arhphotographic

Some while ago in amongst some cameras that I had purchased was a used/exposed roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan 127 black and white film. I thought it would be interesting to try to develop it to see if I could rescue any images from it.

However how long had it been hanging around and under what conditions? I had no idea. In addition the remaining Fotospeed FD 10 developer that I had been using was showing signs of being exhausted(more about that in the next post). Finally, there appeared to be no references regarding developing times for my particular developer that I could find. I would be on my own then.

Having nothing to lose but everything to gain from the experience I decided on the following process.

1:1 Dilution of FD 10 Developer( at least 5 months old)

9 Minutes with agitation every 30 seconds

Ilfostop for 30 seconds

Ilford Rapid Fixer for 5minutes

Rinse for 5 minutes in flowing water

Rinse Aid for 1 minute

The first step was of course to get the film onto a developing reel. As the film is tightly wound on its reel and is thinner than the 35mm film I was used to, I searched for some help on how to get it onto the developing reel. I uncovered this simple solution. A piece of card that would initially guide the film onto the reel after which it could be removed and the rest of the film wound onto the reel. What could be simpler?

With the film in the changing bag, I removed the backing paper from the film. However I was not prepared for how thin and tightly wound the film was. Even though I was able to get the film started on the reel and remove the card guide, I could only get it half way round the reel before it came off. 10 minutes elapsed, 20 then 30 minutes and still no closer it seemed. My hands were getting hot and slightly sweaty and my patience was definitely getting a workout. Finally 45 minutes and the film was on the reel and in the developing tank.

I processed the film along the lines I mentioned above and…………Voila! I had some images. Not only that but they appeared to be evenly developed with a good range of tones.

The final obstacle was that the film holder for my Epson V370 flatbed scanner could not hold the negatives. Will nothing go right?? So using the holder as my guide, I lay the negatives on the glass of the scanner. It worked, well kind of, the images received a small amount of cropping.

After a bit of digging, I think the car above is a Ford Consul Cortina Mk1( I am happy to be corrected) The number plate places the UK owened car in 1964. So the picture was taken from at least that time onward. Was the person a friend or relative? Was this a new car or just their pride and joy?

The photos above appear to be taken in the same area. The car is an Austin A30/35.

Is this a holiday home?

Visiting grandparents?

I am very pleased that I persevered and got such good results as well.

If only these pictures could be reunited with those involved.