Ilford HP4 Plus blank negatives

[prays]

Hi,

Today took some pictures with my Bronica SQ-a. I then went home to develop the film. I did it like i always do, using Ilfosol 3, Ilfostop and rapid fixer. When I took the film out of the tank, it was completly blank with a red tone to it and a couple of white stains which i could scrabe off.
It's my first roll of 120 in the Bronica, but I have developed 35mm for some time, even the same type of film, and never experienced anything like this. Does anyone have a clue to what went wrong?

Thanks!

It of course Ilford HP5 Plus (ISO 400).

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Did you load the film into the Camera properly and did you see any numbers on the edges of the film after processing it?
I shot 10 rolls of HP5 Plus 120 film recently and they were all fine.

 

[prays]

Yes, I loaded it correctly, and aligned it to the red marker and everything. But I didn't see any numbers on the edge of the paper after processing. While shooting i used apperatures between 11 and 32 and various shutter speeds, if this could be to any help?

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Yes, I loaded it correctly, and aligned it to the red marker and everything. But I didn't see any numbers on the edge of the paper after processing. While shooting i used apperatures between 11 and 32 and various shutter speeds, if this could be to any help?

The paper or the film?

 

[prays]

I of course meant the film

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Prays, if you didn't see any numbers, then you may have poured in the fixer first instead of the developer.

 

[prays]

Hmm. I have thought about that. But since the fixer is clear and the developer is yellowish, I doubt it. But I'll shoot another roll tomorrow, and try again. The thing which i consider the strangest, is the redish colouring of the roll, and the spots.

 

[R gould]

Prays, if there are no edge marking on the film, numbers and film name etc then the only possibility is that you fixed the film before developing it, even if the film was unexposed due to something wrong with the camera the edge markings would be there, fixing first would also account for the other symptoms, we have al done it When I fixed first I remember the film(verichrome pan many years ago) was pink, clear and had some spots, Richard

 

[prays]

Okay. Well, i must have messed up then. Thanks for the answers. I'll return tomorrow and tell you if it is working

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Hmm. I have thought about that. But since the fixer is clear and the developer is yellowish, I doubt it. But I'll shoot another roll tomorrow, and try again. The thing which i consider the strangest, is the redish colouring of the roll, and the spots.

Stop-Bath is usually yellowish as well, either that, or your developer could have turned bad.
It's the fact that you didn't see any numbers or the ILFORD HP5 PLUS letters that puzzles me and why I suspect that you poured in either the stop-bath or fixer first.

 

[prays]

I didn't do any pictures today because of bad weather. But i then sacrificed a couple of frames on a 35mm roll. The first thing i noticed was that today the developer was colourless. But I tried to develop it anyways. The result was a strip of film where the number and text was visible, but the light grey backside (gelatine?) wasn't dissolved.
I guess my developer has turned bad

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

I didn't do any pictures today because of bad weather. But i then sacrificed a couple of frames on a 35mm roll. The first thing i noticed was that today the developer was colourless. But I tried to develop it anyways. The result was a strip of film where the number and text was visible, but the light grey backside (gelatine?) wasn't dissolved.
I guess my developer has turned bad

Did you expose those couple of frames in your Camera or just develop the unexposed film?

 

[prays]

I didn't expose them in the camera, but I exposed them to the light in my living room.

 

[prays]

When i exposed the film in the camera i got some kind of visible exposures, but nothing useable. The back layer of the film still isn't dissolved.

 

[MattKing]

It sounds like your fixer may be the problem - try re-fixing with fresh chemistry.

 

[tribalista000]

same problem here

hi! i just developed my first roll of an ilford hp5 plus film, im using kodak d76 and an atlas fixer

after pouring the developer into the tank, i pretty much inverted tank 4x then smacked it against the table 3 more times for 10 seconds, pretty much did the same thing for then 10 minutes,

i developed the film at 20C for 11 minutes with agitation and smacking every minute for 10 seconds each,
*i used 1+1 for the developer
*followed the instructions on the kodak d76 packet when i mixed it to make the stock solution

i followed it up running water for 5 minutes,

poured in the fixer for 5 minutes, agitating every minute like i did with the developer, then 10 minutes of running water after that

the film is pretty much dark all through out, however i can see some images on the film if i hold it up against the light and the borders between images can be seen a bit

any suggestions where i went wrong?

also i noticed this on ilford's website : http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006210204272065.pdf
its 20C for 11 minutes with constant agitation

on this one : http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=HP5&Developer=D-76&mdc=Search
its at 20C for 13 minutes

so which one should i follow? or do i experiment?

