Close Call w/Murphy's Law

[jon koss]

Yikes - I load my film for development in the basement, which is a huge open space with two tiny windows looking out onto the countryside at one end. I load (only at night!) behind a huge chimney which acts as a light trap and have no problem with stray light. So... even though it was snowing like mad and was therefore reflecting far more light into the basement than usual, I decided to load three rolls of 120 and go for it. As long as I move fast I should be OK...

Well, you know The Rest of the Story. I spooled the first roll. While reaching for the tank to load it in - I knocked the dang tank assembly clear off the table and it went skidding off into the darkness!! I spent the next ten minutes crawling along on my hands and knees feeling around for the pieces. Found at last. Pray the roll of film did not spoil sitting on the bench. Onto the next roll. Aaargh - jammed on the plastic spool! Probably the first time in ten years that has happened. Another ten minutes fussing while the roll hung in the gee-I-hope-it's-dark-enough darkness.

Third roll went OK so I thought I had finally recovered enough to develop. Not so. I ended up dumping into the tank stock solution rather than working solution of Hypo Clearing Agent! Egads.

The negs are hanging now. I have lit candles and am chanting for their safety. No moral here - maybe just that 20 years of experience is no match for the misalignment of the planets. I feel better now that I have this off my chest! Thanks.
JK

 

[rbarker]

Glad you're feeling better now, Jon. The APUG couch is just sooooo comfy.

 

[Sanjay Sen]

My prayers are with you. Hope your negs turn out ok. Let us know.

 

[BradS]

Momma said there'd be days like this.....

Glad you and your negs survived. Take comfort....it won't happen again for at least another twenty years.

 

[chuck94022]

There but for a changing bag go I...

-chuck

 

[FrankB]

Like the time I was loading a reel and my blackout started to peel itself off the velcro attaching it to the window frame... Again, luckily, at night.

Having said that, I've never moved so damn fast in my life!

 

[rogueish]

WANTED ! Dead or Alive.
A man named Murphy Law. Last seen muttering to himself and causing havoc without seemingly noticing. Often wears tattered clothing and smells of smoke. May be wearing only one shoe. Hair often appears to be standing on end as if from electrical discharges.

Approach with extreme caution and never I repeat NEVER dismiss him for harmless, or turn one's back on him. Watch for water filled potholes, falling pianos, or the least expected thing.

Small reward offered to survivor who can offer proof of capture.

 

[jim appleyard]

My darkroom is in my basement as well. I too have windows, but a couple of black garbage bags and some duct tape....


There's always the afore mentioned changing bag.

Are you praying in the Church of Rodinal?

 

[BWGirl]

Are you praying in the Church of Rodinal?

Yeah, see... that may be the problem...were you using Rodinal? If not...well...you might want to consider getting some! If so... hm...have you been having impure thoughts about some other developer?????

Hope all works out well!

 

[Soeren]

Yeah, see... that may be the problem...were you using Rodinal? If not...well...you might want to consider getting some! If so... hm...have you been having impure thoughts about some other developer?????

Hope all works out well!

Thats so true.
I attended a B&W workshop one sunday in my Photoclub.
The day before I souped some Neopan 400 in rod and all went perfect. When leaving home sunday morning I grapped a Paterson drum and some reels without further notice. The shooting was great and we arrived at the chairmans home full of anticipation. When we where about to load and develop the film (Tri-X in Xtol 1:1) we noticed that the darkroom suffered from severe lightleaks. Of cource my film jammed and I had so much trouble getting it on the reel. I only succeded after changing reels and in the meantime the film was badly "postexposed" it wasn't intirely unprintable though. It turned out the reel was so dirty the balls couldn't move so now all my reels have been thoroughly scrubbed.
That's what happens when you are unfaithful to the holy rod. I have since said my prairs and stayed true to the COR and haven't had any problems afterwards.
Regards Søren

 

[gainer]

The trick is when you see too much light, close your eyes shut tightly.

I do not use reels with balls. I have enough competition. My Paterson reels are the old fashioned center load.

 

[gainer]

Incidentally, Murphy's Law is named for Edsel Murphy, when he found that his bride of 3 months was 7 months pregnant.

 

[Claire Senft]

Thought for the day

Avoid all undesirable Irish people. If you have problems telling the desirable Irsh..the great majority...from the few of the other kind..avoid all Irish. Cultivate the company of Gemans, very nice trouble free people. I know that there are some rumors of Germans causing some problems worldwide in the first half of the 20th century but I believe that it was just a case of German boy being influenced by some Italians and Japanese..Imagine what would have happened if they had an Irish friend?

