First off, I know this is an extremely repeated question, but I want to get to the bottom of exactly what happened in my case. This seems to be exactly my case: What does it mean when film turns out transparent after being developed?
I haven't developed in a few years, but I rented an apartment which had a dark room in the closet (previous tenants who sublet to me are incredibly handy woodworkers). I mention this because 1) it's awesome and I'm insanely lucky 2) I want to point out that I really doubt any problems with the facility, as they have produced hundreds of great pictures.
HOWEVER, when I shut the door, I was able to see just the tiniest crack of light in the door. I had my back to the door the entire time, with the open film in front of me (I don't have a developing bag) but I thought it was worth mentioning, just in case.
Anyway, I followed the exact dilution and time instructions listed inside the box of my Ilford hp5 film, and I used Ilford developer (and I made sure to get film developer not paper), stop, and fix, so I find it hard to believe that I underdeveloped. I have done this process dozens of times in high school, but rarely did I have to mix the chemicals myself.
Is it possible I didn't mix the chemicals up enough? Would a little bit of light cause the WHOLE strip to be perfectly transparent (i would imagine it would be uneven and black at parts)? I learned my lesson, and I'll definitely develop a couple rolls that I don't care about before I develop another real roll, but I would love some insight so I can get back in the game as fast as I can.
THANKS!