Ok, here is one thing I haven't been able to figure out on my own.
If you need complete darkness when tray processing, how do you time it.
Ok, here is one thing I haven't been able to figure out on my own.
If you need complete darkness when tray processing, how do you time it.
Use a timer with a buzzer that goes off when the time is complete.
I just point mine away from the trays and keep it a couple of feet away.... as long as there is nothing for the dial to bounce off of it shouldn't be a problem. I am developing for 20-30 minutes with this technique. no fog noticed.
I also keep my timer below the lip of my sink and keep it a couple of feet away.
I am doing mostly minimal agitation with Pryocat HD in a black slosher tray.
I can never even see the faintest outline of my trays or sink with this method, even after my eyes have adjusted to the light for 30 minutes.
I do find other small light leaks in my darkroom.
My timer is ages old so I'm pretty sure the dial is less luminescent that it was when it was new.
Robert Oliver
You rarely need utter total complete darkness. Maybe with the fastest super speed films... I have timers with glowing phosphorescent numbers and have never known them to cause a problem. I just don't do work with fresh film right in front of them. I move a ways away.
"Voice Craft" talking timer; $20 from my local electronics store.
Photography:first utterance. Sir John Herschel, 14 March 1839 at the Royal Society. "...Photography or the application of the Chemical rays of light to the purpose of pictorial representation,..".
So, as usual its not as complicated as I try to make it.
Thanks a lot guys.
I too have my voice recorded. I find it helps keep agitations consistent as well.
All the best,
Rob
I use a $15.00 metronome.
Greg Lockrey
Wealth is a state of mind.
Money is just a tool.
Happiness is pedaling +25mph on a smooth road.
I use a GRA LAB 900 process timer which allows the timer display to be turned off. The timer has 8 programmable steps, with or without a metronome and can be started or stopped with a foot switch. They can be purchased off eBay for $50 to $75.
HeathKit Electronics used to sell a wonderfull programable process timer but they have been out of business for years. Every once in a while these will appear on eBay and usually fetch about $100.
Don Bryant
I bought a portable tape recorder from a second hand store for $5 and bought a new tape and recorded some music on it (Led Zeppelin). I recorded my voice at the beginning of the album and then every thirty seconds thereafter, eg. Start, 30 seconds,one minute, one minute thirty seconds, two minutes, and so on until the thirty minute mark. It's cheap, works great and Zeppelin keeps you awake in the dark.
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