Avoiding fingerprints while loading/unloading film

[JustinB]

So, I am *very* new to the whole thing, I literally just loaded my first piece of film, learning in the light before trying to do the same thing in utter darkness.

So here is my dilemma, I can load the film without much fingerprinting/smudging, but unloading it seems to require that I touch too much. How do I avoid this?

For background, I am using Riteway double sided film holders and trying to load FP4 (The cheapest per sheet that I could find.)

If this is the wrong forum for this, please direct me to the right place.

[Henry Ambrose]

First, wash and dry your hands.
Slip your fingernail under the film where the little indentation is. Pull the film up and gently, lightly grasp the edge, pull the film out and let it fall into the box you laid right there by the end of the holder.

[Tori Nelson]

Try wearing latex gloves until you get comfortable with it. These also work well in the summer heat when your hands get sweaty.

[Bruce Barlow]

Blecch. I personally find gloves awful - they led me to stop using PMK as a developer, and I hate selenium toning.

I wash and dry my hands, as above, and handle, as best I can, by the edges.

That said, I've never noticed fingerprints on negatives from before they were processed.

THAT said, I'm still careful.

[bobwysiwyg]

Likewise, I thoroughly wash/dry hands. I've not noted any finger prints. Handle the sheets by the edges and apply as little pressure as possible.

[Frank Petronio]

Don't shoot right to the edges of the frame and it won't matter. Give yourself a safe border.

[JustinB]

Don't shoot right to the edges of the frame and it won't matter. Give yourself a safe border.

How can I give myself any more or less of a buffer than the holder allows?

First, wash and dry your hands.
Slip your fingernail under the film where the little indentation is. Pull the film up and gently, lightly grasp the edge, pull the film out and let it fall into the box you laid right there by the end of the holder.

My experience is limited to these holders, but it is not that easy, if you imagine the film in the box, when you slip a nail under it and lift it forms a convex surface with respect to the film holder and cant be pulled out.

Like this: |)

I have to slip a fingernail under and grasp the edge with a finger on top to attempt to bend the film slightly up and away so I don't get that convex shape on the leading edge of the film.

Perhaps that is the same as everyone else and I just haven't managed to figure out a perfect way of doing it.


Is it at all possible to buff fingerprints off before development but after exposure?

[LaurentB]

Clean hands, and in addition I use one of these solutions they sell to kill germs (it's a mix of water and alcohol plus some magic goo...) This leaves me with very clean hands, seems to limit the greasy marks for a while.

[Frank Petronio]

Compose so that the important parts of your photos are 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch inside the boundaries of the ground glass so if you do have a greasy fingerprint on your film, you can crop. As you get more experienced and are able to handle the film carefully more consistently, then you can let go of this extra cropping.

But sometimes I accidentally will drop the film or touch it in the middle or something... I still shoot it, but I scan and Photoshop things. In the wet days I would either toss the suspect sheet or segregate it to use for something less important.

[John Berry]

Use liquid joy dish soap. Mechanics have known for years that nothing strips oil off your hands better, and oil is the beast. Bar soap usually has oils for your skin.