 

[wblynch]

Overdeveloped or underfixed

If the frames are black or you can't read the edge printing, then it's under fixed.

 

[pentaxuser]

also i noticed this on ilford's website : http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006210204272065.pdf
its 20C for 11 minutes with constant agitation

on this one : http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=HP5&Developer=D-76&mdc=Search
its at 20C for 13 minutes

With inversion agitation which is what you did it is 4-5 inversions in the first 10 secs and repeat every minute. Mention of constant agitation refers to rotary processing such as a Jobo processor where the reduction in time can be between 15-20% or maybe even more.

Do not use inversion agitation constantly for the full development time!!

pentaxuser

 

[pentaxuser]

Overdeveloped or underfixed

If the frames are black or you can't read the edge printing, then it's under fixed.

As far as I can see the OP mentions 5 mins in fixer which is plenty of time. Underfixing to the extent of causing the film to go almost black on exposure to light would mean a very short time indeed - seconds only. With fresh fixer even 30 secs would substantially fix the film.

Using the leader test I have had it clear in 30 secs.

If the fixer was almost totally exhausted then I'd expect the OP to see it blackening before his eyes as he lifted the reel out of the water rinse. It surely wouldn't come out totally black straight away which is how he describes things?

pentaxuser

 

[tribalista000]

at arms length the film is all black, however if you hold it up close with enough light, you can see the space in between frames and on some frames there are images, but not detailed enough like you would see normally on a negative,

for the fixer i did invert it constantly for the whole 5 minutes,
it is possible that i could have underdeveloped the film due to constant inversion,

do you guys have any suggested work flow that i could use for the developing period? also, which developing time is better to use? 11 minutes or 13 minutes?

 

[canuhead]

I think there's a possibility that the room you loaded the film in wasn't entirely light tight. Poor fixing would leave a milky look to the film so if the film looks very dark/ black, then I'd go with extreme fogging pre chemical process. Even if you gave it constant agitation in the D76 (which you didn't, going by your description), it wouldn't produce the results you're getting , ie-can just make out the frame spacing if held up to a bright light...

you also don't need to run it through a 5' water stop bath before the fixer either.

If you use a darkened room or closet, I'd suggest going back in but stay there for a few minutes until your eyes have adapted and any light leaks will be very obvious when you scan the space.

 

[tribalista000]

it may be possible the film may have exposed to light, i dont have a changing bag and was using a black shirt inside a garbage bag, and my room wasnt fully light proof during that time either,

ill try it again, but whats a good time for the water stop bath?

 

[bdial]

At the risk of starting another pro or con acid stop thread, I use a water stop for 1 minute. But 1 minute or 5 isn't likely a factor in what you've described. Also more agitation in the developer will give you more development activity, not less.

You can get away with an improvised loading space like you've used, but only at night in a room with no lights on and protected from external light with closed doors and blinds. If you hold a dark trash bag up to the light, you'll see that it isn't so dark. Film needs a space so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face after 5 minutes.

If you have a bathroom with no windows and no direct light at the door, that might work (probably at night), or else a closet, also at night with no lights in the outer room. If you want to try the trash bag and tee shirt thing again, do it under a dense blanket, along with the bag and tee shirt, at night, in a darkened room.

 

[prays]

Hi again guys,

Thanks for all the answers. Today I shot a roll and developed it. Besides the way underexposed frames, the rest were crystal clear, and this was done using the "old" chemistry. I must have messed up with the fixer last time. But the negatives still have a light purple colour, which i havn't experienced before.. And another odd thing is, that from frame 6 to 12 on the roll, there is a wide white stripe down the middle of the negatives. Any suggestions to what has caused this?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

Hi again guys,

Thanks for all the answers. Today I shot a roll and developed it. Besides the way underexposed frames, the rest were crystal clear, and this was done using the "old" chemistry.

I must have messed up with the fixer last time. But the negatives still have a light purple colour, which i havn't experienced before.. And another odd thing is, that from frame 6 to 12 on the roll, there is a wide white stripe down the middle of the negatives. Any suggestions to what has caused this?

Thanks a lot!

I don't know what caused the white stripe on your film, but it might be a fault with loading the film tank reel or the Camera.
It seems your developer has gone off, so try another type that is more robust like DD-X, Ilfotec HC or LC29 if you want a liquid concentrate, other wise try ID-11 or D-76.

Also, follow the advice from Ilford for film processing and see if that solves your problems.
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf