Dang it all to hedouble L!!

Digidurst · Jul 19, 2005

I just processed some 4x5 sheets of Ilford FP4+ and guess what?!!? There's nothing there! Nothing! ZIP! Zilch All I have are 6 perfectly clear sheets of film with a slight purple cast to them. I have flubbed developing on occasion but I at least got SOMETHING on the film.

I used HC-110 dilution B and processed for 6 minutes.

Any ideas on what went wrong??

Thank you in advance for the help. I'm going to go somewhere and stomp my feet alot

Andy K · Jul 19, 2005

Maybe your shutter didn't fire? Or you left the lens cap on? I'm not taking the rise, but we've all made mistakes.

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 19, 2005

Shutter problem? Sheets loaded upside down? You must have focused with the lens cap off, so I think we can rule that one out. Forgot to pull the darkslide six times? Left the shutter set at the fastest speed when you meant to use B or a longer speed? Switched fixer and developer? Forgot to add the HC-110 to the water?

lee · Jul 19, 2005

if you fix the film first then develop it will do that too.

dil b for 6 min should give you an image I agree you did something wrong

Check Andy's post too and did you pull out the darkslide? This is a big favorite of mine. try it again and then report bact on your findings.

lee\c

bobfowler · Jul 19, 2005

David A. Goldfarb said:
<snip>Forgot to add the HC-110 to the water?

Been there, done that...

Monophoto · Jul 19, 2005

bobfowler said:
Been there, done that...

Haven't we all!

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 19, 2005

At least that one is reversible if you notice the graduate full of HC-110 syrup before getting to the stop bath or the fixer.

Digidurst · Jul 19, 2005

Jeez! I don't know WHAT happened. I mean, I have forgotten to pull the dark slide plenty of times. But I've realized, cursed, and fired again. It couldn't be a shutter problem because I used at least two different lenses... My gosh... is it possible that I confused the.... wait a minute... what if I added WAY too much HC-110? A quick look at this page will reveal what I think I did... I mixed for the Euro version.

Is that the culprit??

Paul Sorensen · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
Jeez! I don't know WHAT happened. I mean, I have forgotten to pull the dark slide plenty of times. But I've realized, cursed, and fired again. It couldn't be a shutter problem because I used at least two different lenses... My gosh... is it possible that I confused the.... wait a minute... what if I added WAY too much HC-110? A quick look at this page will reveal what I think I did... I mixed for the Euro version.

Is that the culprit??

I don't think so because the result of having way too much HC110 would be over development. You probably would have gotten mostly black negs, not clear.

I don't have anything more to add to the other ideas. Seems pretty strange.

mark · Jul 19, 2005

If you have perfectly blank sheets two things could have happened.

1-no light got to the film.
2-SOme how fix happened or developer did not make it to the film.

If you diluted wrong there would still be at least a ghost of an image.

Honestly chalk it up as a mistake and move on. For every mistake I have made I have learned to pay closer attention to what I am doing. At this point I actually talk to my self. my dad-shooting partner-says I act like his OCD kids at times. He teaches nothing but Emotional/behavior Disorder kids so he should know.

philldresser · Jul 19, 2005

Maybe you developed the wrong dark slides ?

At least you have a better idea what your B+F density looks like!

Phill

bpm32 · Jul 19, 2005

I've never used this developer before, but I had this happen one time. It took me 2 or 3 developed sheets with nothing on them before I was convinced it wasn't operator error (at least in terms of the exposure!).

Turns out, my developer was shot... sat too long on the shelf in a container that wasn't completely sealed. Oops.

Just a thought.

Donald Qualls · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
Jeez! I don't know WHAT happened. I mean, I have forgotten to pull the dark slide plenty of times. But I've realized, cursed, and fired again. It couldn't be a shutter problem because I used at least two different lenses... My gosh... is it possible that I confused the.... wait a minute... what if I added WAY too much HC-110? A quick look at this page will reveal what I think I did... I mixed for the Euro version.

Is that the culprit??

No way. I've once misread my syringe and mixed teaspoons for milliliters on the HC-110 syrup; what should have been a one stop pull (TMY shot in a box camera) must have come up at two or more stop push. All images (exposed at approximately f/16, 1/50 or so in hazy conditions, so overexposed 2-3 stops for ISO 400) were scannable, though pretty harsh.

Too much developer will overdevelop.

Likwise, even if you got the film in the holders backward, there'd be *something* there -- specular highlights, ghosts of normal highlights; you'd only be 3 or so stops underexposed through the antihalation layer.

The only way you could get what you got is either completely fail to expose or fix before developing.

And now, we haven't *all* done it -- but I haven't developed *that* much film yet, perhaps a hundred rolls to date.

Donald Qualls · Jul 19, 2005

bpm32 said:
Turns out, my developer was shot... sat too long on the shelf in a container that wasn't completely sealed. Oops.

This is possible for HC-110 stock solution, but extremely unlikely for syrup. The syrup will keep for many months in partially filled, not-terribly-airtight bottles. I've done it. It'll literally last *years* in glass with little or no airspace and a good seal on the lid.

Digidurst · Jul 19, 2005

Well guess what?! The extremely unlikely has happened!!

