I had known about the Cheltenham Badlands for sometime but I never realized how close to me they actually where or that we had such a formation here in Ontario. (And I’ve also recently found out there’s another such formation in the province). It was almost like the opening scene in Jurassic Park. Formed on an ancient riverbed out of Queenston shale, the formation was exposed in the 1930s after soil erosion caused by poor farming techniques revealed it. The land was purchased by the Ontario Heritage trust for conversation. Although the photos don’t show it, the red coloured soil is caused by high levels of iron oxide in the soil. I brought along a roll of Kodak Kodalith Type 3 film to photograph the badlands (I should’ve brought colour I know, next time!), and I was blown away by the results! Mike (from the FPP) had posted a suggestion of using Kodak D-76 Stock for 6 minutes, however not having any D-76 around (I’m not particularly a fan of D-76), I went hunting on Flickr for other options, specifically with XTOL, and came across using Xtol at a 1+1 dilution for 6 minutes. Although the gentlemen who posted shot the film at ASA-10, I figured shooting at ASA-12 was close enough for results. And it was.
Want to try this film out? You can pick it up while supplies last the Film Photography Project Store!
Nikon F4 – AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D – Kodak Kodalth Type 3 (6556) @ ASA-12
Kodak XTOL (1+1) 6:00 @ 20C