Fatal mistake! Please, help.

Hi friends,

as a real idiot I exposed at 1600 an Ilford FP4 and I realized that at the end of the film.Any possibility to save it? I would develop it with rodinal.
Thanks,
Joseph

There is no way to "save" it but you can try pushing it - actually just developing the crap out of it for high contrast effects. Most likely you will get NO shadow detail depending on your scene and metering habits but what was the mids and highlights could make an interesting image by accident.

I would not use Rodinal for dealing with this = I would probably use XTOL/D76 or something like this at low dilutions. Probably for 100%-200% your "normal" time.

RB

I once did similar, "pushing" Tri-X to EI 1,000, only to find it was FP-4 in the camera, not Tri-X. I souped the heck out of it in my standard, D23. The negs printed fine, but grain was pretty obvious.

In ye oldene dayz, TRI-X souped in straight D-76 often did well at an EI of 650, developed for the normal time (was that 8 minutes, 68F?, I forget). So a push to EI 1,600 should be doable if, as abpve states, you can keep contrast increases, some how, at a minimum. Perhaps 8 minutes normal, followed by water bath, with additional increments and water baths???

Thank you very much, RB.
Somewhere I should have D76 and XTOL too.They are pictures I shot in New York on 1st January and and I would like very much to be able to save them. I'm going to try and I beg you to specify further about "low diluitions". What do you mean "for 100% - 200% your normal time"?
Thanks again

Anscojohn said:

I once did similar, "pushing" Tri-X to EI 1,000, only to find it was FP-4 in the camera, not Tri-X. I souped the heck out of it in my standard, D23. The negs printed fine, but grain was pretty obvious.

In ye oldene dayz, TRI-X souped in straight D-76 often did well at an EI of 650, developed for the normal time (was that 8 minutes, 68F?, I forget). So a push to EI 1,600 should be doable if, as abpve states, you can keep contrast increases, some how, at a minimum. Perhaps 8 minutes normal, followed by water bath, with additional increments and water baths???

Click to expand...

Thanks John.
I'm sorry but i didn't understand what you suggested. Do you mean a first developing of 8 minutes followed by water bath and a second developing? If so, please, could you kindly specify further?
Thank you very much,
J.

pluto said:

Thank you very much, RB.
Somewhere I should have D76 and XTOL too.They are pictures I shot in New York on 1st January and and I would like very much to be able to save them. I'm going to try and I beg you to specify further about "low diluitions". What do you mean "for 100% - 200% your normal time"?
Thanks again

Click to expand...

Low dilution means 1+1 or strait - the reason for this recommendations is to keep your dev times in the realm of the reasonable. AND because you underexposed by SO SO much that you really are not trying to "tame" your contrast - the shadows are gone PERIOD! the best you can do is try to get your mid-tones and highlights up to a reasonable level. Unless your scenes were very very unusually you will not have much density AT ALL I would recommend you try to get as much density as you can out of what little there is.

200% of "normal time" just means twice what you would do if it was not underexposed in the same developer.

RB

Ps. I cannot give you specific times as I NEVER exactly do this (similar exposures with medium speed films with shadows underexposed by 5 or 5 stops minimum), I do not use FP4, and when I do similar things (contrast expansions) I am giving you what my observations have been with medium speed films.

The "Massive Development Chart" Gives a time for FP4 shot a at 1000 developed with XTOL. http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=FP4&Developer=&mdc=Search

If it is something you really want to salvage I would shoot some other test rolls develop them at different times using the times in the MDC as a guide/starting point, until for get something usable. I have done this once, kinda as an experiment, boy it was time consuming. I shot the same still life on every frame, then cut the role in to 1/4's so I killed a tone of developer but only one role of film, 35mm of course!!!

Good luck!!

thanks to everybody
J

D-76 to the rescue

D-76 stock 15 minutes 75f continuous agitation
as a starting point, make test roll

Acufine 1+3 14min @68deg will take Plus x 125 to 1200 or UFG 1+2 11min @68deg Plus x 125 to 1000 but watch for blown highlights. The negatives will not be great but printable and usable.
Archer

Ilford datasheet gives some guidance as regards developing EI 400 and above