Development mystery ? Hmmm

[ijonas]

Today I developed some HP5+ and the results are very strange, maybe you guys can help . Take a look at the two attached jpegs. One is a 100% blow up of the red square of the other picture.

The following recipe was used:
HP5+ @ 400ASA (subject matter was "sunny day in the park")
XTol stock/non-diluted @ 20C (developer is 2 weeks old, and has not been reused)
Ilford Ilfostop @ 21C (2 weeks old, reused 2 times)
Ilford RapidFixed @ 21C (2 weeks old, reused 2 times)

Develoment time: 8 1/2 minutes (continuous agitation for first 30secs, 10agitations every minute)
Stop: 30 secs agitating continuously
Fix: 4minutes agitating continuously
Wash with water: 12 minutes at 23C

Any ideas what's happened here ?

Many thanks,
Ijonas.

[jlw]

This is just a wild guess, but I think the emulsion was damaged by gas evolved when the stop bath (acid) hit the residual developer (alkaline.) Personally, I always use a plain water stop bath for film, rather than an acid stop bath, for this specific reason.

It may be personal prejudice, but I also feel that Ilford films are a little more "tender" than Kodak's when it comes to development variations, so it pays to be extra careful with water temps etc.

[phototone]

Did you measure the temperature of the stop bath and fix and adjust to be very close in temperature to the developer?

There is no need to continuously agitate in the fixer. Did you use a fixer with hardener? Which is advised for film.

Did you use a wetting agent rinse as a final rinse before hanging to dry?

You really should tell us more, but it looks like there is a combination of reticulation, usually due to high temperatures, or no hardener in the fix....coupled with drying water spots from not using a wetting agent such as Kodaks' Photoflo as the final rinse.

Also, was this "old" film, or film that had been stored under high heat conditions?

[matu]

Maybe not the problem but XTOL guide says you must double Fixing time. (4 min should be 8 min)
I agree HP5 is delicate, it tends to come grainy (to me).

Pablo

[ijonas]

The stop bath and fixer were both at 21deg/celsius, the developer at 20deg/celsius. Hence I assumed them to be within "operating margins".

I fixed for 4 minutes. The booklet on the Ilfostop RapidFixer says "do not use with fixer hardener" and says its intended for paper and film.

After fixing, I flushed the cannister for 10-12 minutes at 23degrees/celsius with running tap water (which is soft/low-mineral content).

??

Thanks guys,
Ijonas.

[RayPA]

My initial thought was that it was reticulation, due to temperature differences between solutions, but it looks like you controlled that end of things. Usually the standard line for fixing is twice the time it takes to CLEAR, so if the film took 2 mins. to clear, then four minutes should be fine. Generally, I fix for 5-7 minutes, and I don't agitate constantly during the fixing, but would that create this?

It is hard to tell if the artifact is only in the highlights or everywhere. Here's a dumb question: did you stir/shake the developer before using it? Also how did the leader of the film look, the portion that is exposed to light when you load the film? Was it opaque/really black, and along those same lines are the negatives on the thin side, or do they look normal?

[ijonas]

I am dumfounded. It is the first time I used HP5 in XTOL. Hence the confusion.

The contrast curve seems exaggerated because the park bench wasn't that dark. But to the naked eye, the negatives look really nice. The film leader was jetblack and the negatives have got "Ilford HP5" in nice clear letters at the top.

Guess I'll just have to be more careful.

Pity because there were one of two keepers on that roll.

[oftheherd]

The stop bath and fixer were both at 21deg/celsius, the developer at 20deg/celsius. Hence I assumed them to be within "operating margins".

I fixed for 4 minutes. The booklet on the Ilfostop RapidFixer says "do not use with fixer hardener" and says its intended for paper and film.

After fixing, I flushed the cannister for 10-12 minutes at 23degrees/celsius with running tap water (which is soft/low-mineral content).

??

Thanks guys,
Ijonas.

Are you by any chance using the fixer for both film and paper? Its hard to tell what has happened from you photos, but my first thought was exhausted developer, then I wondered about your fixer and your drying. Interesting puzzle for sure. You might try to duplicate this and start controlling variables if you can so we can ... :D

[Doug]

This is just a wild guess, but I think the emulsion was damaged by gas evolved when the stop bath (acid) hit the residual developer (alkaline.) Personally, I always use a plain water stop bath for film, rather than an acid stop bath, for this specific reason.This strikes me as a reasonable and likely cause...

[doubs43]

I don't see reticulation in your picture. It would cover the entire negative and not just the sky area. It looks more like residue from the water source to me. Here's my solution to the water-borne sediment and crud in my water supply. Maybe this will give you some ideas. :)

Walker

[ijonas]

Could too much agitation during the fixing period be the cause? Ilford recommend 4 inversions in the first 10seconds, repeated during the first 10secs of every subsequent minute, which is much gentler than my continuous agitation, with an inversion every 1-1.5 secs.

I'm going to completely clean out my stopbath and fixer chemicals tonight, and make a fresh batch, making sure their containers are squeaky clean.

Cheers,
Ij.

[doubs43]

Continuous agitation of the fixer is definitely too much.... especially if you don't use a hardener in your fixer. I give it a few turns at the beginning and then a few more every couple of minutes. Good fixer should clear the film in a very short time.

One more thought: If your water supply isn't clean, mixing your chemicals in it and using it for rinse will only result in dirty negatives.

Walker

[digitalox]

I think you're only supposed to keep working solution of the ilfo fixer for 7 days IIRC. Not that it should cause this, just thought I'd mention it.