XP2 Super in Ilfosol3

Back in 2019 I shot a roll of Ilford’s XP2 super but didn’t have any C41 Chemicals to process it.

Living in cambridge at the time I only had Ilfosol 3 to hand and decided to develop using Black and White chem. I had heard it works but I hadn’t actually given it a go.

I’m not a huge an of XP2, it scans well but It’s just not a film I enjoy. Others love it, but It’s just not for me.

The Massive Dev Chart suggests 21 minutes at 20C. Which is a real pain in the arse sort of time. Normal times (or rather, my normal times) are around 7-10 minutes with anything around 11+ providing an audible groan from me. With my millenial brain wanting everything now, anything more than 11 minutes is just too damn long for me to want to do regularly.

BUT being too anxious not to run the full 21 minutes, I took one for the team and did it.

Its very contrasty. Its funny, back in the day I was a HUGE fan of contrast. Ferrania P30 being a particular favourite of mine, but as I’ve matured in my photographic journey I’ve erred towards more graded tones. That being said, I really like the one of the Swan in her nest. There’s something about the white of her feathers against the shadow of the tree in the water. I’m going to attempt to print this soon. As I’m itching to try out a technique of selective bleaching to improve highlight details in small areas. This might be the perfect image for that.

Although the black and white development of a C41 does leave quite a dense negative. So watch this space!