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Jon
Similar situation here. Into the basement on a cold winters night to spool some 120 film for a friend. Carefully layed out reels, tank and film. Practiced reaching each item in sequence and when I felt comfortable with the rehearsal I turned out the lights.

Darkness, oh it was everywhere. Black, black surrounding, this was going to be a piece of cake.

I opened the first roll, removed the backing and picked up the reel when the furnace decided to ignite. The light was blinding. The film partially fogged. One of many of Mr. Murphys' Laws learned. If it can it will

 

[bobfowler]

...but I believe that it was just a case of German boy being influenced by some Italians and Japanese..

Actually, he was Austrian, but that's not important now...

I had my "night of a thousand deaths" over the weekend. As I was loading the first 2 of 4 sheets of 5X7 into an 11X14 Unidrum, I dropped the freshly emptied filmholder onto the concrete floor. The sickening sound of crunching wood and metal was made even worse when, in my zeal to get finished and find out the fate of the dropped holder, I turned the lights on and discovered that not only had I damaged a holder (destroyed really), I had neglected to put the end cap on the Unidrum!

Five days later, the words "Oh shit" are still echoing over the Raritan Bay...

 

[fhovie]

WANTED ! Dead or Alive.
A man named Murphy Law. Last seen muttering to himself and causing havoc without seemingly noticing. Often wears tattered clothing and smells of smoke. May be wearing only one shoe. Hair often appears to be standing on end as if from electrical discharges.

Approach with extreme caution and never I repeat NEVER dismiss him for harmless, or turn one's back on him. Watch for water filled potholes, falling pianos, or the least expected thing.

Small reward offered to survivor who can offer proof of capture.

Does Murphy reseble a roadrunner???

 

[jim appleyard]

Yeah, see... that may be the problem...were you using Rodinal? If not...well...you might want to consider getting some! If so... hm...have you been having impure thoughts about some other developer?????

Hope all works out well!

I hear tell that the Church of Rodinal internet confessional is open 24/7...

 

[Claire Senft]

Right you are Mr Fowler

You are of course correct. I did not want to misspell Shickel-Gruber but you forced me into it.

 

[Max Power]

Mr. Murphy came knocking on my darkroom door a couple of evenings ago, but I beat him by a second...
I had been in the darkroom for about an hour and was happily lost in my printing and Led Zeppelin. I was just about to open a box of paper to pull out a sheet of 8x10 when my 5 year old son came in to see what I was up too. Needless to say he had turned on all of the basement lights on his way downstairs.
Of course, there was also the initial shock and surprise of having him come in when I was least expecting another human being in my sanctuary!!

Kent

 

[jcausey]

I opened the first roll, removed the backing and picked up the reel when the furnace decided to ignite. The light was blinding. The film partially fogged. One of many of Mr. Murphys' Laws learned. If it can it will

Ah, yes, the bloody *furnace*.

I spool my film in the utility room, which is, in turn, accessed through a bathroom. Easy to make black as can be, even during the day.

I've been spooling film in there since the summer... with my eyes closed, of course, even though it's dark, since that's how I practiced in the light.

Earlier this winter, I was loading several rolls of 35mm in the blessed darkness, with my eyes closed, when I heard the whoosh of the furnace igniting. Didn't really think anything of it... until I opened my eyes... and could SEE!

*(&#*$ fogged film...

 

[eheldreth]

I was teaching my dad to develop film a couple weeks ago, when he dropped the scissors on the floor. With out thinking I calmly put my film in the drum sealed the lid and flipped on the light only to find his film in his hand and a very mean look on his face.

 

[jon koss]

Well, I gandered the nightmare negs tonight on the lightbox. Miraculously, there is just one damaged neg. More miraculous still, it is probably the weakest neg of the three rolls! As my old boss used to say, "I'd rather be lucky than good."
JK

 

[fhovie]

I reached for a developing tank and knocked a box of FB 8x10 paper off the shelf - of course the lid popped off and the plastic bag opened up. I saw my stack of paper clearly. After the recovery, I tried the sheets out and only lost the top one - the others were amazingly unharmed.

 

[jcausey]

Oh, and there are the times I've opened the filter/lens drawer on the enlarger on the labs at school, changed the filter, put down a new piece of paper, then flipped on the enlarger... only to realize I didn't close the drawer.

That'll make you feel like a $#%heel in a crowded darkroom in a hurry.