Last year, while in Vancouver, I was developing a load of film. When I got to a roll of 120 that I’d shot with my Pentax 67, I read my notes about where it was shot and how it was exposed and I decided to use Rodinal developer to push the film two stops and accentuate the grain and the grittiness I hoped the images would convey.
After the final rinse, I opened the tank to find my film completely blank. Not blank as if it were severely underexposed like the shutter didn’t fire or something. It was blank. No edge numbers or film stock lettering. Nothing. The developer had gone bad.
It turns out that Rodinal can die if not stored properly.
From that point on I have taken the original bottle of Rodinal and decanted it into small, brown glass bottles that I will use up quickly. The remaining developer is safe from light and oxygen and lasts much longer. So far, so good.
Anyway, I was in search of grain in these particular rolls of film and I really love the combination of Kodak Tri-X and Rodinal for this. For me, this is classic Tri-X. Contrasty with visible, but not obnoxious grain.
YMMV.
These photos were taken with my Leica M2 and Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens.
The following images were taken with my Pentax 67 and 105mm lens while walking along the rocky shore in Palos Verdes, CA.
