Stupid mistakes in the darkroom

JBoontje · Sep 29, 2009

This was during my first lesson in developing prints:

I did everything right, I thought, but nothing showed up when I was developing the print. I suddenly knew what it was (I couldnt have mixed the chemicals up, because I had developed about 5 prints before this one) , I forgot to slide the red filter back which I used to focus
So I basically developed a piece of paper that had never seen the 'real light'.

Willie Jan · Sep 29, 2009

I did the same in the past where the slider was half way. So your print is halved. You look in the develop tray and try to figure out what happened.

fschifano · Sep 29, 2009

I'd not try to focus through that red filter. Having that extra filter in the light path can throw you off. It's ok for setting up the composition, but I'd rather do that with a scrap sheet of paper in the easel anyway. Basically, I've found that the red "safety" filter is pretty useless.

Anon Ymous · Sep 29, 2009

Willie Jan said:
I did the same in the past where the slider was half way. So your print is halved. You look in the develop tray and try to figure out what happened.

Or the slider isn't positioned under the lens at all, but the image takes far too long to appear and when it appears it's faint. You then notice that it's mirrored, so that tells you exposed the back of the paper.

BetterSense · Sep 29, 2009

Basically, I've found that the red "safety" filter is pretty useless.

Useless 90% of the time and priceless when you need to register masks, multiple exposures or stitches.

DLawson · Sep 29, 2009

Anon Ymous said:
Or the slider isn't positioned under the lens at all, but the image takes far too long to appear and when it appears it's faint. You then notice that it's mirrored, so that tells you exposed the back of the paper.

That's the thing that I remember from when I started. I forget the paper (some Kodak fiber based), but I had a bit of trouble for a while telling the emulsion side from the back. I had to make sure I kept the paper envelope oriented right, so I could tell by rote which way was up.

Sirius Glass · Sep 29, 2009

The emulsion side feels smoother than the back side.

Steve

AmandaTom · Sep 29, 2009

I was told to gingerly lick the paper to discover which side was the emulsion side. Yes, they do taste different.

My latest bonehead move in the darkroom was being so anxious to see a print that I took it out of the developer and out of the darkroom. It didn't look so good solarized.

Kaboom · Sep 29, 2009

Endless list of stupid mistakes even though i haven't been at this for too long.

One of the most recent and expensive was loading a expired but perfectly good 50feet bulk roll of FP4+ onto the bulkloader, closing up and switching on the lights and watching the screw that seals the rotating gate lying on the desk. a ludicrous amount of profanity in spanish AND english ensued as i fumbled to get the lights back off and the screw/cap in place. The film was badly fogged so i just kept it for things like testing fixer and trying to coax some dust out of the velvet lips of teh cassette bodies.

Countless sheets of perfectly good paper wasted because of things like wrong filters, o no filters at all...

One of my favorites is doing a test print at a wide aperture to keep exposures short, deciding i need to close up one stop, actually doing it, going off to the bathroom to get prints washing, get a cigarette or whatever only to come back to the darkroom unable to remember what the initial setting was and how many stops i had moved it. Start all over...

Plastic reels with some residual moisture is one of the mistakes i'm the least eager to make again...

gordrob · Sep 29, 2009

You really don't have to lick the paper to find the emulsion side - just touch the corner of the paper to your lip - the emulsion side will feel tacky and the back side won't.
Gord

AmandaTom said:
I was told to gingerly lick the paper to discover which side was the emulsion side. Yes, they do taste different.

phyllis72 · Sep 30, 2009

I have two big mistakes I made, but actually worked out in my favor. The first was when I was loading film and, well it wasn't really light safe to begin with but I dropped the film into the kitty litter. Within micro seconds, i scooped it up developed it and had some amazing images. The second time I ended up with reticulation, again though it fit the subject matter. So I've been lucky.

wiltw · Sep 30, 2009

Fixer does not make a terrific first solution for processing your film, especially when you are on a time deadline to get shots printed and delivered to the printer in two hours and you have to go back to reshoot! Luckily I realized it just as I finished pouring it into the tank, so I didn't waste time processing and washing to discover the stupidity.

Christopher Walrath · Sep 30, 2009

I have developed this nasty habit of growing absent minded and opening my paper safe with the lights still on. Wide range of effects. Face up and ruined top two sheets with edge fogging on rest. Face down with little discernable affect as the edges were burnt in doing contact proof sheets. But, geez, man. I mean, like, whoa. Ya know? Man.

gmolzahn · Sep 30, 2009

Shot a roll of 120 tri-x to complement the color graduation portraits I took of my son's friend. Forgot to put the plastic center core in the tank. Managed to fog the first three frames but the rest, miraculously, were unharmed. Freaking brilliant, eh?

Ektagraphic · Sep 30, 2009

I have heard of a beginner in digital photography pick up some real black and white paper and print on it via inkjet. They thought because it said black and white paper and they wanted to print black and white they had the right stuff.

mruser · Oct 1, 2009

I think it's fitting that my first post be a stupid mistake story.

A friend was watching while I tank processed a 35mm roll of Delta 100 my (9th roll so far) and I was walking her through the different steps.

After washing, I eyedrop 2-3 mL of PhotoFlo per tank and let it sit for 30 seconds. I tell her, "this is PhotoFlo" and explain it. "Wait, what's it called?" "PhotoFlo." "Photo Fixer?"

She noticed that the label read Kodak Rapid Fixer Hardener B! (I left it out of my fixer solution.)

I have no idea how I mixed the bottles up, but I basically did a final hardener bath for several rolls. At least I now realize why my negs developed at home were so hard.

