Caffenol-C 2 Stage Developer

An idea that I have been hashing in my head for a while now, quite a while actually, but never brought to the forfront until recently, after bringing the idea up in the Caffenol & Alchemy group on Flickr, I decided that it was time to actually  bring the idea to light.

Sure enough, last night (Sept. 14 2012) I did.  The results were, in the beginning, less than stellar.  Okay that's being kind.. They were crap!  Horrible results that would make the most seasoned alchemist dismayed and upset.  But I would say that it was a resounding success, as it proved that it was possible to create a 2-stage developer with Caffenol-C.  Of course, first test just gave me poor grain, bad fog, and a messy result.

So I decided, okay, time to bring up the concentration of Bath (A) to compensate.  So I added another 20g/L of Vit. C to the mix.  Bringing the total to 40g/L of Vit. C to the mix, while keeping the 1/2 cup of coffee (200g/L) the same.
This, coupled with pushing the film from 400 to 1600ASA I actually started to see a bit better of a result.  In fact, the result was rather impressive, considering that it was also pushed to 1600ASA instead of at 400..

The result at 1600ASA was quite surprising, as I got decent highlights, but extremely inky black shadows.  In fact, it was just extremely dark shadows, and the grain is rather pronounced.
But still, a usable and impressive result.
But I was still unimpressed, as this was about the only usable result from the entire set as the rest were underexposed (maybe my fault?)

So I decided to up the ante..  I increased the dilution of Vit. C two fold, from 40g/L to 80g/L and increased the coffee to about 2/3 cup (300g/L).
This caused it to become very inky brown, but the results of the final test of the evening gave me some insight on how to make it better and repeat the mix from scratch.

Sure enough, after making the final test, although I've got more photos to develop, I think I have found the right mixture, for the most part, to get a working 2 stage developer..

So minus the 'surge' marks, which is odd on the film, as it is definitely NOT Bromide Drag, I think the results here speak for themselves!

When I get some more photos I'll add a followup thread.

Until next time, keep those shutters firing!