Weird spotting on Tri-X-Part II

[Guy Boily]

I exposed some Tri-X last winter. Temperature is around -25C but I've been doing this for sometime now. Exposed the sheet film, as usual, using the Zone system and developed in HC-110, as usual. I've been using the same technique for 8 years. After developing the sheets I noticed some weird spotting on the negs. Upon closer examination it looked as if the emulsion was sort of crackled. It makes me think of a frozen lake when the water level suddenly drops and the ice breaks and folds over the protruding rocks underneath. I exposed about 10 sheets and only 3 have the spots, randomly distributed. I had sent some negs to Kodak 6 months ago and I guess they lost them!! Are there any theories out their besides ET's. I am including 2 shots. One is part of the original neg and the spotting is center right. The other is a cropped portion. Thank you for your precious comments. http://www.guyboily.com/tri-x-spot.htm Guy Boily

[Alan Davenport]

Wild guess: perhaps the film had been in humid conditions earlier, then when it was chilled to -25°C, there was enough moisture in the emulsion to freeze and reticulate the film?

[Steve J Murray]

Judging by the look of things, they are either what Alan suggested, or a small gathering of "ectoplasmic" critters from the astral plane, or extraterrestrial organisms, in which case, what out! They may be infectious. ;)

[Tom Westbrook]

I would guess that it is static discharge. Air is very dry at sub-freezing temps, and static gets to be a big problem. Be sure to move holders & dark slides slowly in low temp situations. Also static build-up from clothing you wear can be a problem, too (like a synthetic jacket rubbing against a wool sweater). Just a guess, though.

[Doremus Scudder]

Tom,

Looks an awful lot like static to me too, but I'm not sure that would result in physical damage to the emulsion as you describe. The other possibility (judging from the shape which I can't see too clearly on my laptop monitor) would be fungus. Was the film stored in warm, humid conditions during the summer months? It does not look like classic reticulation, but the fact that the emulsion is physically damaged does not rule out freezing and subsequent cracking of the emulsion. This might happen if the film were moist before being frozen.

[Dave Ditzel]

Guy,

Your marks on the film are definitely caused by static discharge that probably occurred when you removed the film from the holder. Friction between dissimilar materials will generate static electricity. As temperatures go down, so does the relative humidity. Try to maintain an rh above 45% to eliminate this problem.

[Guy Boily]

Thank you all for your comments,ideas and theories. Guy