Any ideas what caused this fog?

[butterfly]

Hello everyone,

I shot 4 images on 4x5 about two weeks apart, and then loaded them up into a combi-plan tank. I then left the tank on top of my refridgerator/freezer for 3 weeks before processing.

I've not suffered any light leaks before. The chemicals were all fresh and mixed correctly. I've checked the camera bellows for light leaks and the Kodak (latest type) readyload holder seems fine.

I shot an indoor image last night and processed it immediately and it is fine.

Have a look at the scan. The borders look all grey and 'muddy' and overall the image seems to be fogged.

I am at a loss to establish how this happened. On the other images the fogging seems worse opposite the film notches, which seem to exclude any packet clip problem.

I am wondering if not processing them straight away would be a problem?? Normally I process straight away.

Any help appreciated.

Regards

Steve

[IanG]

It's not your film holder/readyloads, and it's not totally even. Daylight processing tanks aren't designed for long term storage of films, so I'd be quite suspicious.

A tank that's light-tight for normal processing times might not be safe for 3 weeks.

Ian

[Greg Lockrey]

I'd be concerned about the heat that would be present on top of a refrigerator.

[Vaughn]

I also answered this on APUG, but the top of a fridge is probably the warmest place in one's home after the oven and furnace. Also, what are the Combi tanks made of? Can they out-gas old chemicals...especially in a warm place?

Vaughn

[butterfly]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am thinking leaving it on top of the fridge was a bad idea. I have a brand new readyload holder so I am going to shoot two images side by side in daylight using the old and new holder, to eliminate any problems with those. The outgassing of old chemicals is interesting. I do clean the tank after each use but not really thoroughly.

[Steven Barall]

I vote for the heat on top of your fridge especially because you left it up there for so long. The top of my fridge gets pretty warm. Maybe next time you could put it in the fridge instead of on top of it.