I can be a real airhead sometimes but I have never in my life fubared film so badly. I have a system and it has always worked. The only changes have been the soup I chose I use. Anyway.... I did a couple of test shots and developed them in the HC-110, being extremely careful with my mixing and making sure I didn't use fixer in place of developer as was suggested. I thought maybe that's what I'd done. And since I thought I might have contaminated my fixer with developer, I mixed a new batch (not a big loss as the jug was about empty anyway). So I took the new film out of the fixer bath and the SAME THING HAPPENED. Nothing!

At this point, I'm thinking, "Oh my God!!" there's something wrong with my lens or something is wrong with my camera or I've completely forgotten how to photograph anything in the first place.

So I took another two test shots and this time I developed them in some old t-max concentrate I had laying around. Would ya'll care to guess what happened?

That's right! Two perfectly developed sheets of film.

Now I am seriously pissed off because two of the shots that got ruined were obtained under less than the safest circumstances, my husband had to assist (which he was happy to do but he honestly gets bored with the whole LF process), and it was to be the beginning of a photographic series that I've been planning in my head for months.

I thought I'd give HC-110 a try as it does have a good rep but I'll be damned (can I say that?) if I buy another Kodak product again (well - besides AZO). Can ya'll recommend a similar developer that is concentrated like the HC-110 and will yield similar results?

Oh, and while I am miffed as all get out, I would be remiss if I didn't get over it at least long enough to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who tried to help.

p.s. Is there any way to bring the film I ruined back from the dead? Can I sacrifice a chicken or something?

bpm32 · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
That's right! Two perfectly developed sheets of film.

I'm glad to hear you found the culprit. Good work!

Digidurst said:
p.s. Is there any way to bring the film I ruined back from the dead? Can I sacrifice a chicken or something?

If a sacrifice to the camera gods works for ya, will you send me the recipe, as I'd STILL like to resurrect the negs that I lost due to this too.

Whiteymorange · Jul 19, 2005

I

s there any way to bring the film I ruined back from the dead? Can I sacrifice a chicken or something?

Best way to do that is to eat it, along with a bottle of wine... or two. The photo gods may not be any happier, but you will.

dancqu · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
Now I am seriously pissed off because two of the shots
that got ruined were obtained under less than the
safest circumstances, ...

I thought I'd give HC-110 a try as it does have a good rep ...

Well, live and learn. At least two valuable shots ruined running
them through untried soup.

Then there is that mysterious HC-110? Large format, Rodinal
is very concentrated. Dan

Digidurst · Jul 19, 2005

dancqu said:
Well, live and learn. At least two valuable shots ruined running
them through untried soup.

Yes, well I didn't think HC-110 was such an exotic developer that it would require any such testing on my part. Espeically considering the wealth of information available about the stuff. Won't make the same mistake twice, I can assure you!

Then there is that mysterious HC-110? Large format, Rodinal
is very concentrated. Dan[/QUOTE]

Huh??

Rodinal I have but didn't want to use because I didn't think the grain would suit me for these particular images.

Bruce Osgood · Jul 19, 2005

I have developed negs to blank only to find out the negs I developed were never exposed. I found the exposed negs as part of another exposrue. In short I double exposed two negs and developed 4.

dancqu · Jul 19, 2005

Perhaps you've huge 24 x 30 or larger prints in mind.
Rodinal won't make a fine grain film grainier. It will allow
a grainy film to show it's grain. With FP4+ and 4x5 I'd not
worry about grain until 40 x 50.

bobfowler · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
Well guess what?! The extremely unlikely has happened!!

I can be a real airhead sometimes but I have never in my life fubared film so badly. I have a system and it has always worked. The only changes have been the soup I chose I use. Anyway.... I did a couple of test shots and developed them in the HC-110, being extremely careful with my mixing and making sure I didn't use fixer in place of developer as was suggested. I thought maybe that's what I'd done. And since I thought I might have contaminated my fixer with developer, I mixed a new batch (not a big loss as the jug was about empty anyway). So I took the new film out of the fixer bath and the SAME THING HAPPENED. Nothing!
<snip>

OK, what was your dilution, and how much did you mix up? Were you working from concentrate or from stock?

jjstafford · Jul 19, 2005

Digidurst said:
p.s. Is there any way to bring the film I ruined back from the dead? Can I sacrifice a chicken or something?

If there is any image there whatsoever, then YES, you can redevelop it using an intensifying toner to get some modest resuilts. However, it seems that there is nothing there whatsoever. If you cannot see some image at all, then no way.

If I may ask, what kind of shutter are you using? I really do not think you messed up with developer. To be sure, lean outside the window and shoot two more sheets. Develop one as you did, and the other in a tray with Dektol.

Sorry it happend to you.

Sean · Jul 19, 2005

I usually shoot 2 sheets per image, and I also tray develop 1 sheet at a time. Since I don't do a lot of volume it's not an issue, and if anything goes wrong I get 1 more chance..

Digidurst · Jul 19, 2005

bobfowler said:
OK, what was your dilution, and how much did you mix up? Were you working from concentrate or from stock?

I used dilution B from the concentrate as described here

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