Processing lab for FP4 120 in Christchurch New Zealand?

[monodave]

I'm just planning a trip from UK to New Zealand in October/November. I need to have my film processed before I fly back. Christchurch would be the most convenient, just before I fly back, but it would need to be next day service for upwards of 150 rolls 120 FP4. Does anyone know if there is a good pro lab, preferably using dip and dunk or similar, in the area?
Thanks,
Dave Butcher

 

[mdm]

Try imagelab.co.nz, but I would speak to them first to see what they can do.

David

 

[P C Headland]

Imagelab are the ones I'd try first, but you could also ask at Photo & Video. They do say three day turnaround, which they may be able to improve on, or it could just mean that they send B&W out to Imagelab. For 150 rolls, I'm sure one of them would try to accommodate you.

 

[monodave]

Thanks for info. Have spoken to Imagelab and their b&w processing is all done in Wellington. I can take in to their Christchurch lab and they courier to Wellington. That makes it a 3 day turnaround. Can't find anything else so looks like we will be in Christchurch an extra day. Dave

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Dave,

May I ask why not wait until back in the UK to process?

Tom

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Dave,

May I ask why not wait until back in the UK to process?

Tom

Airline Security! See picture attached. It's just for your safety, remember?

 

[monodave]

I'm trying to avoid film going through x-ray machines. In recent years I have seen fogging on FP4 with just 3 passes through UK and USA machines which are supposed to be properly set up and maintained. I now have hand searches in USA (a legal right I believe) but not reliably elsewhere and never in the UK. Now I try and have my film processed as I travel the world but it's getting harder finding labs doing b&w. Dave

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Airline Security! See picture attached. It's just for your safety, remember?

Ralph,

whats' the attribution for that image?

Tom

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Ralph,

whats' the attribution for that image?

Tom

You really didn't get it?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

You really didn't get it?

Security on the yellow brick road?

Tom

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Exactly, the artist is trying to show how ridiculous some security measures are, and airline security is what the OP understandably is worried about, isn't it. Travelling with film is getting moer and more difficult. I have 'lost' 4x5 film coming back from the US twice. Getting it processed prior to returning is an option.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

If I may ask, how was the film 'lost'?


Tom

 

[RalphLambrecht]

If I may ask, how was the film 'lost'?


Tom

They insisted to take a look into a 4x5 film box. The more I protested, the more eager they got. The pilot overheard the dispute and offered to take the film, no deal. They were satisfied after the first box was opened and the film lost.

 

[Ian Grant]

Why don't you take a dev tank etc with you and process there, that's what I did on my first trips here to Turkey, and that was for 5x4.

I always did the same when I went abroad to Wales when I lived in the UK

Ian

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Why don't you take a dev tank etc with you and process there, that's what I did on my first trips here to Turkey, and that was for 5x4.

I always did the same when I went abroad to Wales when I lived in the UK

Ian

That's not a bad idea. Since then, I usually contact a local photographer wherever I go prior to the trip. They are typically very helpful, offer their services as a guide and let me use their darkroom. I return the favor by doing the same for others. It's not the same as using my own darkroom, but it beats arguing with airline security folks, because logic is not part of their job description.

 

[Ian Grant]

There's also a huge cost saving, even buying a multi tank & chemistry etc in NZ and leaving them there afterwards would be a fraction of the cost of having more than 150 films processed commercially.

It would be an idea to post a message asking for help in NZ

Ian

 

[monodave]

Nice idea and for 30 or 40 rolls it could work but the quantity involved here would need 4 days in a darkroom; 40 rolls in a day just about finishes off my bad back. That's also a lot of time out of the trip when I would rather be taking pictures as I doubt I will get down there again. It's a bloody long way from the Peak District!

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Nice idea and for 30 or 40 rolls it could work but the quantity involved here would need 4 days in a darkroom; 40 rolls in a day just about finishes off my bad back. That's also a lot of time out of the trip when I would rather be taking pictures as I doubt I will get down there again. It's a bloody long way from the Peak District!

Dave

I can see from your site that you do very good work. Why do you need to shoot 150 rolls in NZ? Photography is not a race or a harvest. Are you afraid, you're missing something? Is this a good going-in position? How can you already know how much film you will be exposing?

I remember Howard Bond making a trip to a Greek island. He spend three weeks and exposed 30 frames all of which ended up in his book. He always preached quality vs quantity and lived by it. He visited a site several times to determine what the right time of day was and returned to make the exposure. 150 rolls sounds excessive to me. If I make 6 good exposures a year, I count myself lucky.

Please watch this video:

http://vimeo.com/7400029

It is very sobering. A 1st-class photographer with a life-time body of work containing 40 images!

 

[monodave]

Howard Bond obviously had a different business model to me! I know what works for me. I shoot a second neg at +1 for most images in case one has a flaw on it so my 10 shots on a roll reduces to 5 or 6. What I didn't mention is that the trip is a total of well over 4 weeks and includes Hong Kong and Sydney before New Zealand. I do landscapes and cities and the variety of shots will be large. I sell a lot of city shots, day and night views, and sometimes the customer is very specific about what they want so if I haven't taken it I can't make a sale. Landscapes are not quite that specific but I still need lots of locations to make as much money from the sale of prints and image licensing. After all, the cost of film is cheap compared to the cost of repeating the trip if I miss shots. I understand where you're coming from but I'll stick to what I know will get me at least a couple of hundred good shots from the trip.

 

[Ian Grant]

Dave, my suggestion was process as you go, in theory that should make it quite manageable even if you didn't get every film processed each day.

That's the way I've always worked, where possible, but perhaps I don't take the same approach with regards to volume, the discipline of working with LF, both 5x4 and 10x8, spilled over to my 35mm work and also my recent return to MF for landscapes.

Ian

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Howard Bond obviously had a different business model to me! I know what works for me. I shoot a second neg at +1 for most images in case one has a flaw on it so my 10 shots on a roll reduces to 5 or 6. What I didn't mention is that the trip is a total of well over 4 weeks and includes Hong Kong and Sydney before New Zealand. I do landscapes and cities and the variety of shots will be large. I sell a lot of city shots, day and night views, and sometimes the customer is very specific about what they want so if I haven't taken it I can't make a sale. Landscapes are not quite that specific but I still need lots of locations to make as much money from the sale of prints and image licensing. After all, the cost of film is cheap compared to the cost of repeating the trip if I miss shots. I understand where you're coming from but I'll stick to what I know will get me at least a couple of hundred good shots from the trip.

Sounds like a photo marathon. Where you you find the time to print them all? It usually takes me a few days to get the best out of one negative. In some cases, I go back a few times and do it again to improve on the last session. A couple of hundred shots would keep me in the darkroom for a long time!