Village Churches & Expired Chemicals
St Paul’s Walden Church, the Queen Mother was born locally and worshipped here as a child. 1/25s 111mm F22 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
So, I was down to my last roll of 120 film and having fully tested out the No.1 Pocket Kodak camera and shooting the previous three rolls through it for the Hitchin Camera Club Centenary Walk, I was wondering what I could do with it. Then it dawned on me on a long cycle ride through the villages, why don’t I go out into more of them and photograph the churches there like I had done in St Ippolyts. They certainly provide interesting subjects and being very quiet places during the day I wouldn’t be disturbed in creating very long exposures.
Inside St Paul’s Walden Church. Memorial stones pave the way to one of two chapels. I am still finding it difficult to perfectly frame my composition, this one should have been more centred. 45s (T) 111mm F32 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
I picked out three churches in the villages of Lilley, Hexton and St Paul’s Walden, all of which were centuries old, though Hexton underwent extensive restoration in the 19th Century, and it isn’t quite what you’d expect when you step inside. Thankfully I had good sunny weather that afternoon which meant I could enjoy walking around as much as taking the photos. Despite being small, I continue to be impressed by the interior architecture of these rural churches, especially the wooden and decorated roofs. I think at some point I will have to do a series of photographs dedicated solely to that particular subject!
Hexton Church has undergone more recent exterior restoration work than the other two churches that are very obvious when you look closely. 1/4s (B) 111mm F45 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
I was shooting Ilford FP4+ which is a stop and a half faster than my usual Pan F+ 50, and whilst it is not one of my favourites, the faster speed was very helpful in allowing me to go to F32 or F45 to get front to back sharpness, whilst keeping all my exposures well below ten minutes. Convenient when I had a fair bit to get on with that afternoon. The results turned out ok but as it had been almost two months since I got bought it, my developer had expired beyond its best.
I photographed the traditional chapel but the section behind me was more of a modern 20th century building. It’s more of an open community space and it was a bit jarring seeing it with how old the church looks initially from the outside. 330s (T) 111mm F45 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
Normally fresh developer is a clear liquid, but as it is exposed to air it goes off quite quickly, you’d normally get two months out of it at the absolute maximum. You’ll know it’s starting to go off as it turns increasingly yellow. When I developed the images for the Centennial Walk (more than a week before these) the developer was a pale yellow that become almost completely clear when diluted into the 1+14 solution I use for Pan F+. However, by this point even the dilution (this time 1+9) was a pale yellow and it really had reached the end of its usefulness. Before using it, I did test it out by putting a thin strip of undeveloped film into a small sample of diluted solution to see if development would take place. It was successful, as it was with the images in this blog (I did slightly extend the development time by twenty seconds to be on the safe side), but the images are definitely of a lower quality. They are lacking in tonal range, grainier and less detailed and in addition I noticed a dark line of improper development down the side of some of the images.
Lilley Church, I noted that it was on a route popular with dog walkers. The developing error on the right hand side of the image is very visible. 1/4s (B) 111mm F45 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
Honestly, I wasn’t too fussed by all this as I can easily go out and shoot these images again and it’s been a good learning experience on when developer is too far gone to be useful. The small amount I have left will be chucked away and I’ll be picking up some fresh Ilfosol 3 for my next batch of films (and in 500ml quantities rather than the large 1L bottle of FD10 I originally bought).
The interior is the most traditional of the three with a single open room that has front to back seating leading to a single altar. 420s (T) 111mm F45 Focus set at 5m Ilford FP4+.
What’s your experience with expiring chemicals? Have you figured out when you can still get away with using it to maximise its value? Let me know in the comments down below.
The expired developer (FD10 - concentrate) has turned a dark yellow colour.
Even when diluted it is still a pale yellow. Throw this a way, it is too far gone for optimum development. If it is only the concentrate that is this pale yellow colour then I’ve found it is still ok to use it.
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