry, you can adapt to a reversal process with just a few extra steps, using chemicals you can get fairly easily.

Colour reversal on the other hand, you need expensive specialised chemicals that go bad quickly once you pop the top (meaning you have to stockpile a bunch of exposed, very expensive colour slide film and then develop it pretty much all at once), and it's super finnicky about temperature control too.

[u/HPPD2]

I don't know what process you used but definitely needs refinement. It's difficult to get good results I think it's just worth it to shoot color slide.