RE: "Photographers Notebook"....

[Richard Boulware]

My thanks to all you encouraged me to proceed with my "Photographers Notebook" postings. I intend to do this and am working on the first piece. I will call it "Photographers Notebook. Prologue - My Journey". I'll leave it to the good judgement of "QT" to decide where to place it.

As I begin to work on my writing, I took a break and went down to my new darkroom/gallery and was testing for light leaks on a new door seal system. Since it takes 30-60 minutes for the eyes to become dark aclimated (Navy pilot training). I took a short nap. The GraLab awaked me and I promptly proceed to get up off of the carped floor and my head struck the underside of the film loading counter. *@#*^$&@#...dammmmmm.

Then, to compound my pain, I remembered that I hade forgotten something something really important. MY GLOW-IN-THE-DARK...DOTS....that I have used for twenty years.

I developed this many years ago, and this technique has served me well.

I used the green, 'glow-in-the-dark' stickey tape to place little dots all over the darkroom. My old roll is 20 years old, and still works just fine. (I think Porters Camera Store sells it.) It is about an inch wide and must be ten feet long.

Get a single hole paper punch from your local office supply store, and some of this tape. Punch a ton of little 1/4" dots out of the ribbon of glow tape. Place these little dots at 12" intervals all over your darkroom on the VERTICAL edges of counters, sinks, tables, shelves, etc. It takes patience to use an X-Acto #11 knife blade to separate the paper backing from the glow side, but well worth your time and effort. Then, just stick these tiny dots around your darkroom, at 12" intervals.

When I first started using this technique, twenty years ago, I ran tests with the fastest black and white film available, and found no fog problem with any of the films. I will re-run these tests in the coming week, but I expect no problem. It's like 'fireflies' on an Iowa evening, at 50' away.

It is comforting to go 'total black' while loading holders, or Nikor reels, and know where counters, sinks, and other thinks "lurk"... waiting to hurt your body. No more..#@$&^+)*@.....Dammmmm, that hurt!

Try it....I think you'll like it.

Richard Boulware

[J. P. Mose]

Once again Richard, you have my interest and support. I am looking forward to reading and learning from your wisdom! JP Mose

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've used phosphorescent paint in the same way. I think I found it at a hobby shop that sold modeling supplies.

[Brian C. Miller]

I have both, but there is only one place where I use the tape. I only use it on the door knob. Its too bright to have it anywhere else. It lights up the surrounding area too much.

(Blog software, Richard, blog software! Then you can just post a link to the blog.)

[John Berry ( Roadkill )]

I like what I have read already. Little green dots? Doh!

[Brian Ellis]

I'm sure the navy knows more than I do but 30-60 minutes for the eyes to adjust? John Sexton says 10 minutes which has always worked for me. I'm sure the navy knows more than John about lots of things but maybe he knows more than they do when it comes to darkrooms. Just a thought, of course ten minutes would cut into your nap time. : - )

[John Kasaian]

Brian,

Ten minutes are fine for in a darkroom, but dark rooms don't travel at mach .8---when flying always stack the deck in your favor! ;-)

[Hans Berkhout]

Sometimes when I interrupt a printing session and leave the darkroom, I put on my sunglasses. Accomodation to the low lightlevel on return is quicker that way. Learned this from a radiologist friend, it works.

[Brian C. Miller]

"I'm sure the navy knows more than I do but 30-60 minutes for the eyes to adjust?"

Yes, same info in the Army. When your eyes are adjusted like that, somebody lighting a match and smoking a cigarette at 100yds looks like a signal flare.

When testing for light leaks, at least 15 minutes, and at 30 minutes your eyes will pick out everything.

[Alex Hawley]

Good stuff Richard. Please keep it coming. I fully support what you want to do with your memoirs.

I was just thinking of that glow tape the other day, wishing I had some.

Ol' Uncle Sam does know what he's talking about sometimes. It takes me a good 30 minutes to get fully night adapted. There's a big difference in being night adapted and just darkroom adapted.