Anyone have any thoughts on archival or printing effects? Or solutions? (Is this another thread?)

PeteZ8 · Oct 1, 2009

Ektagraphic said:
I have heard of a beginner in digital photography pick up some real black and white paper and print on it via inkjet. They thought because it said black and white paper and they wanted to print black and white they had the right stuff.

Whatever works! The more people buy the longer they will make it!!!

(wonder how he felt when his B&W print turned pink... )

robbert · Oct 9, 2009

Ektagraphic said:
I have heard of a beginner in digital photography pick up some real black and white paper and print on it via inkjet. They thought because it said black and white paper and they wanted to print black and white they had the right stuff.

Beautiful

Only thing I experienced as of late is a girl checking her text messages right above the paper developer with aprox. 4 to 5 11x14's in there...

GinaMaree · Oct 9, 2009

robbert said:
Only thing I experienced as of late is a girl checking her text messages right above the paper developer with aprox. 4 to 5 11x14's in there...

That kind of stuff happens too often in the school darkroom. Worst was when I just took out a fresh sheet of paper, and the girl next to me decides to check her phone. All of a sudden I see a blast of white light hit my paper.

A similar thing happened in the color darkroom. The person at the enlarger station behind me raised the enlarger head to put in the neg carrier with the focusing light still on. It happened just when I took out a slice of paper. I threw it out, waited until the light went out, took out another one, then it happened again. I hear the people next to me yell, "Hey! C'mon! Shut it off!"

I'm always making stupid darkroom mistakes, but the most heartbreaking (not a darkroom blunder per se) happened when I opened the back of the wrong camera thinking the roll was shot and rewound. Nope. Of course I fogged the shots I was most excited to see developed.

KWhitmore · Oct 9, 2009

Christopher Walrath said:
I have developed this nasty habit of growing absent minded and opening my paper safe with the lights still on. Wide range of effects. Face up and ruined top two sheets with edge fogging on rest. Face down with little discernable affect as the edges were burnt in doing contact proof sheets. But, geez, man. I mean, like, whoa. Ya know? Man.

I don't own a paper safe, but what I do to make sure my paper is, you know, safe, is to have a good routine. Take a sheet out of the box, throw it on the easel, close the box. Yada yada yada...do all the other stuff. Once I get to the point of turning on a light...I'll turn my head and 'look' at my box of paper. Is it closed? Check. Turn on the light. Maybe treating every sheet like it's super precious will help. (it is, isn't it?) Having just a touch of the OC in me helps too.

Every once in a while though, (just for fun I suppose)...I'll turn on the enlarger, set the timer, change my filters, dodge, burn and whatever...before ever taking paper out of the box. Laughing and cursing follow swiftly.

KWhitmore · Oct 9, 2009

Willie Jan said:
I did the same in the past where the slider was half way. So your print is halved. You look in the develop tray and try to figure out what happened.

Done that.

mattmoy_2000 · Oct 10, 2009

Making holograms, I was working with a lab partner. We had a box of about a half a dozen holographic plates, and the table in the darkroom was the opposite end from the lightswitch. My lab partner was loading and I was in charge of the light:
<<Lights out>>
plateholder opened
box of plates opened
sticky side of plate found, put in to holder with the sticky side facing out
darkslide inserted into holder
checked to make sure holder light tight
me: "OK, shall I turn the light on?"
"Yeah"
"You sure?"
"Yup it's all sealed up"
<<LIGHT ON>>
"OH SH!!!!"
<<LIGHT OFF>>
"What happened?"
"Left the box of plates open"
"Oh. Well it was only exposed for a second or so" [we were using 30s exposures with a 5mw laser to make the holograms, so naively thought this might not be too bad]
We told the lab technician and he just kind of sunk and told us how much they cost (more than £100, approximately 2 weeks rent), and how difficult it was at that time to get hold of more. There was talk of there being a global shortage of holographic plates and it being pretty much impossible to get hold of more. Don't know how true that was though (this was in about 2005/6).
That was probably my most expensive darkroom accident, but luckily it came out of the physics dept budget and not our pockets...

gainer · Oct 11, 2009

I, of course, have never in my 70 years made a mistake, unless it is trying to say that with a straight face. The stupidest I have yet heard of was two beginning photo students sitting in the lunchroom dividing a box of 4x5 film: 1 for you, one for me, etc. Instructor happens by and says:"Now you've exposed the whole box!" to which they replied "It's OK. They haven't even been in the camera yet."

clayne · Oct 11, 2009

gainer said:
I, of course, have never in my 70 years made a mistake, unless it is trying to say that with a straight face. The stupidest I have yet heard of was two beginning photo students sitting in the lunchroom dividing a box of 4x5 film: 1 for you, one for me, etc. Instructor happens by and says:"Now you've exposed the whole box!" to which they replied "It's OK. They haven't even been in the camera yet."

Haha. Too funny.

Kevin Caulfield · Oct 11, 2009

A couple of days ago I somehow managed to load a Hewes 35mm reel backwards. "Not possible" I hear you say. Well it is if you roll the film around itself about six or seven times and then just loosely place the remainder in the rest of the reel. I knew it wasn't loading properly, and in fact although I regularly use Hewes 120 reels, I've only used the 35mm ones a few times, but I didn't for a second think that I was loading in the wrong direction. The sprocket holes hooked up just fine, it was the rest which didn't work. It was just a test roll from a paper pinhole camera, and surprisingly enough, I did manage to salvage about seven or eight shots.

Stupid mistakes in the darkroom

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency