Changing bags and dust

[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!