• (empty): empty space, no spool. (on top.)
  • 1324: Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats @ Hook and Ladder, Minneapolis. (9 Sept 2022. hand-rolled Kentmere 400 @ EI 1600.)
  • 1325: Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats @ Hook and Ladder, Minneapolis. (9 Sept 2022. hand-rolled Kentmere 400 @ EI 1600.)
  • 1323: Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats @ Hook and Ladder, Minneapolis. (9 Sept 2022. hand-rolled Kentmere 400 @ EI 1600.)
  • 1328: Freedy Johnson at the Parkway, Minneapolis. (10 Sept 2022. hand-rolled Kentmere 400 @ EI 1600.) (on bottom)

More catch-up from my film backlog! Still have plenty to do. Only four rolls in the tank this time: putting a fifth spool in keeps the rubber top from gripping the tank as well as I’d like. All development here took place at 72 degrees, which was as low as I could get the cold water to come out of the ground. It’s close enough for stand development, anyway. All four are Kentmere 400 exposed at EI 1600; I’m trying a full-stand development here; the massive dev chart suggests a 120-minute full-stand at 1+100.

Loaded inside daylight changing bag. Pre-wet film for 5 minutes. During the pre-soak mixed 11.5 mL Rodinal in 1L tap water. Poured developer in and topped off with tap water. Agitated 40x over the first minute, knocked on the tank several times to dislodge bubbles, and let it sit for two hours. All agitations are all half-agitations, gently (i.e., gently twisting to a 90-degree angle, then gently back).

During film processing, refreshed fixer by adding 400mL undiluted Ilford Rapid Fixer.

After 120 minutes, disposed of developer, rinsed in 70 degree water. Fixed in Ilford Rapid Fixer 1+4 for 6 minutes (that’s now 30 rolls in this batch of fixer, 4 rolls since replenishment), inverting 10x over 15 seconds at the top of every minute. Reclaimed fixer and rinsed for ten minutes in tap water, then emptied tank, added a few drops of Photo-Flo, filled tank with tap water and agitated 20x, and hung negatives vertically to dry.

Evaluation and notes

Roll 1323

Much better than roll 1322: mineral spotting is negligible on most frames, and where it does occur, it’s mostly far off to one side of the frame. There’s some really great shots of Lee Rocker (10, 13, 21). Shots are largely crisp and clear and well-timed.

Roll 1324

Again, basically a solid roll from a concert. This is slightly overexposed relative to the development—perhaps not surprising when exposing by guessing. But it’s worth remembering that well-lit concerts at Hook & Ladder should be stopped down a few F-stops when shooting at 1600.

There’s some nice by-play between the musicians at the beginning of the roll (1/8–2/9, 7/14–9/16), and I’m pleased to have gotten some good photos of the musicians in the supporting band—not always easy at concert venues when they’re often not lit as well. Middle-end of the roll (say, 17/24–24/31) is rather blurry, but that’s subject motion, not focus failures. Worth remembering that I can afford to use a faster shutter speed when the stage is this well lit.

Mineral spotting is back on this roll. There’s some dust scratching, too.

Roll 1325

Some decent shots here, again, but this is blurrier (subject moving faster; he really got more and more into the show as it went on) and more overexposed (I think I’d opened up the lens more for the end of the show).

Not the best roll from the show.

Roll 1328

Yikes, lots more mineral spotting. There are big strips of the album where there’s a line of mineral spots in the same place throughout an entire frame, frame after frame, down the line. Have I mentioned I should be doing a final rinse in distilled water? Yowza. Just when I was complacent about the Kentmere of roll 1327 being in better shape than the HP5+ of roll 1326, along comes 1328 to keep the Kentmere humble.

Aside from that particular fault, which renders almost all of the shots on this roll more or less unusable, there’s a lot to like about shooting technique and composition: timing is good, subjects are often well-placed within the frame, pictures are often quite sharp, But that mineal spotting really is something else, and really does render most of the roll unusable, not worth cleaning up digitally.