Keeping track of exposed film sheets

[pdoyle]

Hello all.
I am new to this forum and am getting back into large format for the first time in about 30 years! I recently purchased an 8x10 Deardorff and am planning a trip to Colorado in another month. Prior to this trip my previous experiences with view cameras have usually been studio-bound or occaissionally a single day trip. I never had an issue of dealing with shot film as I always processed when I finished the shoot. Now I will be going on various hikes and side trips, shooting under differing conditions. While I can keep careful notes as to lighting conditions and what sort of unique processing I might want to do with some negatives, how does one keep track of the negatives from day 1 vs. day 2 (or even day 1 morning from day 1 afternoon)? I have seen negative/film sleeves from places like Light Impressions that could be an option. I have thought of making a notation on a sleeve and then placing the spent film into the sleeve before placing the sleeve in a light tight box until I get home. For those road warriors out there, is there a better solution evading my tiny brain?
Many thanks,
Pat

[Martin Miller]

Good question, Pat. When I shot 4x5 only, I used to put the N dev films in a dedicated, recycled film box marked N, N+ films in an N+ box, and so on. When I switched to 8x10, I quickly learned of the major (somehow unanticipated!) increase in logistical complexity because of the greater film box volume. For 8x10 what I do is take a small pair of blunt scissors into the changing tent when I unload the N holders at the end of the shooting day and cut a corner of the film corresponding to a code I developed for the N dev option.

The code is entirely arbitrary, but mine has no corner cuts for N, upper left corner cut for N+, lower left corner cut for N++, lower right corner cut for N-, and both upper left and lower left corners cut for N--. I don't cut the upper right corner for fear of confusing my cut with the manufacturer's film code. I made a drawing of the film corner-cut codes on a film box that I can refer to while my hands are in the tent ... it's not a time to get confused about your code.:)

Martin

[John Bowen]

I have thought of making a notation on a sleeve and then placing the spent film into the sleeve before placing the sleeve in a light tight box until I get home.

Pat,

So once you are home, how will you be able to read the sleeve? :eek:

I use the multiple box method, 1 box for N, 1 box for n-1 and 1 box for n+1. I've never done a N+2 or N-2. Granted this method is hard to use when you 1st start, because you won't have 3 boxes hanging around.

The idea of the notches seems very worthwhile.

Have Fun and welcome back to LF photography.

[Louie Powell]

For 8x10 what I do is take a small pair of blunt scissors into the changing tent when I unload the N holders at the end of the shooting day and cut a corner of the film corresponding to a code I developed for the N dev option.

The problem with scissors is that its easy to cut too much off the corner, and cutting in the dark (or in a changing bag) is clumsey.

A variation on this is to purchase a corner punch at a store that offers scrapbooking supplies. A corner punch is a gadget that is intented to round the corner of pages in scrapbooks. The advantage is that a punch removes a minimum amount of material, while leaving a corner that is easily distinguished when the sheet is handled in the dark.

Another suggestion for those who do N-1 and N-2, etc. In my N- box, I have two of the black plastic bags that film comes in, one for N-1 and the other for N-2. To differentiate between them in the dark, I stuck small self-adhesive rubber 'feet' on the bags, one on the N-1 bag, and two on the N-2 bag.

I'm not much into roots and rocks, so a set of notes and differentiating between N-1, N-2, etc, is good enough for me. But I can understand that if you are doing landscape work, the subjects may not be unique enough to differentiate base on notes alone. There are techniques involving filing notches in the holder flap, or drilling small holes in the strip that holds the film into the holder, with the notches or holes arrayed in a fashion to uniquely identify holders. Or if you want to get really fancy, it used to be possible to purchase holders that would expose numbers on the edge of the sheet, and it would not be hard to fabricate a DIY variant on that theme.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Is anyone doing this with the more scratch prone Efke film? I keep the sheets that come between the sheets of film but have never unloaded holders in my bag. Curious about scratching by increased handling.

Jim

[Louie Powell]

I am currently using Efke film. Usually, I prefer to avoid the bag, but there are times when it is the only option.

Earlier this month, wifey and I were in California and were spending a couple of days in wine country. The bathroom in the hotel had a window, and the lavatory was in the main part of the room rather than in the bathroom. So I had no choice - it was either use the changing bag, or run out of fresh film.

The complication was that it was very warm - 111 deg. in Calistoga - and the AC in the room wasn't working very well. So my concern was as much about my hands sweating inside the bag as it was about scratching.

I generally throw away the interleaving sheets when I first load the holders. I won't say that I have never had scratched film, but I can't positively attribute the scratches that I occasionally get to the practice of storing exposed sheets without interleaving paper.

