Hello All,
I'm a long time photographer but brand new to the exciting world of Large Format! I've shot about 25 sheets of film in my new (old) Calumet 4x5 and am beginning to get the hang of things, but I have two concerns:
1. I spend a LOT of time digitally spot-toning in Photoshop, as my negatives have a lot of dust spots, and whats worse, often have large areas which look like they've been scraped (see attached photo #2). I have a fairly clean DIY darkroom set up, and have minimal dust on the 120 negatives which I frequently process, and am wondering if this looks like something to do with my film holders or processing tanks? I'm particularly mystified by the scrapes. If this is a film holder issue, is there a standard cleaning procedure, or is it best to scrap them and buy new ones?
2. The first attached image is the first shot with a film back I just purchased at a used camera store -- is this a familiar light leak pattern? Does it look like something reparable, or do I toss the holder in the trash?
The scratched image is Delta 100 in D76 and the light leak is Tri-X in D76.
Thank you all in advance for any advice you can offer an excited but ignorant new Large Format fan!!
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