Need to Know What Happened With These Images

[ethocmub]

Hi all,

I've been shooting with my Toyo 45C for the past couple of years without a hitch. I'm working on a project down in Southeast Arkansas documenting the demolition of abandoned houses.
I recently got back sixteen sheets of film, almost all of which was ruined with light leaks. It's a project which demands every photo come out - I don't have an eternity to be down here.
The process is the same every time:
I load the film into the holders, which are Fidelity and the other brand, in my bag
Keep them in an open box somewhat organized
Set up my giant tripod
Set up the camera crawl up my ladder, arrange the construction workers as I see fit
Load film, remove slide, take photo.
For some reason this batch of film is entirely ruined. The ONLY difference to the process now is that this is the first batch of film to be developed using a new 135mm f/5.6 Rodenstock Sironar-s.
The light leaks are so widely varied, so egregious, and pervasive that I'm thinking it has to be something other than a mistake when loading. Any ideas?

All the best,
Ethan

[ethocmub]

There also was one photo which came out perfectly sharp, no leaks.
I'm flummoxed

[Andrew O'Neill]

It looks like the leaks are coming from the back of the camera. You used more than one holder, so I doubt they all are leaking suddenly. Are the holders able to seat well in the back of the camera? Once I had a piece of tape stuck there that I didn't notice. None of my holders seated and all negs were ruined.

[Paul Metcalf]

The only way to figure this out is to make as excruciatingly accurate lists as possible of what was the same when things (pictures) came out properly and when pictures didn't come out properly, then compare the two lists to find the possible culprits and pursue from there (with additional tests). Things to include are film, film holders, loading procedures, picture taking procedures, labs or film development including chemicals (although this looks like fog to me so I'd be focused on things that fog) and process (loading), etc. etc. etc. The first two pics of the first group have maybe the same sort of fogging, the third pic of the first group and the first pic of the second group look similar in fogging, and fourth (last) pic of the first group and the second pic of the last group look similar. So, what holders do these similarities point to, are they the same in each case? You mention that you've taken pics in the past couple of years with no hitches, but is EVERYTHING the same now, and if not, what is different? And what is different in the entire process that led to the last group's last picture? Start there. Good luck. This is a cool project that you're doing via large format and film (vice what I would have expected to be a good thing for digital).

[Bill_1856]

Light leak around the shutter? holes in the lens board (such as uncovered solenoid mounting holes)? Lens board not seating properly? Shutter blades stuck open just a smidgen?

[ic-racer]

Without seeing the negatives I can only guess you inserted the film holder from the right. It may not have been inserted correctly, or the bellows is loose (are the connectors secure?). Anything else loose on the back?

[Jim Jones]

My guess is a problem with the bellows. To check for this, insert a film holder, and in a dark room insert a bright light through the front standard and look for light leaks.

[Ken Lee]

Because your light leaks are at the lower left of the photos, they are at the upper-right of the film holder: the same place illustrated in the picture above.

Be sure to keep the film holder pressed firmly against the camera when you remove and replace the dark slide.

Even with the Sinar camera which has a spring-loaded back, it's important because slides can be stiff and we can often move them at an oblique angle.

[Chauncey Walden]

And leave your dark cloth draped over the back as insurance.

[Bazz8]

Because your light leaks are at the lower left of the photos, they are at the upper-right of the film holder: the same place illustrated in the picture above.

Be sure to keep the film holder pressed firmly against the camera when you remove and replace the dark slide.

Even with the Sinar camera which has a spring-loaded back, it's important because slides can be stiff and we can often move them at an oblique angle.

Kenneth has helped me in regards to light leaks with my Kodak 2D I have now put Velcro on the back and tension the back after the DDark is seated
I battled for 18 months with this simple fix.