mysterious whorls


Chris Stone (cstone05@sprynet.com)
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 16:56:07 -0400


Has anyone had the misfortune of battling whorls on sheet film? I've recently started developing with nitrogen burst, using small tanks patterned on those described by Gordon Hutchings. While making interpositives on 4x5 film, developed for about 5-7 minutes in D-23, I've begun noticing a number of whorls appearing randomly, like fingerprints from God (they're not mine--I wear gloves). Sometimes one or two of these whorls will appear; sometimes half a dozen or more. I've adjusted the force and duration of the nitrogen bursts, but this doesn't seem to make a difference. The marks appear in different places each time. The marks don't occur when I develop with pyro, or at least they're not visible on prints. It's only when making enlarged negatives. They don't occur when I process in trays, but since I'm loathe to spend any longer than necessary in the dark, I'm hoping there may be a solution. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

-- Matthew



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