[pure-silver] Re: Dear Mr. Brick

  • From: Jim Brick <jim@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 19:01:52 -0700

Dear Unk,

Freezing B&W film is like stopping all atoms from spinning their electrons 
and causing a degradation of the precious emulsion. I have a brick (no pun 
intended) of 120 Agfa Isopan IFF from the 60's I occasionally take a roll 
out of the freezer, thaw it in the fridge, then allow it to come to room 
temperature, then use it to shoot some nostalgic subject matter. The stuff 
performs just exactly like it did when it when I got it, way back then. 
1:100 Rodinal.

I used to use IFF for commercial jobs so I bought dozens of bricks. This 
one is one that hid in the freezer, defying the odds, and survived until 
now. I have some other lovely stuff with it. Some 4x5 Super-XX, 2-1/2 x 
3-1/2 (for my Hasselblad sheet film backs) Tri-X, Panatomic-X, RS Pan, and 
Contrast Process Ortho. Plus, Kodachrome-X, EP 120 & EHB 120 (both process 
E3) and some Velox F2 paper.

Anyway, I personally believe that frozen B&W film will outlast you and me 
and still perform admiralty for our successors. BTW, I bought a boatload of 
Agfa 4x5 APX-100; 120 & 35mm APX-25 when it was being discontinued, and it 
currently lives in the freezer with the working lot in a drawer in my darkroom.

I dabble in all of my old frozen friends and... they still work 
wonderfully. Well... not the Kodachrome-X or E3 Ektachrome. They're pretty 
much frozen in time.

:-)

Nefu Jimmy




At 05:58 PM 9/10/2004, Stein wrote:


>     While this letter is much in the way of a testing of the waters to see
>if this old computer can learn new URLs, I do have a real, on-topic, pure
>silver question.
>
>      I recently purchased as much Ilford 4 x 5 sheet film as I could stagger
>out the door with on the resonable assumption that the world was coming to
>an end and I wanted pictures of it happening. I have sealed them in big
>square Tupperware containers and stacked them in the freezer section of the
>film fridge. If they are going to be age-arrested at that low temperature I
>will continue to buy new boxes of Ilford sheet film as long as it is on the
>market and just rotate through the supply.
>
>      My question is - how dormant is that FP4 Plus and HP5 going to be? If
>it is a 2007 expiry date can it go on to 2012? And will I be able to do the
>same trick with Kodak Portra 160 VC in sheet form if anything untoward
>happens in the marketplace?

=============================================================================================================
To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your 
account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) 
and unsubscribe from there.

Other related posts: