Changing Places Photography Exhibition, Barracuda Gallery, March 17th to 31st, FotoFreo 2012
March 9, 2012
Our exhibition Changing Places at Barracuda Studio Gallery, Fremantle is only about a week away and final preparations are well underway. This morning I fired up my old Seal Commercial press to dry mount my gelatin silver fibre based prints onto museum board ready for framing. If you haven’t received an invitation yet, then please consider this quick note as your invitation to drop by between the 17th and 31st March, Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, as part of the FotoFreo 2012 Open Exhibition Programme. Or if you would like to catch up with Peter and myself you can come along to a special evening viewing on March 24th. Look forward to seeing you there.
Bracken Ferns, Augusta.
January 13, 2012
During summertime I have to vary my darkroom routine to account for the heat. This means that I usually like to get to work early before the heat of the day sets in. With tasks like film processing it is important to be consistent, and that means keeping the temperature of the developer constant with the use of tempered water baths. It’s simple to do really, just add refrigerated water (during summer) to the room temperature tap water. You may also like to use a pre-rinse which can help adjust the temperature of developing tanks, film and reels prior to the actual development process. These days I just stick to a water bath and choosing a time of the day when you don’t have to fight too great a temperature differential between the room temperature and developer. Anyway, my point is that the window period for film development for me during summer is shortened, so it can take a while to catch up with a back log of film. So I was delighted when I viewed this morning’s processed black and white sheet films and rediscovered what I was photographing exactly one month ago during a trip to Augusta; in this case, bracken ferns. Developing films can be a bit of an adventure, you can never be absolutely sure what you have on film is what you see, and in this case I think I see more in the image than what I remember at the time on the ground glass.
Processing 120 film with excessive curl in the film base
November 8, 2011
Excessive film curling can cause the film to jam or be damaged when loading into spiral reels for tank development. The following is a description of how I load 120 film with excessive curl into a daylight film tank for processing. Obviously all the steps shown must be completed in total darkness, ie in a darkroom or using a changing bag. I suggest you try this on a practice film before you try loading an important film.
I have been processing 120 films for several decades. In that time I have used stainless steel reels, Paterson reels and my current favourites, the Jobo duo reels shown here. These “newer” Jobo reels are made of white plastic rather than the earlier clear plastic reels. Unlike Paterson, Jobo reels do not have any ball bearings at the film loading mouth to engage the film edges. Unlike other reels, Jobo have two indented reel edges, one on opposite sides of the reel, where my finger is pointing. This is important as it allows the films edge to be contacted by your fingers within that small range of indent.
In a darkroom or change bag collect all the items necessary to start film loading. You will need daylight film tank and top, the white plastic film reel with its black central column and of course the roll of film.
In total darkness, tear the thin paper tab securing the exposed roll and begin to unroll the backing paper away from the film spool.
After about 10 to 15cm of backing paper is unrolled, the loose end of film will begin to curl into a small tight roll. The film is thicker than the paper backing and is firmer, so you will feel the difference between the two. Unless touching the very first of last 2cm of film, always handle the film at its edges.
Notice how the film below is already curling in on itself to form a tight shiny roll. This action can make 120 and thinner 220 films particularly troublesome to load at times without scratching or jamming in the reels. The degree of curl will vary from film to film, brand to brand, and manufacturers may change the polymer base without notice.
When you have just 5 or 6cm of film unrolled from the backing, pinch the very top centre leading edge of the film with the finger and thumb of one hand and with the other holding the film reel and film roll, pull the leading edge of film under the entrance lips into the very first reel track. (I do not recommend cutting the corners of the leading film edge as this will make loading in this reel more difficult with a curling film).
Again using finger and thumb to grab the leading centre edge of film and pull the film into the reel past the indents, whilst holding the main film body and backing in place with the other hand.
Continue pulling the film around as far as you can. You will have to unroll some of the backing paper from time to time to free up the film so it will enter the reel freely. You can let go of the main film roll once you have a good 10 to 15cm of film in the reel as this should be sufficient to hold it.
Paterson reel users will be familiar with the backwards and forwards ratcheting movement of the reel halves to load film. A similar affect on the Jobo reels can be achieved using index fingers on each side of the reel at the indent points, as you alternatively advance and then hold the film.
