Jehu
13-May-2019, 07:08
I guess I should feel kind of stupid. Yes, I do...
I've been unable to set up for processing for the last 4 years or so. I finally decided that I'm going to reserve a Saturday to take over the kitchen and set up the Jobo. I had butterflies in my stomach all night with the anticipation of finally getting to that stack of black-tab holders and used film boxes storing exposed sheets from who-knows-when.
The first thing I did was loaded 10 sheets into the expert drum and re-read the instructions for the Arista E-6 kit. The instructions said that any crystallization in the chemistry can be remedied by heating to 85 degrees and shaking gently until dissolved. I figured that made the stuff usable. Never-mind the years that have passed since I broke the seal on the bottles. (really big mistake) I noticed that the instructions had a chart for different temps. I decided to try the 80 degree version. All of my film came out dark with the faintest of images only seen when held up to the sun and squinting like Popeye. I could tell that Horseshoe Bend was in the batch. That hurt. I've only been to the Grand Canyon once. (Road trip?)
possibilities:
1 - I mixed the order of the chemistry.
2 - the 80 degree process didn't work so well. (stupid theory but, like I said, I feel stupid anyway)
3 - something else that the more experienced people would be able to help with.
I posted about my woes on the Facebook group and decided to try another 10 sheets (again... stupid) to test possibility number 1 by dumping the mix and starting over. I also went back to the 105 temp that gave me good results the last time I used this kit. Not good. Went back to the Facebook group where I found out that everyone in the film-a-verse except me knows that E-6 chemistry has about 2 weeks of usefulness after breaking seals. I guess 4 years was pushing the envelope past the edge of the known universe.
Instead of crying over two spilt milks, I noticed that I had an unopened C-41 kit and some holders of Portra and Ektar. The kit was also 4 years old but still sealed. I risked 10 sheets on this attempt. I also got 10 good sheets.
at least I got something out of this:
191291
191292
From now on, I'm ordering my kits in the smaller sizes. it's more expensive but I'm sure spending a lot more for a road trip back to the Grand Canyon to reclaim my Horseshoe Bend shot.
I've been unable to set up for processing for the last 4 years or so. I finally decided that I'm going to reserve a Saturday to take over the kitchen and set up the Jobo. I had butterflies in my stomach all night with the anticipation of finally getting to that stack of black-tab holders and used film boxes storing exposed sheets from who-knows-when.
The first thing I did was loaded 10 sheets into the expert drum and re-read the instructions for the Arista E-6 kit. The instructions said that any crystallization in the chemistry can be remedied by heating to 85 degrees and shaking gently until dissolved. I figured that made the stuff usable. Never-mind the years that have passed since I broke the seal on the bottles. (really big mistake) I noticed that the instructions had a chart for different temps. I decided to try the 80 degree version. All of my film came out dark with the faintest of images only seen when held up to the sun and squinting like Popeye. I could tell that Horseshoe Bend was in the batch. That hurt. I've only been to the Grand Canyon once. (Road trip?)
possibilities:
1 - I mixed the order of the chemistry.
2 - the 80 degree process didn't work so well. (stupid theory but, like I said, I feel stupid anyway)
3 - something else that the more experienced people would be able to help with.
I posted about my woes on the Facebook group and decided to try another 10 sheets (again... stupid) to test possibility number 1 by dumping the mix and starting over. I also went back to the 105 temp that gave me good results the last time I used this kit. Not good. Went back to the Facebook group where I found out that everyone in the film-a-verse except me knows that E-6 chemistry has about 2 weeks of usefulness after breaking seals. I guess 4 years was pushing the envelope past the edge of the known universe.
Instead of crying over two spilt milks, I noticed that I had an unopened C-41 kit and some holders of Portra and Ektar. The kit was also 4 years old but still sealed. I risked 10 sheets on this attempt. I also got 10 good sheets.
at least I got something out of this:
191291
191292
From now on, I'm ordering my kits in the smaller sizes. it's more expensive but I'm sure spending a lot more for a road trip back to the Grand Canyon to reclaim my Horseshoe Bend shot.