Video: Loading 4x5 film into holders

[Alan Klein]

This one is a lot better. Two minor comments. You say, turn the lights back on should have said turn lights back on for practice purposes. Also, how do you practice? With what?

You also say "pull the slide out". Of course, you meant "pull slide out half way". (You do show that of course,)

Anyway nice job.

Alan

[tgtaylor]

The hardest part, in the dark, is finding those pesky little rails that the film goes under.

Agreed. It's even harder with 8x10 film because of the size of the sheet. What I do is to put an index finger in one of the rail and gently slide that side sheet under the rail and then the other side under the other rail. With 4x5 film you can then gently nudge the film forward into the holder but with 8x10 that won't work because of the sheet's length. At that point I place the middle and index fingertip of the left hand at the center edge of the sheet and slide (pull) it into the holder to about the halfway mark and then gently nudge it the rest of the way with the sheet kept horizontal. When the sheet is "bowed" it has the tendency to pop out from under the rails so it's important to keep the sheet horizontal. Once fully inserted you can double check that the notched end is still under the rails and fully inserted into the holder. If the flap end of the holder does not close completely "flat" against the holder, then at least one side of the sheet popped out from the rail. I check the flap twice: Once, by touch, after both sides of the holder are loaded and then by sight after I have removed them from the change tent.

[djdister]

Four minor comments, based on my experience:
1. I pull all darkslides half or 2/3rds of the way down before I turn the lights out. In your video, you pulled the darkslides "as you load" which could mean pulling them too far or too little in the dark.
2. After loading the sheet of film, I lift up end of the film to see if it is seated under both rails. If the film flaps right back down (with a nice "fwipping" noise) I know it is under the rails.
3. After locking the loaded holders, I would show labeling each holder to show what film type was just loaded.
4. Suggest practice loading with a dummy sheet of film in the light until you can do it with your eyes closed. Then you are ready for lights out...

[Alan Klein]

Four minor comments, based on my experience:
1. I pull all darkslides half or 2/3rds of the way down before I turn the lights out. In your video, you pulled the darkslides "as you load" which could mean pulling them too far or too little in the dark.
2. After loading the sheet of film, I lift up end of the film to see if it is seated under both rails. If the film flaps right back down (with a nice "fwipping" noise) I know it is under the rails.
3. After locking the loaded holders, I would show labeling each holder to show what film type was just loaded.
4. Suggest practice loading with a dummy sheet of film in the light until you can do it with your eyes closed. Then you are ready for lights out...

Good points. That's what I do also.

[Doremus Scudder]

Four minor comments, based on my experience:
1. I pull all darkslides half or 2/3rds of the way down before I turn the lights out. In your video, you pulled the darkslides "as you load" which could mean pulling them too far or too little in the dark.
2. After loading the sheet of film, I lift up end of the film to see if it is seated under both rails. If the film flaps right back down (with a nice "fwipping" noise) I know it is under the rails.
3. After locking the loaded holders, I would show labeling each holder to show what film type was just loaded.
4. Suggest practice loading with a dummy sheet of film in the light until you can do it with your eyes closed. Then you are ready for lights out...

Pulling the darkslides out before loading and leaving the holders lying around that way is just inviting dust to move in and settle down. I pull the slide just before inserting the film (which has been sitting is a stack emulsion-side-down so dust won't settle on it either). I even tap the film on the work surface before inserting it in the holder.

Then, as you do, I lift the corners of the film to make sure both sides are under the rails. I also feel for the code notch to make sure I've loaded the film emulsion-side-up . Then the slide goes back in. Total exposure of the emulsion side of the film and inside of the holder to possible dust contamination is a few seconds only.

Practicing with a scrap sheet of film is how I learned. When you can load and unload it properly every time with your eyes closed, you're ready to turn out the lights.

Best,

Doremus

[r.e.]

Many beginning film photographers have trouble just creating a space dark enough and large enough to handle film. By the time said beginner has read the previous 15 posts in this thread, he might be forgiven for thinking that loading a film holder is akin to climbing Mount Everest

[Alan Klein]

Many beginning film photographers have trouble just creating a space dark enough and large enough to handle film. By the time said beginner has read the previous 15 posts in this thread, he might be forgiven for thinking that loading a film holder is akin to climbing Mount Everest

As someone new to LF three years ago, with no darkroom, it was a big deal. I had to borrow some exposed sheets from a friend, research the "right" dark room tent that has to be set up and taken down each time, and practice loading the film holders. There was no one showing me in person. I tried it with and without rubber and cotton gloves and settled on just my washed hands. Then doing it for the first time with a sealed box of fresh film (lots of anxiety). I'm sure you forgot the first time you did it. Like sex. Videos like the one we're discussing were very helpful. Too bad there weren't videos for other first things we do.

[paulbarden]

Many beginning film photographers have trouble just creating a space dark enough and large enough to handle film. By the time said beginner has read the previous 15 posts in this thread, he might be forgiven for thinking that loading a film holder is akin to climbing Mount Everest

Pretty much. Leave it to LFPP to over-complicate The Beginner's Guide to Loading a Film Holder!

[sharktooth]

Pretty much. Leave it to LFPP to over-complicate The Beginner's Guide to Loading a Film Holder!

You're missing the point entirely. There's no intent for a beginner to read this thread, it's for a beginner to watch the video that grit has produced.

Grit has put a lot of thought and effort into making the video, and the discussions here have resulted in him making some improvements to it. The end result is now a video that is even easier to follow and understand, not more complicated. A well thought out video like this can be extremely helpful to someone new to large format photography.

in my dotage, I've taken up sewing. I've watched many videos on how to thread a sewing machine. The best ones always show things clearly, and explain how thing work as well. You can clearly tell when the creator has put some time and effort into how to present this in an organized and thoughtful way. If that was easy to do, then we wouldn't need teachers for anything.

[r.e.]

You're missing the point entirely.

No he isn't Also, he has a sense of humour.