Pushing Ilford Delta 400

Hello Ladies and Gents

Hope all is well!

As of late, I’ve been doing lots of shooting with Ilford HP5 (bulk rolled) with HC-110 developer.

I use in both 35mm and 120 formats, the 120 is amazing especially when pushed with Rodinal or Pyro PMK

I really do enjoy that film and it works great for me, and as a matter of fact..when I really think about it, it’s possible Ilford HP5 is my favorite B&W film ever!

Actually, I think Ilford as a company may be making most of my favorite film products

Not a surprise since they’ve been dedicated to top notch film stuff for decades

So back to the subject..

My love for HP5 lead to me wanting to try out its brother, Delta 400, who i’ve heard great things about and have minimal experience with honestly..

Here are some details on the film:

High speed ISO 400
Exceptional sharpness and detail
Core-shell crystal technology
Available in 35mm and 120 Roll Film

An ISO 400 high speed film giving images with extraordinary depth and dimension, DELTA 400 PROFESSIONAL provides an almost unrivalled combination of speed and sharpness with a width of tonal range that retains subtlety and detail. The liberating speed of DELTA 400 PROFESSIONAL allows fast action to be frozen, great depth of field, excellent results in low lighting conditions, the freedom of a handheld camera and yet still provides the fine grain and level of detail normally associated with ISO 100 films.

It’s supposed to have more of a TMAX look as compared to HP5, which has similarities to Kodak Tri-X, with tighter grain and pretty solid contrast as well as shadow detail

Since I primarily shoot street photography and cityscapes when using film, I like to use fast shutter speeds when I’m shooting on the move as to “freeze” the action

Some film photographers like to “push” their film to higher ISOs as to give more room for increasing shutter speeds and also compensate for varying lighting conditions such as low light also

The decision of developer was somewhat easy one as i had just mixed a fresh batch of D76 stock the other day

So that’s where I am now:

Ilford Delta 400 pushed to 1600 using D76 (stock) and Ilford Rapid Fixer during development

As always I’d like to show the results of my experiment as well as the experience while on the streets in varying locations within New Jersey and New York.

I can tell you now, this was loads of fun

You can really see the range of greys and blacks within this shot

  
Why did I choose to develop with D76 stock instead of 1:1 dilution?

I’ve noticed with Ilford films it brings out a bit more detail in the shadows, something that makes or breaks a photo in my humble opinion

I need to do further testing with Kodak films such as Tri-X with D76 stock, i’ve mostly done 1:1 with it and am very satisfied with the results

  

I recommend everyone go give Delta 400 a shot, it really is a great film and as you can see here, it has great LATITUDE also!

Latitude basically means the measure of just how flexible you can be with your exposure without significantly compromising the finished picture

Enjoy your day Everyone, and as always #LONGLIVEFILM

UPDATE 3-12-16

Just wanted to add a couple more as i’ve been doing LOTS of shooting lately with this combo 😉

 

P.S.

For those wondering, the gear used here was the Voigtlander Bessa R4M with the Voigtlander 50mm F1.5 ASPH

Thanks!