Friendly LF suggestion #132

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 2, 2005

So, if you use Post-it notes to keep track of exposures, remember to remove them before inserting the filmholder in the camera, or they will get caught on the light trap as the darkslide is removed from the holder, leaving the mysterious shadow of a Post-it note on the negative. Fortunately, this problem may be quickly diagnosed before another sheet is ruined by checking the filmholder after removing the film, and removing the errant sticky note.

The likelihood of this problem increases geometrically with the size and cost of the film, of course.

Just a friendly suggestion.

grrrrr.......

roteague · Oct 2, 2005

David A. Goldfarb said:
grrrrr.......

I sympathize with your pain David ... been there, done that myself.

Richard Wasserman · Oct 2, 2005

David, thank you this is one I hadn't thought of yet. Of course with my luck I'll do it the next time I'm out shooting. I'm constantly amazed by all the opportunities to screw up with large format, it looks so simple.

Richard

Ole · Oct 2, 2005

That's one I haven't done myself. But I'll just add that blueberry jam and emulsion is not a good combination...

sanking · Oct 2, 2005

David A. Goldfarb said:
So, if you use Post-it notes to keep track of exposures, remember to remove them before inserting the filmholder in the camera, or they will get caught on the light trap as the darkslide is removed from the holder, leaving the mysterious shadow of a Post-it note on the negative. Fortunately, this problem may be quickly diagnosed before another sheet is ruined by checking the filmholder after removing the film, and removing the errant sticky note.

The likelihood of this problem increases geometrically with the size and cost of the film, of course.

Just a friendly suggestion.

grrrrr.......

David,

You did not actually do that, did you?

Please say no.

Sandy

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 2, 2005

I even managed to do it with one of my fine S&S 11x14" filmholders. Fortunately, I did make a backup neg, which I don't often do, but I was planning to process the two different negs for two different density ranges in this case, so I have a second one. When I saw this strange rectangle on one edge of the neg I started trying to figure out what came loose in the camera, but it wasn't on any of the other negs I made, so I checked the filmholder, and sure enough, there was the sticky.

jmdavis · Oct 2, 2005

Ole said:
That's one I haven't done myself. But I'll just add that blueberry jam and emulsion is not a good combination...

Neither is honey on the dark slide.

Mike

BradS · Oct 2, 2005

I've found that it helps to take the post-it-notes off the darkslides before going into the dark to unload the holders too. Otherwise, there is a slight chance of getting a post-it-note in the dev tank with the film....

joeyk49 · Oct 2, 2005

The experiences of the veteran are not lost on the exuberant neophite...many thanks for sharing them with us...er, um,..me...

johnnywalker · Oct 2, 2005

joeyk49 said:
The experiences of the veteran are not lost on the exuberant neophite...many thanks for sharing them with us...er, um,..me...

I'm not sure we should thank David for this. Now that Murphy knows that we know, doesn't that increase the chances of it happening to the rest of us?

noseoil · Oct 3, 2005

Along similar lines, I've found with Efke films it is better to remove the interleaving sheets before shooting the picture. While a post-it note is effective as a mask for the portion of the sheet to which it is attached, the full sheet with interleaving is better still. tim

P.S. No, I used this approach at two different times and not on the same shot.

colrehogan · Oct 3, 2005

I'm glad I stopped using tape flags to mark my holders. I just write down what type of film is in what holders after I finish loading.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 3, 2005

Blunders notwithstanding, I like Post-its, because they can follow the sheet after it leaves the holder to the lab order for work that goes out to the lab (which would just be E-6 in my case), and to the neg/transparency sleeve. If I'm traveling, though, it's usually easier to manage a notebook.

Calamity Jane · Oct 3, 2005

I tried using Post-It notes on my film holders. After one long, hot, and humid trip, I got back to the darkroom and found all my Post-It notes in the bottom of my holder bag - big @##$@ help!

Now I carry a bunch of elastic bands and a cheap notebook with rip-out pages.

Hadn't tried exposing the Post-It note . . . maybe if coated with AgPlus . . .

