Newbie LF stupidity!

panchromatic · Oct 18, 2005

I shot my first 3 LF sheets a few weekends ago, and now that my darkroom is finally done (YAY!) I am starting development...

I switched the carriers, I don't know how I did this but I somehow switched them around... Now I don't know what I exposed and what I didn't!

Anyway I guess live and learn. I suppose I'll do a better job of keeping track.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 18, 2005

The darkslide handles should have a white side and a black side.

White out--loaded, unexposed
Black out--exposed

and if your holders have the L-shaped darkslide locks--

black out, locked--loaded, exposed
black out, unlocked--empty

MattCarey · Oct 18, 2005

Also, usually the white side of the holders has something that you can feel in the dark--bumps or holes. If you can feel the bumps, you don't take that film out.

Also, I usually put a piece of painter's tape on the holder to mark what the film is. When I pull the film, I pull the tape. That way I know the holder is empty.

Matt

BradS · Oct 18, 2005

Like David said.

One more thing...the white side will also have "bumps" or some other tactile means to tell its the white side when the lights are out. This is so that you can get the white side out...in the dark.

BradS · Oct 18, 2005

MattCarey said:
Also, usually the white side of the holders has something that you can feel in the dark--bumps or holes. If you can feel the bumps, you don't take that film out.

Also, I usually put a piece of painter's tape on the holder to mark what the film is. When I pull the film, I pull the tape. That way I know the holder is empty.

Matt

Hmmm, great minds....

Flotsam · Oct 18, 2005

Oh No! David, you are going to start the "White or Black = Exposed or Unexposed?" discussion again.
I've always done it like you do but there was long thread with many opposite views, many people logically thinking that if it was exposed to light, it should be white, a while back. Might have even been a poll.

SkipA · Oct 18, 2005

There are dozens of ways you can easily screw up your carefully setup LF shot before, during, or after exposing the film. My favorite one though is to forget to close the shutter after focussing. Slap in the film holder, pull the darkslide, wait for just the right moment, push the shutter release and... hey, what's wrong, it's stuck... AWWW DANG NAB IT!

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 18, 2005

Flotsam said:
Oh No! David, you are going to start the "White or Black = Exposed or Unexposed?" discussion again.
I've always done it like you do but there was long thread with many opposite views a while back.

Shhhhh! Don't let anyone find out there's any difference of opinion about this.

There's a good checklist of LF mistakes to avoid on the main page of lfphoto.info, and occasionally we invent new ones here on APUG.

Flotsam · Oct 18, 2005

...Or pull the wrong darkslide. I've heard about silly people doing that, never me :rolleyes:

MattCarey · Oct 18, 2005

Flotsam said:
Oh No! David, you are going to start the "White or Black = Exposed or Unexposed?" discussion again.
I've always done it like you do but there was long thread with many opposite views, many people logically thinking that if it was exposed to light, it should be white, a while back. Might have even been a poll.

I asked my brother, who has been doing big-film a lot longer than me, which way to go (white out = what?) since I can't remember the reasons for either one. He said, "I just remember which ones are exposed".

I guide the reader back to the line where I stated that "I can't remember...".

Matt

p.s.
I tried to compromise by putting the slides in side-ways. I Didn't have great results!

Charles Webb · Oct 18, 2005

I realize longevety means nothing, but for over fifty years the pro's, lab tech's and other photographers and myself have done it only one way, White/silver out unexposed & ready to go, Black exposed and DK room bound! ....... Charlie

markbb · Oct 18, 2005

one other tip - how do you know whether the holder has film in or not? Use an elastic band. Length-ways means it's loaded (and also helps to keep the slide in place, I've dislodged them in the past when pulling a DDS out of a pile), side-ways means it's empty. If you want to get clever, use different colours for different film types.

PeterDendrinos · Oct 18, 2005

Charles Webb said:
I realize longevety means nothing, but for over fifty years the pro's, lab tech's and other photographers and myself have done it only one way, White/silver out unexposed & ready to go, Black exposed and DK room bound! ....... Charlie

Well i know my opinion on this means nothing, but i do it the same way. White out / unexposed. black out / exposed.

I think of it like this white out means ready for light. black out means keep it dark.

Pete

argus · Oct 18, 2005

Flotsam said:
...Or pull the wrong darkslide. I've heard about silly people doing that, never me :rolleyes:

Or pulling the correct darkslide, put it in your pocket, expose and pull out the film holder and just die when you see the negative... i did not do that last weekend :rolleyes:

how do you know whether the holder has film in or not?

I leave unloaded holders in the darkroom on the shelf. Loaded holders go into the fridge or directly in my filmholder bag.

