Listening to Car Talk while developing Film.

David Goldstein · Jul 19, 2014

I find myself in a better frame of mind especially while transferring film onto my Hewes reels. Made me wonder what others do while processing.

dugrant153 · Jul 19, 2014

I usually load my film in silence and darkness just so I can hear the film get on the reel (I've had too many times where it catches wrong and starts to bend weird).

However, once it's loaded in the development tank, I break out youtube or a podcast and my variety ranges from: Zack Arias videos, street photography videos, The Art Of Photography Podcast, The Documentary Photographer Podcast... or sometimes Glove and Boots (not photography related). Whatever I'm in the mood for I guess

pbromaghin · Jul 19, 2014

David Goldstein said:
I find myself in a better frame of mind especially while transferring film onto my Hewes reels. Made me wonder what others do while processing.

You made me go get my Walkman. They're on right now.

snapguy · Jul 19, 2014

the sound of silence

I don't listen to anything, I pay attention to what I am doing. I don't text while driving, either. In fact, come to think of it, I don't even text.

Kyle M. · Jul 19, 2014

When I'm souping film I'm on apug seeing what everyone else is doing. I've currently got a roll of 1995 expired Plux-X Pan (120) in some Rodinal 1+50 that I just ran through my new to me Bronica S2A.

Amfooty · Jul 19, 2014

I just listen to my ipod--it helps drown out the exhaust fan and pass the time. That's one of the reasons why I love the darkroom so much, as it is pretty much just me and my music for a few hours.

pdeeh · Jul 19, 2014

If I'm tray developing, whatever's on Radio3 at the time.

Tank developing, I just stand at the sink with my mouth hanging half-open and a mishmash of vacuous thoughts washing around what passes for my mind like slurry

MattKing · Jul 19, 2014

As I develop my film, I'm preparing the next chemicals and cleaning up as I go.

I don't have permanent darkroom space, so set-up and take-down time is substantial.

David Goldstein · Jul 19, 2014

snapguy said:
I don't listen to anything, I pay attention to what I am doing.

I found the more I concentrated on things like getting the film on the reel, the more likely I was to kink it. Developing film is a pretty rote activity for me - once I get my water temp where I want it and chemicals mixed accurately, I just move through the process and listen for my timer.

removed account4 · Jul 19, 2014

David Goldstein said:
I find myself in a better frame of mind especially while transferring film onto my Hewes reels. Made me wonder what others do while processing.

it depends
from time to time it is college radio
and
other times it is whatever happens to be on my local public radio affiliate
and if wait-wait is on i won't do much but listen, i lmfo too much and mess everything up
my radio doesn't really tunes anything in past 91.5

hdeyong · Jul 20, 2014

I'm too much of a klutz to trust myself to do two things at once, I'd forget to agitate or something, and then I"D be agitated.

Jeff Kubach · Jul 20, 2014

I like to listen to the radio or maybe a CD.

Jeff

Axle · Jul 20, 2014

I usually listen to di.fm the Chillout Dreams channel.

analoguey · Jul 20, 2014

snapguy said:
I don't listen to anything, I pay attention to what I am doing. I don't text while driving, either.

+1.

Although I do have a sound recorder running on the phone, and keep voicing out whatever I am doing or the time I spent dev/fixing the film - during tray developing.

Also, developing/fixing is by itself fun, and the quiet of the night is very soothing.

Hal Reiser · Jul 20, 2014

I hard wired an infrared repeater to my audio system located in another part of my house so I can control the CD player and radio from the darkroom. I like music when I'm working but I pause it when I'm loading film and burning and dodging when printing as I find I need silence to concentrate on those particular processes without distraction.

Truzi · Jul 20, 2014

I've no dark room yet, so basically I load in a dark bag while watching TV. Usually Discovery, History, TVLand, or Comedy (e.g. Southpark). While developing in the bathroom, I can still hear the TV.

When I finally start printing in said bathroom, I will make it light-tight, and then I will listen to music. I tend toward the hard stuff, so will probably be listening to Heavy Metal, Beethoven (especially later works), Dvorak, or Shnittke. I can enjoy just about anything but country, post-80s rap, and opera, though, so it will depend what I'm in the mood for.

Hatchetman · Jul 20, 2014

I listen to sports talk or White Sox broadcasts. Don't really pay attention, but I don't like the "company."

Mark_S · Jul 22, 2014

I have an IPOD player in the darkroom, and usually listen to music, sometimes podcasts - cartalk is one of the podcasts that I listen to, as is the 'Film Photography Podcast' which seems to be an appropriate background when doing something mindless in the darkroom.

erikg · Jul 22, 2014

I usually listen to music, but the cartalk guys are often in the mix too. What's interesting to me in threads like this is how much we enjoy the little aspects of the process, the routine, the quiet, the chance to relax and think a bit. It's not just about the end result, how you get there matters. That is something that the usual film v digital debate can never settle.

mike c · Jul 22, 2014

jnanian said:
it depends
from time to time it is college radio
and
other times it is whatever happens to be on my local public radio affiliate
and if wait-wait is on i won't do much but listen, i lmfo too much and mess everything up
my radio doesn't really tunes anything in past 91.5

Wiat-Wait is what my wife likes to listen to on the way back from Costco Sunday Mornings, I like Car talk with the click and clack brothers while heading to Costco, but miss half of the program while shopping.

pbromaghin · Jul 22, 2014

mike c said:
Wiat-Wait is what my wife likes to listen to on the way back from Costco Sunday Mornings, I like Car talk with the click and clack brothers while heading to Costco, but miss half of the program while shopping.

Would that be the 3rd half?

mike c · Jul 22, 2014

pbromaghin said:
Would that be the 3rd half?

The commercials.

dpurdy · Jul 22, 2014

My process is in total darkness and once everything is in place and the timer is set and I go dark, I go total auto pilot. I have a saying to myself.. "trust your habits".
I need something to listen to. Music or talk radio... or a game broadcast.
Dennis

Listening to Car Talk while developing Film.

David Goldstein

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