Claire Senft · Oct 3, 2005

I am confused. If blueberry jam and honey is not good for tasteful photos then what is?

lee · Oct 3, 2005

I have started to use plastic baggies to hold the film holders after I load them with film and until I develop the film. I just fill out a 3x5 card and drop it in the bag and seal it up until I am ready to develop the film. I save the cards in a card file box. I record the film file number on the clear edge of the film and also on the 3x5 card. Thanks to AllenR for the idea as I was just not smart enough to think of this.

lee\c

Ole · Oct 3, 2005

Claire Senft said:
I am confused. If blueberry jam and honey is not good for tasteful photos then what is?

Blueberry jam is nice, but not on the emulsion side. I used it to stick a sheet of 30x40cm technical film to the glass plate in the holder, but put the film backside out. Something strange happened where the emulsion came into contact with the jam...

Paul Sorensen · Oct 3, 2005

Ole said:
Blueberry jam is nice, but not on the emulsion side. I used it to stick a sheet of 30x40cm technical film to the glass plate in the holder, but put the film backside out. Something strange happened where the emulsion came into contact with the jam...

Ole, I am still trying to figure this out...

The way you write this, had you only put the film in correctly, all would have been fine. Like perhaps the jam is a necessary part of the holder! What the heck was the jam doing in your holder in the first place! I can't come up with a good reason for this! LOL

Claire Senft · Oct 3, 2005

Well I guess if blueberry jam and honey is not good on the emulsion side then they are of very limited use as filters. So reading between the lines here I should do my smear before inserting it in the SFH.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 3, 2005

Well, blueberry is much better than raspberry, because it doesn't have as many seeds, and the peels in the orange marmelade can change the registration distance, requiring the groundglass to be shimmed with orange peels.

Paul Sorensen · Oct 3, 2005

Ole said:
Blueberry jam is nice, but not on the emulsion side. I used it to stick a sheet of 30x40cm technical film to the glass plate in the holder, but put the film backside out. Something strange happened where the emulsion came into contact with the jam...

Oh, now I get it, you were using blueberry jam as an adhesive! :rolleyes:

I am now ashamed of my Norwegian ancestry.

Donald Qualls · Oct 3, 2005

I don't know what the big deal is about sticky notes on film holders. I use masking tape tags on mine, then transfer them from the holder to the developing tube when I unload, so the tube has (on the outside, where I can read it -- these are daylight fill) a record of what the exposure was.

Oh, wait...

My holders are single sided, so I don't have to put anything on the dark slide...

Konical · Oct 3, 2005

Good Evening,

Donald has the right idea--pieces of masking tape at hand (stuck to the tripod) and a Sharpie marking pen to record the data. Stick the tape on the dark slide after the exposure is made and the holder is removed from the camera; remove and discard the tape when it's no longer needed.

Konical

Jim_in_Kyiv · Oct 4, 2005

johnnywalker said:
I'm not sure we should thank David for this. Now that Murphy knows that we know, doesn't that increase the chances of it happening to the rest of us?

My guess - less than before. However, if you sniff carefully, you can smell the gears burning as he thinks up with something else.

My latest trick? - 9x12 film loaded into a 4x5 holder, which was used, of course, for a shot where the camera was pointed down. Exposed the first sheet, saw that the film was on the wrong side of the darkslide after I put it back in, said to myself, "Self, this couldn't happen twice." Whereupon it did. Took out the new-fangled non-film thing to take a shot so I would remember what I wanted to do. Left the card at home in the reader.

Graeme Hird · Oct 4, 2005

I've had a film jam before - it always leaves a nasty taste. I much prefer the blueberry or rasberry varieties.

A friendly tip from me: before loading new film into a holder, always open the holder half a centimetre or so and check that the holder is indeed empty. If you pull the slide all the way out in one go, you won't be able to salvage anything from the well exposed sheet already residing in the holder .....

Friendly LF suggestion #132

David A. Goldfarb

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roteague

Richard Wasserman

Ole

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sanking

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Claire Senft

lee

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Paul Sorensen

Claire Senft

David A. Goldfarb

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Paul Sorensen

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Graeme Hird

Friendly LF suggestion #132

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