High-contrast silver halide photographic material and method for forming an image with the same

A method for forming a high-contrast negative image by the step of developing an imagewise exposed silver halide photographic material, wherein the development of the exposed photographic material is effected with a superadditive developer having a pH value of from 10.0 to 11.5 and comprising the following components:

• (1) a hydroquinone developing agent,
• (2) at least on of a 3-pyrazolidone auxiliary developing agent and a p-aminophenol auxiliary developing agent, in an amount of 0.06 mol/liter or less, and
• (3) a sulfite ion in a concentration of from 0.3 to 0.8 mol/liter;
• the exposed photographic material comprises a support having thereon at least one silver halide emulsion layer, wherein a silver halide emulsion in the emulsion layer contains at least one of an iridium salt and a rhodium salt and comprises a gold-sensitized and sulfur-sensitized silver chlorobromide emulsion or silver chloroiodobromide emulsion, having a silver chloride content of 50 mol% or more and a silver iodide content of 5 mol% or less, and the emulsion layer contains a hydrazine compound represented by formula (I):
• ##STR9## wherein R.sub.1 represents an aliphatic group or an aromatic group, which contains a partial structure, --O(--CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.n --, --O(--CH.sub.2 CH(CH.sub.3)O).sub.n -- or --O(--CH.sub.2 CH(OH)CH.sub.2 O).sub.n --, wherein n is an integer of 3 or more, as a part of the R.sub.1 substituent, or contains a quaternary ammonium cation as a part of the R.sub.1 substituent;
• G.sub.1 represents --CO--, --COCO--, --CS--, --C(=NG.sub.2 R.sub.2)--, --SO--, --SO.sub.2 --or --P(O)(G.sub.2 R.sub.2)--, wherein G.sub.2 represents at least one chemical bond selected from the group consisting of --O--, --S-- or --N(R.sub.2)--, and R.sub.2 represents an aliphatic group, an aromatic group or a hydrogen atom, and when the molecule has a plurality of R.sub.2 groups, they may be same as or different from each other;
• and one of A.sub.1 and A.sub.2 is a hydrogen atom, and the other is a hydrogen atom, an acyl group, an alkylsulfonyl group or an arylsulfonyl group.