MP: Is this a light leak?

[hirohhhh]

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What is this black stain on the top of my roll? It shows on about half of the roll. Is it a light leak or something caused during development? I used MP and was shooting at f/16 for the entire roll.  The HP5+ was shot at 1600 and developed in DD-X for 13 minutes in JOBO tank. None of the shots are affected, just the top of the sprocket holes, and I just want to understand what it is.

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Edited May 25, 2024 by hirohhhh

[frame-it]

this will help:

 

https://beyondtheaperture.com/2019/11/diagnosing-light-edges-on-images-dark-edges-on-negatives/

[hirohhhh]

47 minutes ago, frame-it said:

this will help:

 

https://beyondtheaperture.com/2019/11/diagnosing-light-edges-on-images-dark-edges-on-negatives/

Oh, thanks, yes, that helps a lot. I suspected it has something to do with the development, as these look like stains from the liquid rather than light leaks, so I'll eliminate leaks. Now I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I agitate for the first minute and then for 10 seconds every minute, same as I always do, and I normally don't see dark edges like in the example above. But I've noticed it happened a few times.

I don't use the Paterson tank, so I don't have a swizzle stick; I just agitate. Not sure what else I can try with this Jobo tank. I have another metal tank that I never used because it always seemed complicated to load the roll, but I may give it a try, but I should be able to get the good results with the Jobo every time.

 

 

[Siriusone59]

Maybe use just a bit more solution in the tank during development.  Enough to keep the top reel completely submerged.

[hirohhhh]

4 minutes ago, Siriusone59 said:

Maybe use just a bit more solution in the tank during development.  Enough to keep the top reel completely submerged.

I used more than enough—500ml for one roll.

[250swb]

3 hours ago, hirohhhh said:

I used more than enough—500ml for one roll.

You can see your ILFORD HP5 edge markings are fully developed so you've used enough developer but maybe not enough fixer. You also need to agitate the fix.

Edited May 25, 2024 by 250swb

[hirohhhh]

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3 hours ago, 250swb said:

You can see your ILFORD HP5 edge markings are fully developed so you've used enough developer but maybe not enough fixer. You also need to agitate the fix.

Same—I used 500 ml of developer, stopper, and fixer. Also, wash it thoroughly between each solution and for 10 minutes in running water at the end.

One thing that came to mind: Sometimes I insert the roll in the reel against the curl. Usually, I don't, but since I'm doing this in the dark, if I start it that way, I just continue. I thought it didn't matter, but maybe that causes the film to get stuck so the developer (or fixer) cannot reach the edges enough. I clearly remember I did that to this roll.

Edited May 25, 2024 by hirohhhh

[hansvons]

59 minutes ago, hirohhhh said:

One thing that came to mind: Sometimes I insert the roll in the reel against the curl.

Good explanation.