Images on hard drives are on arcs (segments of a circle) of varying diameters.
Images on CDs are on a continuous spiral.
Do I get a prize for the most off-topic post this week?
- Leigh
1) Vertical w/ flaps bottom
2) Horizontal w/ flaps left
3) Vertical w/ flaps top
4) Horizontal w/ flaps right
5) “I’m ambi-orientational, baby!”
6) “My way is different” (Please share)
7) “Depends on holder/format/circumstances” (Please share)
Images on hard drives are on arcs (segments of a circle) of varying diameters.
Images on CDs are on a continuous spiral.
Do I get a prize for the most off-topic post this week?
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
A nice practical idea – I think I’ll add a bit of “tapping” to my film-loading process, especially when I’m retrieving film from boxes that have been opened & closed during previous sessions. As we know, dust always sees its chance and knows when to “go for it.”
Another useful idea & LOL indeed. It brings to mind a similar situation. When I’ve been hitting the field and returning home on successive days – that is, when unloading sessions precede loading sessions – I like to double-check that a holder is actually empty before loading it again. My habit is usually to unload film in one session – rest – then in a later session, re-load the same holders. Just works best for me. Despite this two-session safeguard, I’ve still been known to leave an exposed sheet in a holder, and later, try to load a new sheet right on top of it. So double-checking has become second-nature to me.
I really hate pulling darkslides from "empty" holder to clean them out only to find a piece of (previously) exposed film inside that I had not yet got a round to develop. Lots of possible ways to keep track of such things, but that does not mean I actually use one of them. Fortunately, I usually develop the more exciting images first and these "left overs" are usually marginal images or perhaps duplicate...but not always.
Important for me is dust control during the loading. My regime:
I try to keep the loading area clean, but don't sweep or vacuum it immediately before loading film, since this just launches a lot of dust into the air. I humidify the loading area (either my darkroom or a darkened bathroom) by running some hot water in order to settle dust before beginning.
All holders get vacuumed. I try to keep the vacuum cleaner outside the room. I do have a vacuum with a Hepa-filter to make sure as little dust is kicked up as possible. During the vacuuming, I slide the darkslide past the light trap a couple of times while vacuuming from inside the holder under the trap to get any dust that might be dislodged by inserting the darkslide. Holders are then stacked, with the darkslides in the orientation for "loaded/unexposed." I usually put a plastic bag on top to catch any settling dust.
Film holder stacks are on my left on the counter.
I roll up my sleeves, wash my hands well and don a cheapie hotel shower cap to keep any stray hairs from falling on the work area. Generally, I try to keep the work well in front of me so nothing gets on the film from me leaning over the film. I use bare hands, but handle the film carefully by the edges when loading.
Lights out. I sit or stand depending on the height of the counter.
Film box gets opened. I stack the boxes to the back right of the counter, nested. The film gets taken out of the foil pack, which then goes inside the nested boxes if I will need it to store film later. Otherwise, it goes on the floor. I leave the cardboard on the stack and find the code notches. I place the source stack face-down on the right; the upper cardboard gets removed and put in the film box. Having the film face-down prevents dust from landing on the emulsion side. I try to minimize the emulsion side's "exposure" to possible dust.
I take a holder and orient it so the flap is on the right (I'm right-handed and load from that side).
The darkslide gets pulled 60-70% out. If you open it too little, it's too easy to mistake the resistance from the darkslide for the film being properly loaded in the slots.
I load the film from the right. I take a sheet from the stack, turn it vertical and tap its edge lightly on the counter top to dislodge any dust and then load it into the holder. Kodak film is always really clean, but I've used other brands that gave me a little pile of particles from the tapping. Only now do I flip the film face-up and then slide it quickly into the holder.
Code notches are oriented so they end up at the bottom left of the holder. This also keeps the notches from impinging on the image area if the film slides down in the holder, which it does in some of my older holders.
To check the load, I gently lift the bottom of the film sheet with a fingernail starting at the far side till I can feel that it is, indeed, under the guides. I then slide my finger to the other side, lifting lightly to check the near side. In the process I feel the code notch to make sure it is in the right position.
Close darkslide, turn holder and repeat, then place the loaded holders in a stack at the back left of the counter.
After loading, film gets stowed if needed, and the lights turned on. Then each holder goes into a clean ziploc-style bag. I use only a few films, so I make myself a note of which holders have what film in them and store it together with the loaded, bagged holders in a cooler. My cooler holds 50 holders.
That's about it for loading.
I have all my holders numbered, and notches filed into the holder flaps to imprint the holder number on the film so I can keep track of which holder an image came from. This helps when tracing down light leaks.
Best,
Doremus
Funny, I've really never thought about it. I've always done horizontal, flap right. For fun, I'm going to try vertical, flap top.
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Vertical flap up for squarish formats, horizontal flap left for pano formats. One thing I really like about wooden holders (or the ones I've used, anyway), there isn't any spring in the film gate/flap, they tend to stay open on their own.
• What preparations do you make before the lights go off?
I use a changing bag, so I make sure the film box seals are sliced, film holder locks are unlocked, slides are pre-positioned to correct color... and all materials are in the "inner sanctum" of the film changing bag, not between the inner and outer sanctum. I also double check that the zippers are zipped.
• When you load film, do you sit or stand, and where do you put your holders/film?
I kneel. Partially because I find it easier to sit the bag on hte floor, and partly so I can more quickly offer an invocation to a higher being (Him) to avoid a loading screw-up. After it is all over, if all went well, invocation of thanks is offered.
• How far out do you pull the dark slide – and why?
About half-way. To make it easier to get the slide back in.
• How do you confirm the film is properly loaded?
Feel the film and the film retaining ridges. Sometimes grab the end of hte film with a fingernail and pull up to make sure.
• What are your most common glitches?
Mixing up the coolor of slides so that some are black side out and others are white side out.
• Any secrets about reducing or managing dust?
Nope.
• What’s your final step before the lights go back on?
Double checking that film holder slides are pushed in and locked, and that the remaining film is in the box.
Hey, I know this one: 2. But there was a Monty Python record ("Matching Tie and Handkerchief" ?)
That had 3 grooves - one on side one and two on side two. You had to play around w/the needle to
Catch one or the other. Funny thing thing is the liner notes didn't mention it. Typical Monty Python.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled topic: I'm a horizontal, flap on the right kind of guy.
S.
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