Ilford XP2 Super developed in Caffenol CL

[EdBray]

On the way back from work yesterday, I stopped off at a little village called Harbertonford in the South Hams and took some pictures of the church in the centre of the village using my Fuji GX680II with Ilford XP2 Super ISO400 film.

The nominal exposure for the images was 1/125 sec @ f22 but this was reduced to 1/60th sec @ f22 as I was using a Yellow filter on the lens to increase the contrast.

The XP2 Super was processed in Caffenol CL using the semi-stand technique for 65 minutes as follows:

Formula: In 500mls distilled water:

8g Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous)
5g Asorbic Acid
0.7g Pottasium Bromide
20g Tesco Really Rich Roast Coffee

Agitations: First 30 seconds, then 3 inversions after a further: 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 8 minutes, 16 minutes empty tank after a further 34.5 minutes.

I am very pleased with the negatives the exhibit a fantastic range of tones, with a minimum of very fine grain.

Images were scanned on my Epson V750 scanner at 2400dpi.

Shot with 65mm GX-M at 1/60th sec, f22, yellow filter, slight rise to lose some gravestones.


Harbertonford Church 65mm GX-M by Ed Bray, on Flickr

100% crop of 65mm image 2400dpi

Shot with 125mm GX-M at 1/60th sec, f22, yellow filter,


Harbertonford Church 125mm GX-M by Ed Bray, on Flickr

100% crop of 125mm image 2400dpi

 

[kenm]

So you take some awsome shots with the biggest camera ever and process them in coffee (from Tesco) and four hours later nobody has commented... So I just have to say, those are great.

 

[desf]

Superb Eddie!

I really must try this coffee recipe.

 

[offline]

That certainly looks like a winning combination Ed. Thanks for sharing your technique.

There's some wonderful results being made with caffenol lately; I may have to give it a go sometime.

 

[Noah_]

These produced wonderful photographs Eddie. The tonal range is spot on. Thanks for sharing your technique! Standing-development seems to be a good thing to try! I'll put experimenting with Caffenol on hold for the moment tho as I prefer to drink all my coffee..

 

[EdBray]

Thanks for all the comments folks, it is appreciated.

I have really been blown away by the results from Caffenol CL, I have unopened boxes of ID11, 2x unopened bottles of Ilfosol S and also one of Kodak HC-110. I can't see me ever using them now.

The biggest problem with using Caffenol CL is getting hold of some of the raw materials at an acceptable price the biggest issue was trying to find the Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous) until I discovered that we use it in bulk at some of my works although we call it Soda Ash.

The other thing that is required for consistent repeatable results is a digital jeweller's scales which allow you to measure small amounts consistently. You will also need to be prepared to experiment a little with the process and amounts.

Initially I was developing for 65 minutes semi-stand at 21 degrees C using the basic CL formula pro-rata in 500ml of distilled water, I found the negatives a little 'overcooked' with very dark frame numbers, I then reduced the developing time to 58.5 minutes (10% reduction) but found that the negatives were a little thin and there was a bit more noticable 'base fog' so I increased the developing time back to 65 minutes at 21 degrees C but increased the amount of Potassium Bromide from 0.6g to 0.7g which controls the base fog a lot better.

I can see me using XP2 Super and Caffenol CL as my standard film/dev combination as the negatives really are superb.

@AshlyRose, the cheapest coffee seems to make the best developer, you really wouldn't want to drink this stuff.

 

[Noah_]

@AshlyRose, the cheapest coffee seems to make the best developer, you really wouldn't want to drink this stuff.

Hahaha that made me chuckle.
Cheers for the heads up Eddie :}