High-contrast silver halide photographic material and method for forming

Abstract

A high contrast photographic image is formed by development of a photographic material with an amine-free developer having a low pH value. The photographic material has at least one silver halide emulsion on a support. The silver halide emulsion in the emulsion layer contains an iridium salt and/or 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. The emulsion layer contains a hydrazine compound represented by formula (I): ##STR1## 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. When the molecule has a plurality of R.sub.2 groups, they may be same as or different from each other. 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.