Changing bags and dust

[Rayt]

I am a 5x7 newbie. I was on a very long road trip and shot 150 sheets of 5x7. At night in the motel I reloaded the holders with a new large size Harrison bag I bought for the trip. I am processing the film now and a dozen sheets into it noticed more dust I am used to with 4x5. For smaller formats up to 4x5 I use the typical cheapish Kalt and generic equivalents and dust was never a huge issue. Because the changing bag is so light and small I can navigate my arms to keep the fabric from touching the film. Not so the Harrison. I suppose I’ll have to use the Harrison Tent next time. Else I’ll bring duct tape and seal off the hotel bathroom to make sure it’s light tight.

What do experienced LF photographers do while on the road? The tent I suppose.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I always use a small changing tent. What kind of dust problems? Pinhole type issues?

[Rayt]

I see little specks whenever there is open sky otherwise they get hidden in the details. I shoot HP5 and it isn’t emulsion defect.

[John Layton]

If I'm traveling with a changing bag, I'll forego its use when in motel rooms by utilizing its bathroom as a film-loading/unloading room - having carefully black-taped around door openings, laying everything out in front of me on a wiped/dried down counter space, shutting the lights off, and waiting patiently for about three minutes so that I can dark-adapt sufficiently to verify actual darkness prior to opening any dark slides.

Another thing...when I do find myself having to use my changing bag, and especially when in dry environments - I will typically apply (sparingly!) some skin moisturizer to my arms (after washing my hands an arms if possible) prior to using the bag, but am very careful to then thoroughly wash and dry my hands again...just before entering the bag. This helps mitigate at least some "dust" (actually small flakes of skin) issues.

Finally...occasionally turning your changing bag inside out and giving it a thorough wipe-down with a very slightly damp cloth, then turning it right side in just as it becomes dry, can also help.

...but nothing helps like avoiding the use of a changing bag whenever possible!

[Rayt]

I wanted to use the bathroom at one point to change film but realized towels on the floor wouldn’t be enough because light was seeping through the door frame. Next time I’ll bring duct tape. Good tip about the moisturiser. Thanks!

[John Layton]

...just make sure its black duct tape - and depending on the brand you might need two layers. I typically bring a roll of photo-black tape, but as duct tape is more generally useful this can be made to work.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Use black gafffers tape. Better than duct tape and won't peel paint off or leave residue.

[Bruce Watson]

I was on a very long road trip and shot 150 sheets of 5x7. At night in the motel I reloaded the holders with a new large size Harrison bag I bought for the trip. I am processing the film now and a dozen sheets into it noticed more dust I am used to with 4x5.

Par for the course I think. Dust is the enemy we can't defeat. All we can hope for is to diminish it.

My prep for road trips used to include cleaning my Harrison -- I'd take the Harrison into my darkroom with a clean damp lint-free cloth and wipe down the inside, then leave it in the darkroom to dry. Often made multiple passes.

On the road I'd make all possible attempts to keep dirt out of the Harrison. First thing I'd do was wash my hands. Then I'd setup the Harrison (leaving it zipped), and get out my film boxes and filmholders (leaving all these in their bags -- that is, in quart sized freezer bags (4x5 fits fine, you'll have to find bags with work for your 5x7 gear). First rule is, film holders never touch anything other than the camera, my right hand (I'm right handed of course), the inside of a freezer bag, or the inside of the Harrison. Never lay them down anywhere else.

All that done, I'd go take a shower (which I needed anyway after a long day hiking), leaving the bathroom door open. Paid special attention to my arms and hands getting them really clean, they are a source of dust otherwise. The point of the open door was to raise the humidity in the room, to give dust something to attach too, which then settles to the floor. Clear the air as it were.

Then I'd towel off, put on a pair of shorts, sit in front of the Harrison, unzip it, and load it with a box of unexposed film (or two, as needed), a box for exposed film, and the film holders which I'd remove from the freezer bag and place in the Harrison, never letting them touch anything else. Zip the Harrison closed. Insert arms, snug everything up, and do the film change dance.

A variation I started doing later on was to unload film, then pull back out of the Harrison, clean the empty film holders in the room (not the Harrison), put them back in the Harrison, and do the film load half of the dance. This seemed to be slightly more effective. That is, I cleaned off a bit more dust than I introduced. But it's different at every location; I wasn't convinced that this worked better or not.

Then I'd pull everything back out of the Harrison, putting the film holders back in freezer bags one by one as they came out, same for the film boxes, zip up the Harrison, take it all down, put it away.

In this anal-retentive way I was able to keep dust to a minimum on my film. Not quite as good as the darkroom back home, but acceptably good for me.

All that said, it's a royal PITA. Kodak Readyloads were the cure. I mourned them when that last box was gone, that's for sure.

[Drew Bedo]

I have at times just put my changing bag into the washing macvhine and dryer. In the past twenty years, I may have done this 3-4 times.

[LabRat]

A shop vac with a drywall dust bag and brush attachment works well for cameras, holders, changing bags, cases etc... Bag the things you clean ASAP, and don’t put anything down someplace that harbors debris (including pockets, near linty clothes etc)...

