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Ilford HP5 400 - Expired

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a black and white photographic film that gained a reputation as a versatile and reliable choice for both amateur and professional photographers.

We have had very little snow this winter. One morning in early March, we had snow that lasted more than a few minutes. It was early morning, and I had no pressing meetings. I grabbed the Minolta X-700 and loaded an unlabeled black cartridge from the box of expired 35mm film. The film cartridge was inside a smaller box labelled Ilford HP5 400. I went outside for a quick walk along Salisbury Road.

I have not exposed snowy scenes with any film stock. Snow confuses the camera's exposure meter. It will most likely underexpose your shots because it can't recognise the brightness of the snow. The X-700 doesn’t have the advanced "WYSIWYG" preview features of my Fuji X-T3, so I expected that my exposure would all be shit.

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a black and white photographic film that gained a reputation as a versatile and reliable choice for both amateur and professional photographers. This film has been a staple in the photography industry for decades, known for its fine grain, high contrast, and excellent tonal range.

The ISO rating of 400 made this film suitable for many lighting conditions, including low-light situations. It was ideal for capturing sharp, detailed images with a high level of contrast and emphasising deep blacks and bright whites. This made it particularly well-suited for portraits, street photography, and documentary-style photography.

Ilford HP5 400 was also known for its wide exposure latitude, which means it could handle a wide range of exposures without sacrificing image quality. This made it an excellent choice for photographers who needed to work quickly in changing light conditions or who wanted to experiment with different exposure settings.

The film was sold in 35mm format, one of the world’s most widely used film formats, and came in 36 exposure rolls. It was processed using standard black-and-white processing techniques and was compatible with various developers and fixers.

Ilford HP5 400 35mm film was a classic black and white film that has stood the test of time. Its current iteration, HP5 Plus, continues to be famous for black-and-white photography. Its versatility, reliability, and high-quality results have made it a photographer’s favourite for decades. It remains a popular choice for those who value the timeless beauty of black-and-white photography.

To compensate for the number of years that have passed since the film expired, I overexposed this cartridge of expired Ilford HP 400. I exposed it at ASA 50 and sent it to Boutique Film Lab for development. The cartridge was listed for 36 exposure, but I got 38 usable frames from the cartridge. The negatives were scanned with VueScan 9 on my Epson Perfection V600. I added meta-data using Exif Editor and imported the images into Adobe Lightroom, where they were converted to viewable images using Negative Lab Pro. I asked my regular lab, Boutique Film Lab, to pull the film -3 during development. At least, that’s what I have in my notes. I’m not sure if they did that or not.

Name Ilford HP5 400
Format 35mm
ASA 400
Features High contrast. Wide exposure latitude.
Camera Minolta X-700
Lens. Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7
Exposed ISO 50
Price FREE
Lab Boutique Film Lab
Process B+W, pull -3
Scanner Epson Perfection V600
Software VueScan 9, Negative Lab Pro, Adobe Lightroom
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50
Montgomery Hills neighbourhood in the snow
Montgomery Hills · Tuesday 7 March 2023 · Minolta X-700 · MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7 · ISO 50

First Real Snow of 2023

I am home today with a stuffy nose and sore throat, but when I looked outside and saw the snow on the ground, I knew I had to take advantage.

I was under the weather all week and woke up sniffling with a parched throat. I had no aches, but all the same, I administered a COVID-19 rapid test. I contacted the director and the rest of my security architecture team to let them know I was taking a sick day. When I looked outside and saw the snow on the ground, I knew I had to take advantage. This is the first real snow of 2023 for the Princeton area.

Snow and Wind

It started on Sunday afternoon and is expected to continue until Tuesday evening.

It started on Sunday afternoon and is expected to continue until Tuesday evening.

outdoor winter scene
Sunday January 31, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 1170 s at f/2.8 | ISO 200

I looked out the kitchen window, and the scenery looked much whiter than it did yesterday evening. The wind picked up, pelting snow and sleet sideways. I could hear it hit our home's siding, like coarse sand being thrown at sheet metal.

outdoor winter scene
Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 130 s at f/9 | ISO 800
outdoor winter scene
Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 1500 s at f/9 | ISO 6400

I fed Alphie his breakfast of Friskies Stuf'd & Sauc'd Kick'n With Chicken & Dripp'n in Gravy put the kettle on and set up the Chemex, scale and grinder to make coffee. For breakfast, I wanted to make frumenty with a bit of saffron.

food in bowl with coffee mug and notebook
Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 1500 s at f/2.8 | ISO 1600

Our neighbourhood hasn't seen a snowplough since yesterday. Bhavna and I cleared the driveway last night, but just now, when she realised the situation on the roads, she went back to bed.

outdoor winter scene
Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 1500 s at f/16 | ISO 12800

A bit of panic set in as I realised it was Monday 1 February and a month since my contract ended. Job hunting is itself a job, and I want to make today productive.

Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | JC Penny MultiCoated Optics 80-200mm f/4.5 @ 200 mm | 1640 s at f/8.0 | ISO 800
outdoor winter scene
Monday February 1, 2021 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 | 1500 s at f/16 | ISO 10000