G

Struan Gray · Oct 18, 2005

It has been calculated that the Highland Midge is directly responsible for an annual reduction of 9.23% in Scotland's GNP. It has been blamed, amongst other things, for the dearth of tourists northwest of the Great Glen; the lack of any significant Scottish beach club culture; the characteristic arm movements of traditional Gaelic folk dance; and the deaths of up to seven German tourists each summer as they attempt to light a petrol stove inside the flysheet vestibles of their tents.

This is all foul calumny. The midge is in fact a kind and respectable host, who far from being the evil little bloodsucker of popular renown is merely helpful and attentive in her concern to relieve her visitors of an excess of sanguinity in the interests of good health. Furthermore, it seems the wee things have an unexpected interest in large format photography.

On a recent trip the midge community were only too glad to help me conduct research of lasting import to the wider photographic community. A full description of the experiment must sadly wait for a more opportune time, but I can report the following useful facts:

1) A Fuji Quickchange holder can be inserted back to front in any international back.

2) The setting sun shining directly onto the film is of great help when operating the mechanism in this configuration.

3) Contact prints of your ground glass grid have a stark compositional rigour and a luminous, glowing beauty all of their own.

4) More prosaically, the Quickchange cartridge is reasonably light tight: you will only fog your other shots in a small area around the film notch codes.

MurrayMinchin · Oct 18, 2005

Like Struan suggests, heinous blood sucking insects world wide have a particular lust for the rich, vital, life giving properties of blood from large format photographers. In Canada, deer flies, horse flies, mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-ums all are genetically programed to swarm any person carrying, setting up, or using a large format camera.

What works for me is the endure, flee, wait, return method. Stay under the focusing cloth as long as you can endure, then run/flee as fast as you can run for a distance of at least 50 meters (swearing like a drunk logger helps greatly at this point), then wait as the confused cloud tracks you down and swarms around you again, then run back to and under the focusing cloth to continue your work on the tranquil nature scene...repeat as needed.

Murray

Troy Ammons · Oct 18, 2005

When I first started shooting LF, I was so confused, I did not know what way was up. Add to that a few different types of film and you have a real mess.

This is what I do.

Black and unlocked - empty
I blow out the holders and flip the slides just before loading
White and unlocked - ready to load
White and locked - loaded and unexposed
Black and locked - loaded and exposed

Sometimes I use tape also to designate film type.

TheFlyingCamera · Oct 18, 2005

I do wish they made Riteway-style filmholders for 8x10. They solve the whole "locked/unlocked" problem by having that little locking button built into the body of the holder. The button must be intentionally pressed by you or by the closed camera body in order to safely release the darkslide. When shooting on the road in rough conditions, they are a true lifesaver.

I always go with black out - unexposed, white out, exposed (what I'd get if I developed and printed the negative or transparency in its current state). I've got to go through my 8x10 holders and deal with the darkslides because I've got a bunch of older wood holders and the paint on the darkslides is a bit chipped, so it makes it harder to identify which side is which.

Flotsam · Oct 18, 2005

I took my 4x5 out into the field a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a long time. I was very proud and somewhat surprised to find that I had put together all the bits and pieces that I needed without forgetting to pack a single thing.
Now I am heading out the door and I sure wish that I had made a list because I have a bad feeling that I am forgetting something.

argus · Oct 18, 2005

Troy Ammons said:
When I first started shooting LF, I was so confused, I did not know what way was up. Add to that a few different types of film and you have a real mess.

This is what I do.

Black and unlocked - empty
I blow out the holders and flip the slides just before loading
White and unlocked - ready to load
White and locked - loaded and unexposed
Black and locked - loaded and exposed

Sometimes I use tape also to designate film type.

I don't trust the retaining tabs. They seem to turn around when you're not watching.

G

MattCarey · Oct 18, 2005

argus said:
I don't trust the retaining tabs. They seem to turn around when you're not watching.

G

On a lot of used holders, they are missing altogether!

I tend to use painter's tape to insure that the slides stay put.

Matt

grahamp · Oct 18, 2005

Like most people I keep my holders in plastic zip lock bags. I find it pays to put fully exposed holders back in the bag with the darkslide tabs at the bottom of the bag. Makes identifying unexposed holders easier. I also try to use holders in sequence to make record keeping simpler.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 18, 2005

There are those who firmly believe that Ziplock bags will keep out dust and those who firmly believe that removing a plastic filmholder from a Ziplock bag creates static electricity that attracts dust.

BradS · Oct 18, 2005

David A. Goldfarb said:
There are those who firmly believe that Ziplock bags will keep out dust and those who firmly believe that removing a plastic filmholder from a Ziplock bag creates static electricity that attracts dust.

I suppose it would depend, to a very large degree, upon atmospheric conditions.

Newbie LF stupidity!

panchromatic

David A. Goldfarb

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MattCarey

BradS

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Flotsam

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argus

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argus

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grahamp

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Newbie LF stupidity!

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