The photos on this site were taken with Ilford HP5+ exposed at 250.

They were developed using the Eco-Pro version of Xtol at a ratio of 1:1, a water stop bath, and Eco-Pro rapid fixer.

I typically process at least 32 rolls at a time. This allows me to mix up a 5L jug of Xtol and use all of it within a day. I mix the Xtol with distilled water, and use distilled water for diluting the developer, as well as for the final water rinse with a bit of Photo Flo.

These are the times I use, with the temperature at 68 degrees.

  • Develop for 10 minutes, agitate gently for the first 30 seconds, then for 15 seconds every minute after.

  • Water stop bath for 1 minute, agitating gently for the first 30 seconds.

  • Water rinse for 30 seconds to prolong the life of the fixer.

  • Fix for 5 minutes, agitating for the first 30 seconds and then for 15 seconds every minute after.

  • Hypo clear for 1 minute, agitating for the first 30 seconds.

  • 10 minute water wash in an archival washer.

  • 30 second distilled water bath with Photo Flo.

After developing, I use a modified salad spinner to throw off a large amount of the water. The basket is modified to hold the reels in place and on their side. After, I hang the film in a closet. Ten minutes before doing this, I run a space heater in the closet to heat it. This has been effective at preventing water marks on the film.

A few hours later, or the next morning, I cut the film into strips of 5 frames and sleeve them, marking the number of each roll for that year.

Using an Epson v700 flatbed scanner and an 8x10 inch piece of ANR glass, I make “contact sheets” for every page of negatives.

By cutting the film into strips of 5 frames and using sleeves that hold 7 strips each, I can scan every frame on the page using the flatbed at 700 dpi and see each frame well enough to decide if I want to make a final scan of it or not.

I try and hold back from scanning a lot of individual frames, and to treat making a final scan as I would making a work print in the darkroom.

Using a Nikon Coolscan 5000, I make hi-res scans at 4000 dpi. I set the output to RAW and convert them in Lightroom using Negative Lab Pro.