Steve K

[Bertha DeCool]

Highly recommend NOT using Gorilla™ brand black tape. The adhesive would guaranteed peel off paint, and probably the door frame itself!

[Drew Wiley]

Shop Vacs are abominable and spread very fine dust everywhere. If you can afford five hundred to a thousand dollars for a genuine HEPA vac that is a different story, but that implies a completely sealed system, not just an alleged Hepa filter put into an ordinary unsealed single-stage vac device. If you must use a shop vac, make it remote from where your changing bag is being cleaned, and only bring the hose and wand itself into proximity. There will also likely be too much suction unless you have an in-line bleeder valve. Second, what I always do with a changing tent, in addition to shaking it out, is to place a thin disposable black poly trashcan liner inside it while in use. This provides a higher level of dust protection and adds very little to the bulk or weight. If necessary, a small clip or clothespin can be used to attach the top of this liner to the interior roof of the changing tent, providing plenty of working space inside. In my kit I also have pure alcohol finger wipes, a small sponge for my arms (don't wet the bag interior), extra liners, and of course, various film boxes, which have all been pre-cleaned and sealed to minimize shedding their own paper dust. But you are only as good as your weakest link. Dust getting inside your camera bellows and then attracted electrostatically to your film is a common problem in dry cold desert areas. This time of year, blowing fine clay can be hell on desert playas or near unpaved 4WD roads. It helps to apply antistatic spray on your holders and darkslides in advance. This past week I've done some salvage printing of very early negs that need quite a bit of spotting. Once I learned a few basic tricks, including the ones noted above, dust issues have been 99% negated.

[C. D. Keth]

Rayt, are you using plastic or wooden holders? I have found wooden holders to be a fairly large arrow in my quiver against dust. I was finding the plastic holders to be literal dust magnets due to static. I switched to wood holders and the problem improved quite a bit with that single change.

[Drew Wiley]

The static problem is sometimes compounded by metal view cameras. For desert winter use I actually made a little grounding rod system with an alligator clip for the rear camera standard, then a length of speaker cord connected to a nail, which I could shove in the ground. But a good antistatic spray goes a long ways with plastic holders. Places like McMaster carry them. A good wipe-down coating of it will last many years.

[mdarnton]

Blue painter's tape should be sufficient in a normal situation, I bet. If you either duct tape or gaffer yourself inside it's going to be a lot of work to get out!

[Drew Wiley]

Blue tape doesn't block light. If you look around, you can find black masking tape, but it doesn't last long. I wouldn't put any of this inside a film tent. And as far as blocking light from motel windows at night, given the kinds of cheap paint they use, they might not be amused if some of it peels off even using gaffers tape. There is absolutely no reason a Harrison film tent wouldn't work well, and in fact, better than some open room situation. It's just a matter of thinking it through first, and appropriately planning. Where I do sometimes use removable masking tape is around the rear window of my pickup cover when driving dirt roads.

[Rayt]

Rayt, are you using plastic or wooden holders? I have found wooden holders to be a fairly large arrow in my quiver against dust. I was finding the plastic holders to be literal dust magnets due to static. I switched to wood holders and the problem improved quite a bit with that single change.

I use Fidelity holders and keep them in individual Ziplock bags. I always wipe the holder down with a cloth before changing the contents.

[John Layton]

Drew...I like your nail-in-the-desert suggestion - will try this on my next trip west!

[Jim Andrada]

Another vote for Gaffer's tape. It's quite good and designed for easy removal. When I did AV I'd use it to tape audio cables onto walls, floors, furniture, etc. I even taped the legs of my mic stands down to the floor with it if there was any kind of crowd moving about. You don't want to see a pair of high-end pro mics hit the deck. It will ruin your day "bigly".

[MrFujicaman]

The static problem is sometimes compounded by metal view cameras. For desert winter use I actually made a little grounding rod system with an alligator clip for the rear camera standard, then a length of speaker cord connected to a nail, which I could shove in the ground. But a good antistatic spray goes a long ways with plastic holders. Places like McMaster carry them. A good wipe-down coating of it will last many years.

Genius idea, Drew!

[MrFujicaman]

When it's not being used, I keep my changing bag sealed in a 55 gallon trash bag with the neck of the bag taped shut.

[LabRat]

The static problem is sometimes compounded by metal view cameras. For desert winter use I actually made a little grounding rod system with an alligator clip for the rear camera standard, then a length of speaker cord connected to a nail, which I could shove in the ground. But a good antistatic spray goes a long ways with plastic holders. Places like McMaster carry them. A good wipe-down coating of it will last many years.

Cinematographers used this regularly when shooting in hot/cold very dry conditions...

Ground conductivity under grounding point varies a lot for best effect, sometimes little at all based on soil resistance... (Look up grounding for DX location use on ham radio sites for more info...)

Steve K

[Drew Wiley]

Cleanroom suppliers carry conductive surface tape, grounded velcro wrist straps, and even conductive Formica soaked with silver nitrate for sake of static control. Maybe I should pet my cat in the film room during cold dry weather to prevent my fingers getting a static spark, but then it wouldn't be a cleanroom at all.