Ansel changed his film in his sleeping bag. Have you?

[Franklee]

Somewhere in my reading Ansel Adams claimed to have changed film inside his sleeping bag during his early (1920s) days in the Sierras. Thinking about it, I can't imagine a better way to get dust and hairs onto the film holders, especially with the cotton sleeping bags of the time. The movie industry must have created portable darkrooms for loading movie cameras by then and I bet some people had changing bags if not crude versions of Harrison Tents but what do you think? Was Ansel bloviating or was he a really superb negative retoucher?

 

[thinkbrown]

I've fixed film that wouldn't rewind inside a backpack under my sleeping bag in a tent at night

 

[MattKing]

100 years ago, things were a fair bit different.
It was probably sheet film of course - any theories about what size he would have been using that long ago?

 

[BrianShaw]

100 years ago, things were a fair bit different.
It was probably sheet film of course - any theories about what size he would have been using that long ago?

I've read from authoritative sources that he used 4x5 Gundlach Korona in the 1920's and 8x10 Century Universal in the 1930s. It wouldn't surprise me if he had others too...

I'm waiting for DREW WILEY to pop in and give us the details of his adventures in the sleeping bag. But regarding Ansel, I'm in the bloviating camp.

 

[Chuck1]

What about static discharge

 

[Taylor K Nankervis]

Can't speak for the experiences of AA so very long ago. But it is not an alien nor unusual concept. You make do with what you have, not what you wish you had!

I have on occasion used the sleeping bag (or a thick black polartec jumper) to unload a jammed roll of 120 from either Pentax 67 or a ZeroImage 69 pinhole camera.

 

[abruzzi]

Maybe we all have it backwards? He didn't change film in his sleeping bag, he had to sleep in his changing bag.

 

[Franklee]

Judging by from photos Ansel was a hirsute young man so I'm calling his sleeping bag darkroom a tall tale. Even though it was 100 years ago, the photography industry was booming, with millions of shutterbugs and home darkrooms. Since sheet film was still popularat the time I'm betting there was some Ansco or other film changing contraption that's been lost to history.