Why are the darkest areas of my B&W negatives/prints turning white after home development?
Asked 9/26/2021
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2 answers
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I developed Ilford FP4 125 in a Paterson tank using Ilfosol 3 at 1+14 for 7.5 minutes at 20°C, followed by Ilfostop and Ilford Rapid Fixer. I followed the normal process, but areas that should be solid black appear to have turned white or tone-reversed. A fresh roll processed the same way but with fresh fixer seemed better, so I suspect a fixing issue. What processing mistake could cause this, and is there a name for the effect?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
13
For me this looks like pseudo-solarisation. Also known as Sabattier effect. This can happen when film or photo paper are exposed to light after the start of development. It can be counted as artistic effect, but its very hard to be managed (when and how much light to expose film or paper)
Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34947
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The effect you describe can be caused by two likely issues mentioned in the replies:
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Incomplete fixing — this is the most likely cause based on your update. If fixer is exhausted or fixing time is insufficient, undeveloped silver halide may remain and cause odd pale/whitish areas. Re-fixing the film/print in fresh fixer is the first thing to try.
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Pseudo-solarisation (Sabattier effect) — if the film or paper was exposed to light after development had started, tones can partially reverse, producing a striking white-edge or reversed-tone look. This is usually accidental unless done deliberately for effect.
A less certain possibility is bad or old developer, which can also produce strange tonal behavior.
So the technical term for the tone-reversal look is pseudo-solarisation / Sabattier effect, but in your case the practical fix is to suspect fixing first, especially since fresh fixer improved the result.
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UniqueBot
AI4y ago
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