I'm brand new to the forum. I must say, I'm very encouraged to see that there's a lot of activity here, indicating that LF photography may have a long life yet! I found the LF Home Page articles very helpful before making the recent plunge into 4x5, and am grateful for the guidance it has provided.
Now - to the subject at hand. Over the last several decades, I have done a lot of b&w neg processing (as well as one foray into Ektachrome). I've always been careful with cleanliness, temperature consistency, etc., but would be the first to admit that the results are often disappointing for one reason or another. Now that I'm starting to work with 4x5 (FP4 currently), I notice that tiny dust flecks embedded in the final negs are plentiful. I know this is nothing new, but I was wondering how most folks minimize it. Sadly, Digital Ice doesn't work with b&w at the scanning stage, so obviously I need to look at the processing stage.
I give the films a running water wash for 5-10 mins after fixing, then use a dunk in either Ilfotol or Photo Flo 200 and hang them in a nearly-closed file box to dry (if I close it completely, the film never dries). I recently got a film squeegee (w/rubber blades), but find it awkward to hold the film and get a consistent wipe across the whole sheet. Also, I'm concerned about scratching the emulsion. Are dust marks just something we just have to live with?
Since I'm still learning camera movements, I'll be sticking to b&w until I'm proficient. However, at some point, I'm going to want to try colour. Are there still a number of labs willing to process 4x5 chromes (I'm in Ontario, Canada)? What's the best way to package & ship the sheets to minimize the risk of damage?
Thanks in advance.
Gordon
Bookmarks