[pdoyle]

Dang it John! Now I do feel like an idiot! Well, not that big an idiot I guess as I did think to ask the experts. :D

[pdoyle]

Thanks all for the replies. I need to go find a corner punch now!

[Andrew O'Neill]

I use one box for all exposed film of the same format regardless of type. That's usually one box for 8x10 and one for 4x5. The sheet order follows my exposure record forms. Never had a problem. This works well for hiking in the back country as I don't want to carry much. Fumbling around with boxes and holders inside a changing bag/tent, and cutting/punching corners of film seems unnecessary.

[maggi]

Hi
I have thought of making a notation on a sleeve and then placing the spent film into the sleeve before placing the sleeve in a light tight box until I get home.I am new to this forum.
================================================================
maggi
http://wide circles.com

[N Dhananjay]

As Andrew suggested, I think the simplest solution is to just put exposed film back in boxes in the order of exposure, with careful field note about development. Back in the darkroom, count up 6 or 8 (or however many sheets you process in one run) from the stack for each run, skipping over the sheets that require different processing. For e.g., I might have the following sheets at the top of my unexposed stack - N, N, N-1, N, N+1, N, N, N, N-1, N-1, N, N... I would just look at my field notebook and pick sheets nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 11 and 12 for the first processing run using normal development. Hope this helps. Cheers, DJ

[willwilson]

I have tried a few different methods. I think film boxes are the best choice. I don't trust myself with a hole punch and in general I try not to do any extra damage to my film outside of the needed handling.

If you are on a long trip (50+ shots). In order to reduce the number of boxes I have to carry I split my boxes with a card. N on top of the card and N+1 on the bottom, for example. Also, I carry the largest changing tent I can stand. It makes everything about film changing so much easier. I would hate to pass on a shot because I was dreading changing out a holder.

[Phil]

For e.g., I might have the following sheets at the top of my unexposed stack - N, N, N-1, N, N+1, N, N, N, N-1, N-1, N, N... I would just look at my field notebook and pick sheets nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 11 and 12 for the first processing run using normal development.

To help clarify this one box method:

(The sheets are in your "exposed stack")

Pick sheets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 for the Normal processing.

- If your next run is for N-1:

Pick sheets 1, 3 and 4 from the sheets in the stack (remember the N's are gone)

- Now, the first sheet in the stack is an N+1 (but it was the 5th sheet you exposed according to your notebook.)

Take a few minutes to review this and you will see the correlation between the order of your exposed stack and your notebook. You may want to check off the sheets in your notebook as you process to help keep track of what is left in your exposed stack.

[lxdesign]

I do the one box method too -- all black and white are in a single box, and all E6 are in their own box. Speaking of which - I need to get a bunch of stuff to the lab soon. I haven't been shooting the 4x5 the last month. I need to get back to it.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I would just look at my field notebook and pick sheets nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6, 11 and 12 for the first processing run using normal development. Hope this helps. Cheers, DJ

Are those the Satanic Exposures in the middle of that stack, DJ?

In any case, I use a divider system. I take sheets of cardboard (usually just the ones that come with the film), and make a series of tabs that I can feel in the dark along the right edge of the stack for -2, -1, N, +1, +2, and one tab along the top edge of the top sheet, so I don't flip the stack in the dark, and I sort my sheets that way. If I run out of space in the box, that means I'm also emptying boxes of fresh film, so I can split the stack into multiple boxes, if I'm shooting a lot over a long trip, where I won't be able to process right away.

[Bruce Barlow]

Habits, habits, habits...

I make all my even-numbered holder sides "N" exposures, and then ALWAYS make another exposure on the odd-numbered side as an N+1 1/2. Then they're easy to unload into their respective boxes - all the evens at once, flip the stack of holders, all the odds. That keeps my options simple.

I have never made an N-minus-Anything, but if I needed to, I'd use a Post-it from the supply in my little pocket bag of goodies, and slide the unglued end into the end of the holder and press the glued part onto the dark slide. It will stay in place if tucked. Were I on the road, I'd carefully unload that negative and tuck it underneath the supply of unexposed film, since I would have no "N-minus-Anything" box handy. At home I have spare boxes.

I have also notched my holders, a la a previous thread here, or as shown on "Camera Repair in the Field with Richard Ritter," which can take me to a specific negative that would correspond to my notes, if I ever took any.

[Ed Pierce]

I also like to make two negatives of everything, but I do identical exposures if possible. I use a separate box for each development plan, and separate the sets within the boxes with cardboard. My exposure record forms stay with the box and the sheets are kept in order. My holders are numbered and filed out so I can identify which negative came from which holder.

I develop one set first and check it, then develop the second "backup" set. This is a safeguard against processing problems, and it gives me the opportunity to tweak the development of individual sheets.