Time to recheck that window light-blocking... Hint: winter critters!

[jay moussy]

First time in the darkroom in a while, loading spools, when I noticed a faint hint of light refection off of a plastic cover, on a shelf!

Upon inspection, critters, chipmunks, I think, had gathered acorns by the outside of the my basement window, displacing my boarding-up job. Separately, my inside blocking layers weren't quite tight enough, as I failed to inspect fit periodically. Hmm...

 

[Donald Qualls]

First time in the darkroom in a while, loading spools, when I noticed a faint hint of light refection off of a plastic cover, on a shelf!

Upon inspection, critters, chipmunks, I think, had gathered acorns by the outside of the my basement window, displacing my boarding-up job. Separately, my inside blocking layers weren't quite tight enough, as I failed to inspect fit periodically. Hmm...

My inside (only) window cover is glued and screwed into the window frame, and the inner cover overlaps the frame onto the dry wall. It's not going to go anywhere without permission (and it'll be a PITA to remove if I ever need to do so). This was intended to be genuinely permanent, but I couldn't afford to have the window frame pulled out and sheathing, siding, and drywall redone. The window-facing side of the cover is also painted flat black, though I haven't gotten around to painting the room side -- it's bare plywood.

I do get some vision after I've been in the dark for twenty minutes or so (I can see the movement of my hands against the white primer door, for instance), but that's a level lower than my previous darkroom had due to the luminous hands on the Gralab timer (even when the timer faced the wall). I haven't been able to trace the source, but I suspect it's due to imperfect baffling in my commercially made darkroom exhaust fan, which penetrates the outside wall. Dark enough I wouldn't hesitate to develop ISO 400 film in trays on that account, though.