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View Full Version : Tried some old HP5+. Not a good idea. (Ya think?) Can I intensify the negs?



AtlantaTerry
9-Sep-2013, 05:54
I loaded some 4x5 sheet film holders with HP5+ that I got about 8 years ago for free when an eBay guy sold me a stack of holders. I thought, "What the heck" and set out with my Cambo to see what I might find. Unfortunately, I found some really interesting subjects and shot them at box speed. (How many mistakes is that so far?)

So about 3am today I developed the 12 negs in HC-110 "H". Yes, there are images on the film ... sorta. But as you can likely guess, the sheets of film have an overall light grey look and the negs seem at least two stops underexposed.

*sigh*

If my dusty old brain cells are correct isn't there a process called "Chromium Intensifier" that is supposed to bring images back from the brink of death? Is that stuff still available? Does it work like I hope?

Thanks,
Terry

JeRuFo
9-Sep-2013, 06:16
Ansel Adams used selenium toning to intensify flat negatives. I wanted to try that recently, but tried scanning my negative first and deemed the image it not worth the hassle. I've heard that Chromium Intensifier is nasty stuff, but have never used that either.

JeRuFo
9-Sep-2013, 06:33
I reread the paragraph about intensifiers in 'The negative' (I could never read it when I started developing my own film, but now it comes in handy every now and again as an encyclopedia) and Adams calls intensifying using selenium toner experimental, but has had good results and expects it to be 'quite permanent'. I can send you his method if you don't own it and are interested.

C_Remington
9-Sep-2013, 07:34
Just buy fresh film.

Jim Noel
9-Sep-2013, 11:19
Selenium toning works well, but only if there is some density on the negative for it to enhance. It sounds like the film was under-exposed and underdeveloped. You didn't mention your development time or temperature but dilution "H" would require quite long development time on this out-dated film.

Neal Chaves
9-Sep-2013, 12:33
My tests with HP5+ indicate that 7.5 min in HC110 B at 68* produces a normal negative for diffusion enlarging or contact printing with a speed of 400. 12 minutes in H would probably produce a low contrast negative with an effective speed of around 32 - 64. Before you give up on that film, which isn't that old if stored properly, try increasing development to 7.5 minutes in B. HC100 is inexpensive. Why dilute so much?

AtlantaTerry
9-Sep-2013, 13:33
Thanks all for your helpful feedback today.

I diluted HC-110 syrup to "H" because the developer and tap water was warm: 24*C. If I used "B" IMHO the developing time would have been too short. So I followed the Massive Chart and developed for 7 minutes. I used a 5 minute presoak. According to what I have read here "H" is 1/2 of "B" so I used a 1:63 ratio which was 1.5 ounces of syrup to 94.5 ounces of water. I used a child's medicine dropper to draw out the syrup. 1.5 ounces = 9 teaspoons so that's what I added to the water.

In the developer I gently agitated for the first 30 seconds then a lift/tilt/dunk/lift/tilt the other way/dunk every minute thereafter.

The 12 sheets of HP5+ were loaded into Kodak #4A stainless steel racks.

My processing line consists of 108 ounce plastic Tupperware-style containers from Dollar Tree; they nicely hold a maximum of 12 racks.

I have been successfully developing Shanghai ISO 100 film in "H" so (maybe wrongly due to it's age) assumed the HP5+ would work OK.

I started the above thread when the negatives were drying. Now that I look at them I'm not sure if there is a base fog. Does HP5+ generally have a base fog? This is my first time with it so I don't know how it is supposed to look but I wouldn't think it does.

Now that I look at the dry negatives, I think I should have metered this older film at ISO 100 or 200 instead of 400.

Yes, I should have made some extensive tests prior to photographing anything important. Lesson learned.

I metered each photograph with my Sekonic L-758DR meter set to "Incident". (I have been a photographer since 1955 so know how to properly use a light meter.)

The lens was a Rodenstock 300mm f5.6 in a Copal #3 shutter. The subjects were people in a park that I asked to pose for me. The people were under some trees with backlighting from a late afternoon sun. I used some 20x30 inch white and silver reflectors on light stands to kick some light into the shadows. On some of the portraits I used a black 20x30 card to block some of the light on the opposite side of the white or silver reflectors in order to give more dimension to the faces.

Yes, I have two new fresh batches of film on the way from different suppliers so I can do some tests with fresh film.

A friend has been scanning my negatives with his Epson V700 scanner. The scans of my negatives using the Shanghai film in the exact same part of the park at the same time of day two weeks ago look very nice.
Here is one of those unedited Shanghai scans:
101671
© 2013 Terry Thomas Photos; Atlanta, Georgia USA



BTW, I have found it useful to put a very large rubber band around the racks to prevent them from fanning out larger than the 108 ounce containers. That way when I place the racks into the pre-soak tub then into the developer, weak vinegar stop, fixer, etc. I don't have to fight them in the dark. The rubber band leaves no mark on the film's emulsion or base sides. I get them from The Container Store; they are made to hold plastic trash bags in place in trash cans. I believe they cost $2 for a bunch.

Andrew O'Neill
9-Sep-2013, 14:16
If there is not enough density in the negative, it won't work. The higher the density, the greater the effect of intensification. HP5 is finicky when it comes to N+ development, by the way. Extended development beyond N+1 drastically increases B+F. Whenever I want N+2, I develop for N+1, then intensify to finish. I once tried bumping a negative with a high value of about zone V and a third. With the selenium diluted 1:1 with water, I was only able to bump it to about zone V.5. Just like with papers, you need to find the ideal time to get the most out of intensification. A too long time could actually lead to a decrease in density. Testing is in order.
Are you wet printing your negatives?

AtlantaTerry
9-Sep-2013, 14:29
Are you wet printing your negatives?

I no longer have my own wet darkroom. I had an eight foot long sink, 4x5 Omega XL enlarger, etc...

For now I will be having to use a rental darkroom. :(

As I said, a friend is scanning my negs on an Epson V700 then giving me high resolution TIFs. I will be editing them in Photoshop then having a different friend print them on canvas using a large format HP printer.

My plan is to make a DIY rig so I can copy the 4x5 negatives with my Nikon D3S in order to cut out the Epson V700 step. I hope the resulting digital files will be nice. Time will tell...