Silver Alchemy - Xtol Plus Rodinal Part II

Overheard on the street: "My dad say I should remarry him"
Kodak Tri-x developed 5min. Xtol 1:2 and then 4 min. Xtol 1:2 + Rodinal 1:115 25c

This is a short update on my original article of adding Rodinal to Xtol. I have been adding Rodinal to Xtol to good effect since 2010.

So why change now? With a purchase of a higher resolution 35mm scanner I'm finding that I want even more control both of the grain and of the compensation in the shadow areas. While I can do it by controlling the ratio of Rodinal to Xtol it becomes a bit tricky to manage all parameters especially when it comes to temperature compensation.

In the last few months through a series of experiments I have come up with this variation on my original method which gives both good results and fine control.

Set up the dilution ratio of Xtol as normal.  I try to keep the normal developing times between 7 to  no more than 16 minutes. For the last 4 minutes I pour the xtol into a container that has had rodinal added, then pour it back onto the film and then develop the remaining 4 minutes.

Mohawk In Support Of Maggie's: The Toronto Sex Workers Action Project
Same roll as above

Still Mine
Kodak Kodak TMAX 400 developed: 5min. Xtol 1:1.125 and 4 min. Xtol 1:1.125 + Rodinal 1:115 at 22c  

Fresh Air
Fomapan Action 200 developed: 5min. Xtol 1:1.125 and 4 min. Xtol 1:1.125 + Rodinal 1:115 at 20c