Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 12 of 12

Thread: Ilford HP5 PLUS processing

  1. #11
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay area, CA
    Posts
    18,318

    Re: Ilford HP5 PLUS processing

    You really do gotta get in your dream trip through our Great Basin area, Michael, if only to actually taste the water at Stovepipe Wells. You can't drink water just anywhere around salt flats, especially if you see animal skeletons laying around the shore of little pools devoid of edge vegetation too. The water at Stovepipe Wells isn't poisonous; but it does have enough borax and minerals in it to make you want to instantly spit it out. Basically soap. You could probably do your laundry in it without added detergent. There are other desert areas where the water is so hard that if a drop gets onto your lens or any other glass item, it will instantly and permanently bond to it.

    But Death Valley would be a suitable spot to set up a water distiller if you can find enough water - no need for a burner beneath it. Just leave it outside in the sun. The only real disadvantage is that going back into a darkroom and developing film at ambient air temperatures of 120F might be a bit annoying, if the lethal scorpions running around on the floor don't get you first. ... Just a hint. Visit Death Valley from Nov to April instead, and bring your own water ... and lots of film! ... in a cooler! If you go there in March, you'll spend the entire next month drying to get all the fine clay and salt dust blowing around out of your gear. Feb is awfully nice, but cold at the higher altitudes of the Great Basin. There are times I've camped in snow above Death Valley in the evenings. You'll need snowshoes for trails at the end of the road branching off above Stovepipe Wells, and perhaps 4WD to get there - but the views !!!

  2. #12

    Re: Ilford HP5 PLUS processing

    HP5 is a great film and easy to use. Its a competitor to Tri-X, but a little bit more contrasty. I process HP5 in X-Tol at 50% according to Kodak specifications with consistent very good results. I begin by letting the film soak for about five minutes in plain water, empty the tank and then develop in X-Tol as described. I don't use stop bath, just rinse six times and then fix. After fixing I wash for two minutes and then treat for two minutes at constant agitation with permawash. Then I wash for another twenty minutes, soak in photoflow for one minute and squeegee and dry. The tap water in San Francisco is very clean and doesn't have very many minerals in it so I can use the water right out of the tap. If your water has particles or minerals in it you'll want a filtration or water softening system. I like HP5.

    I miss Plus-X.

    David

Similar Threads

  1. Ilford opens film processing lab in California
    By Willie in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 13-Oct-2016, 13:52
  2. Ilford 10x8 processing drum
    By paul owen in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 3-Jun-2005, 05:10
  3. Oriental Seagull with Ilford Archival Processing Sequence
    By Erik Asgeirsson in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 18-Dec-2001, 18:22
  4. Processing Ilford Delta 100 in XTOL
    By John C. Morris in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 26-Jul-1998, 17:48

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •