I am very, very frustrated, very dissapointed, very upset and very desperate. So much that I think of throwing the Hasselblad out of the window and take photos with a digital.
The reason?
Very dirty negatives. Scratches. Pinholes. Light leaks. EVERYTHING!
Honestly, every session in the darkroom has been filled of anxiety.
Every time I take a look at a negative or print I don't look for exposure, or
composition or tonallity, but I look to see how ruined is the photograph by stupid dirt.
I have many good photographs that if not ruined by little hair, or spots, or scratches or light on the edges, they are definately taken some of their magic and beauty.
I find spots of dust around, little hair, not very often but sometimes even pinholes or holes in the negative, scratches and usually in the wrong places.
I recently transfered all film development to a jobo in hopes that it will standarize and stabillize every work but I see this.
I've tried everything in my power to fix the problem but its still there!
And since I do a lot of portraiture, often the dirt will be on the face or somewhere to ruin a good photograph. Taking two or even three shots of the same subject doesn't help as the dirt is everywhere.
Seriously, if I gave up on film and went digital, that would be the reason.
I will describe to you what a film goes through with me in case you can identify a wrong or suspicious step.
I take the 120 film out of the card box and then out of the wrapping and while holding it I open one of the Hasselblad backs which is ready to receive film. I wind the film the proper way while in the shade or keeping the sun on my back as much as possible.
After I am done, I find a shade or my back to the sun, take out the film, keep it tight while I lick the paper flap, fold the backing paper once on the edge, tape it over with the flap and leave a bit of the latter free. The film then ends up somewhere dark, like a Lowepro film pouch, its cardboard box, or in the camera bag.
When I arrive home, I put the exposed films in an Ilford ex-paper box and keep them there until they go to the darkroom which could be days.
When I finally start a developing session, I take out the films from the box only in completely darkness as I roll them in the tank spools.
Before that the room is set up in the right temperature, the chemicals are ready in the jobo and the music is playing.
I use distilled water for the developer and for the photoflo bit, the rest are with tap water.
I sit on a chair next to my bench with everything set up in front of me, wear disposable thin plastic gloves, turn off the light and start spooling the rolls.
Beceause the way the jobo spools are made, I use my thumbs to lightly touch the film while I twist the spool. All the time, the film is hanging with care not to touch anywhere.
The sticky paper on the end I fold and stick to itself when the backing paper is pulled loose. When I put two films in a spool, the first goes with the sticky paper on the end, and the second with it on the beginning so even with the red tap there won't be a chance of the rolls overlapping each other. I push the first one two turns after its gone through.
I have also tried the rolls with the sticky tape by cutting it out.
When a spool is full I put it inside the tank through the axis and then close it well when I am done.
I put the tank on the jobo CPP-2 and start the rotation.
I start with three minutes or so of soaking the film with water. I tried tap water and distilled.
Then the normal process of chemicals, one minutes washing before hypo clear using the special jobo hose on the tap, then washing for five or more minutes with the same accessory.
I take the tank, pull out the inside of the films still on the spools and axis, set it in front of me and open a cabinet I've made of wood and plastic sheet to use for drying.
Wearing the disposable gloves again, I take each roll, dip it inside a bottle of distilled water and photoflo(ilford or agfa version) and immediatelly hung it on the drying cabinet. The motion is of just sitting on the chair and rotating a hundred degrees from my right where the film is and to my left where the cabinet is waiting.
Lately I have begun to to shake off a bit of the water off the roll first.
When all films are hunging I close the cabinet up.
They are left there a night or day to dry without heating. I have installed a hair drier on top of the cabinet but its too powerful even if it was the cheapest I could find an usually don't use it. My rationale? To avoid distorting the negatives, making them curl or "cook" any dust or water mark in the emulsion. Apparently to no avail.
The cabinet looks dust free inside.
Then I take them, set them on a table or chair and cut and put them into special plastic sleeves.
And they come out dirty. And scratchy. And with light on the horizontal sides of the negative (where the Hassy marks are and the opposite edge).
And I break my head to understand why.
Can you please help me?
I am so hurt that I am not touching a camera or a negative unless I find a solution to this serious problem.
The reason?
Very dirty negatives. Scratches. Pinholes. Light leaks. EVERYTHING!
Honestly, every session in the darkroom has been filled of anxiety.
Every time I take a look at a negative or print I don't look for exposure, or
composition or tonallity, but I look to see how ruined is the photograph by stupid dirt.
I have many good photographs that if not ruined by little hair, or spots, or scratches or light on the edges, they are definately taken some of their magic and beauty.
I find spots of dust around, little hair, not very often but sometimes even pinholes or holes in the negative, scratches and usually in the wrong places.
I recently transfered all film development to a jobo in hopes that it will standarize and stabillize every work but I see this.
I've tried everything in my power to fix the problem but its still there!
And since I do a lot of portraiture, often the dirt will be on the face or somewhere to ruin a good photograph. Taking two or even three shots of the same subject doesn't help as the dirt is everywhere.
Seriously, if I gave up on film and went digital, that would be the reason.
I will describe to you what a film goes through with me in case you can identify a wrong or suspicious step.
I take the 120 film out of the card box and then out of the wrapping and while holding it I open one of the Hasselblad backs which is ready to receive film. I wind the film the proper way while in the shade or keeping the sun on my back as much as possible.
After I am done, I find a shade or my back to the sun, take out the film, keep it tight while I lick the paper flap, fold the backing paper once on the edge, tape it over with the flap and leave a bit of the latter free. The film then ends up somewhere dark, like a Lowepro film pouch, its cardboard box, or in the camera bag.
When I arrive home, I put the exposed films in an Ilford ex-paper box and keep them there until they go to the darkroom which could be days.
When I finally start a developing session, I take out the films from the box only in completely darkness as I roll them in the tank spools.
Before that the room is set up in the right temperature, the chemicals are ready in the jobo and the music is playing.
I use distilled water for the developer and for the photoflo bit, the rest are with tap water.
I sit on a chair next to my bench with everything set up in front of me, wear disposable thin plastic gloves, turn off the light and start spooling the rolls.
Beceause the way the jobo spools are made, I use my thumbs to lightly touch the film while I twist the spool. All the time, the film is hanging with care not to touch anywhere.
The sticky paper on the end I fold and stick to itself when the backing paper is pulled loose. When I put two films in a spool, the first goes with the sticky paper on the end, and the second with it on the beginning so even with the red tap there won't be a chance of the rolls overlapping each other. I push the first one two turns after its gone through.
I have also tried the rolls with the sticky tape by cutting it out.
When a spool is full I put it inside the tank through the axis and then close it well when I am done.
I put the tank on the jobo CPP-2 and start the rotation.
I start with three minutes or so of soaking the film with water. I tried tap water and distilled.
Then the normal process of chemicals, one minutes washing before hypo clear using the special jobo hose on the tap, then washing for five or more minutes with the same accessory.
I take the tank, pull out the inside of the films still on the spools and axis, set it in front of me and open a cabinet I've made of wood and plastic sheet to use for drying.
Wearing the disposable gloves again, I take each roll, dip it inside a bottle of distilled water and photoflo(ilford or agfa version) and immediatelly hung it on the drying cabinet. The motion is of just sitting on the chair and rotating a hundred degrees from my right where the film is and to my left where the cabinet is waiting.
Lately I have begun to to shake off a bit of the water off the roll first.
When all films are hunging I close the cabinet up.
They are left there a night or day to dry without heating. I have installed a hair drier on top of the cabinet but its too powerful even if it was the cheapest I could find an usually don't use it. My rationale? To avoid distorting the negatives, making them curl or "cook" any dust or water mark in the emulsion. Apparently to no avail.
The cabinet looks dust free inside.
Then I take them, set them on a table or chair and cut and put them into special plastic sleeves.
And they come out dirty. And scratchy. And with light on the horizontal sides of the negative (where the Hassy marks are and the opposite edge).
And I break my head to understand why.
Can you please help me?
I am so hurt that I am not touching a camera or a negative unless I find a solution to this serious problem.
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