Advice Needed - Developing TRI-X 4x5 film exposed long ago !

[DennisD]

SUCCESS !!!!!

This evening I began developing some of my many 4x5 TRI-X sheets that were exposed a good 15 years ago. Developed in HC110, normal process. Processed about 17 sheets and quite a few more left to do.

I was amazed to see how well the first group turned out. Seemingly good contrast and no apparent fog, though I'm sure there must be some. After the sheets dry I'll be able to get a densitometer reading and will know better.

I can barely remember taking the photos, but I was able to look back in my logbook and found entries. Hopefully, I should be able to identify the subject matter and location. (important to keep notes).

Thanks again to all who provided encouragement when I made the original post. I was literally ready to give the film up for dead and toss it ! Something in me said, "post it on the forum" ! So, MANY THANKS !

[chassis]

Congratulations. As an additional data point, a few months ago I developed a roll of 120 T-Max that was exposed about 12 years ago, no problems. The images looked fine.

[DennisD]

I should clarify my post above. This morning I was eager to check the negatives on my densitometer. I was overly enthusiastic about the presence of fog. There is indeed fog of varying degrees ranging from .15 up to a high of .3 on each of the 12 sheets processed so far. There was one exception, a single negative with an inordinate amount of fog that read as high as .9 - ouch ! (all these readings are actually film base + fog)

The fact that some negatives show more fog than others is probably due to varying batches of film in this group as well as negatives shot at different times. I.e. The image might have been shot anywhere from 10 to 15+ years ago.

I did notice some silvering on the notched edge of many sheets. I think this is due to oxidation of the film edge that was exposed to air when stored in the open ended foil envelopes within the film boxes ( awaiting processing). I'm wondering if that "silvering" will have any effect on the scanning and/ or printing of the film.

Aside from the fog and "silvering" issues the negatives 'appear' to have excellent contrast and seem to be very printable. I say 'appear' and 'seem' because who knows what the results will be. In a few instances the highlight densities are a bit high, but nothing terrible. It will be interesting to see how these will print.

[Michael_4514]

About a week ago I bought an old Nettar and discovered a roll of exposed Kodacolor II inside. The roll was very loosely wound, making it likely there was significant light leakage. I processed the roll in HC-110, more or less standard time, and the results were surprisingly good. I can just barely make out the date on the newspaper in this picture, and if I'm right, the film was in the camera for over 30 years.