What am I doing wrong?

[MartinS]

Hi all,

I would like to seek advise on what I might be doing wrong with my B&W negative development. A look at this picture and one can see soft vertical lines across the photo. I do not believe they are streaks because they are the same dimensions as the negative "squared holes" at the top and bottom.



Anyone out there can tell me what I've done wrong? This has not happen to me before. Film is Kodak TX 400 with HC-110 at 20 deg 3 3/4 mins.

Could it be that I re-used my developer one time too many already?

Martin

[Rangefinder_fan]

Lines that run vertically are due to bromide drag. In areas of high development, which would be your sky area, the waste by-product of the development process (bromide) is settling down towards the bottom of your tank, thus causing uneven development. That results in the streaks that you see here.
The solution would be more frequent agitation. However, increasing the agitation would in turn lead to greater development of highlights, so that may not be good either.
If you are using HC-110 at a sub 4-min time, I'd suggest you increase the dilution and thus development time instead. I use a 1:63 dilution for HP5+ and have not run into this.

Good luck

rf

[MartinS]

rf

Many thanks for the advise. The above shot was done about 2 or 3 months ago. Last night I did another roll (using the same developer solution as the last session) and the streaks were even more prominent. But before the last two attempts I had never encountered the streaks.

Martin

[Rangefinder_fan]

What do you mean by 'using the same developer solution as the last session'? Why are you reusing HC-110? I dont think its designed to be reusable unless you replenish it. For this last roll that you did, did you use the same dilution and time?

[Xtol19]

1. Are you so poor that you have to reuse developer?

2. Why are you using such short development time? With this you don't have chance to vary development time to reduce/increase contrast.

[MartinS]

Originally Posted by Rangefinder_fan What do you mean by 'using the same developer solution as the last session'? Why are you reusing HC-110? I dont think its designed to be reusable unless you replenish it. For this last roll that you did, did you use the same dilution and time?

Ah ok..that's probably it. I had used the same dilution as my last developing session.

[0200903C]

I believe 1:63 dilution for HC 110 is called Dilution H.

I just developed a roll using that Dilution and no issues so far. maybe you can retrace ure steps and see whats wrong.

[MartinS]

Originally Posted by Xtol19 1. Are you so poor that you have to reuse developer? 2. Why are you using such short development time? With this you don't have chance to vary development time to reduce/increase contrast.

Well I live in Dubai. They do not sell HC-110 here. (No Kodak Tri-X 400 either). So I try to buy a bottle or two whenever I come back to S'pore and carry the stuff back
in my check in luggage. Hence my HC-110 is "precious" to me. And I've re-used a dilution B solution about 3 times without any problems so my last attempt was probably stretching it already.

The development time was recommended by the Kodak website for Tri-X 400. 3 3/4 mins at 20 deg in HC-110 dilution B.

[chiif]

I do get that sometimes.

It's probably due to what Rangefinder_fan has said.

One thing I realised is that the first few seconds the developer is poured into the tank is most crucial period. Sometimes the developer "developed" some areas more than the other. Hence, resulting in areas which are "more developed" than the other, that's how the so called streaks appeared.

I believe, one way to counter this is to increase the dilution and extend the development time. So that the first few seconds will not develop the film too quickly. Somehow, I do not run into this problem for solution that I reuse for a few times. That's how I conclude that the dilution of 1:32 might be too much for HC110. I tend to pour the solution too slowly into the tank, I believe that's what caused the streaks on my negatives.

More frequent agitation would help too. Knock the bottom of the tank to dislodge the bubbles after the agitation to prevent "spots" on the negatives.

With more mistakes like this, will improve your development skill.

Hope that helps...

[Rangefinder_fan]

Hi,
What Chiif said is partially true. Speed of loading the tank with the developer does matter.
But the streaks that you've described is a result of too high a concentrate of developer plus insufficient dilution. Google to see other samples.
Spent developer, as it is heavier, is flowing downwards, and the streaks tend to happen between the sprocket holes, as those areas allow it to flow down unimpeded.
So, either move to Solution H and increase development times, or use a steel reel. Seem to recall that steel reels show this issue up less.
Note that a more aggressive agitation will just develop the highlights more, which is why the right thing to do would be to increase the dilution.

HTH

Originally Posted by chiif I do get that sometimes. It's probably due to what Rangefinder_fan has said. One thing I realised is that the first few seconds the developer is poured into the tank is most crucial period. Sometimes the developer "developed" some areas more than the other. Hence, resulting in areas which are "more developed" than the other, that's how the so called streaks appeared. I believe, one way to counter this is to increase the dilution and extend the development time. So that the first few seconds will not develop the film too quickly. Somehow, I do not run into this problem for solution that I reuse for a few times. That's how I conclude that the dilution of 1:32 might be too much for HC110. I tend to pour the solution too slowly into the tank, I believe that's what caused the streaks on my negatives. More frequent agitation would help too. Knock the bottom of the tank to dislodge the bubbles after the agitation to prevent "spots" on the negatives. With more mistakes like this, will improve your development skill. Hope that helps...

[eosandy]

Try rotational agitation rather than inversion for 35mm. Possibly prevent sprocket related flow issues.

[Rangefinder_fan]

On a related note, to the TS, if you need a developer that practically lasts forever, Diafine may be up your alley.
Because its a two part developer, the actual usage is very little. My friend and I mixed up a batch about 6 months back, and its been keeping very well.
I do, however, not recommend it for Ilford Delta films. Grainy as hell.
It works well for me for the films where the published development times are a bit lacking, eg, China films.
If I recall, it worked nicely for TriX too, but google to confirm that.
It did give me streaks like what you got, but a more aggressive agitation cycle during solution B sorted that out.

cheers

rf

[MartinS]

Guys...

Thank you all for your invaluable input.

Martin