I do not recommend this method with excessively curly 120 film as it is likely to pop the film edge out of the film guide channel, causing the film to jam.
Instead, hold the reel perfectly still. With a finger and thumb placed at opposite sides of the film indent, push/feed the film with light pressure in the circular direction of the film guide channels. You can only push/feed the film the circular length of the indent at any one time.
Keep repeating this pushing /feeding action, it is surprising quick to load a whole film. The even pressure on both side of the indent prevent the film from popping out of the guide channels.
From time to time release more backing paper away from the film and reel to make it easier to push / feed the film into the reel. You can feel the film edge traveling deeper into the reel at the indent.
Keep push / feeding the film until you come to the end of the film where it is taped to the backing paper. Carefully tear the backing paper from the film, taking care not to kink the film or dislodge it from the reel.
Leave the sticky tape on the film and fold its sticky edge down onto the under side of the film.
Push/feed the remainder of the film right into the reel so that the taped edge is under the guide lips.
You are just about done. Load the film reel and central column into the daylight tank. Place the lid on top and secure. Turn on the lights or remove the tank from the change bag. You are now able to process the film in the tank under normal room light.
Pipes, Fremantle.
January 20, 2011
Film tests can be time consuming and generally bore me to tears, but every now and then they are a necessary evil. So to make it a little more interesting I tried to find some local subject matter that had some visual appeal.This image is quite industrial and not my regular subject matter, but was quite suitable for the test I had in mind, and I found the silvery curve of the pipes created an intriguing juxtaposition against the background of formal straight lines.
The scene is high in contrast, from the deep shadows under the bridge to the brightness of the sunlit wall. To retain the bright detail in the far left wall I cut the development, so that I did not have to perform darkroom gymnastics to obtain detail in the final print. Normally with such a cut to development I would increase the exposure to compensate for film speed loss, but I didn’t do this in this case. On inspection of the contact proof, the negative still held plenty of printable shadow detail, however in making the print it looked better when I printed these low values down further.
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Groundhogs Day
November 8, 2010
I often rise early before sunrise. I like to think its because I am a dedicated landscape photographer, but truth is this: the cat has me trained so well to let her out at that time in the morning it has become a habit. When I am at home the morning starts with a brewed cup of coffee. As the predawn light softly filters through the kitchen window I survey the sky for a whisp of cloud or any other clues as to what the day is bringing. At this time of year, Perth summer weather can be very predictable, just like in Groundhogs Day. Today was no different, the cloudless grey sky was slowly turning blue and a gentle but persistent easterly breeze was coming off the scarp, just like yesterday.
I went into the backyard and stood under the jarrah and marri trees with my cup of coffee. Above me in the trees I could hear the industrious sound of insects buzzing. Looking up, the jarrah tree was heavy with tiny yellow blossoms, which stood out in the soft predawn light. With the extent of its flowering I wondered why I had not noticed earlier? During the day when the sun is blazing in the cloudless summers skies, these soft yellow flowers become almost invisible, lost amongst the bright light and glare.
I got out the 4×5, and focused in tight on the tiny flowers and a cluster of seed pods. The magnification was life size on the film and with every breath of wind the pods and flowers jumped in and out of my ground glass viewing frame. Working at this magnification depth of focus is very shallow and I used some back tilt on the camera to help bring the foreground seed pods into the plane of focus. For just a moment the breeze stopped. In a rush I placed a single sheet of Polaroid Type 55 PN film into the camera back, set the shutter for 1/2 second at f8. Both these settings were a compromise to sharpness, but it was all I could get. To make matters worse I could hear the leaves in the tops of the trees rustle in the breeze as I pressed the cable release to make the exposure.
I like to process my Polaroid in the darkroom, preserving the negative and clearing it in sodium sulphite solution whilst in complete darkness. Most my Polaroid prints are overexposed as my aim is to obtain the negative, which I expose at the slower 32ISO rather than the recommended print speed of 50ISO.
The first rays of sunlight began hitting the blossoms, the sky turning a bright pale blue. It was going to be a fine summer’s day in Perth. What remained of my coffee had gone cold, but at least I had awakened my senses as to what was happening in my own backyard and saw something anew. Maybe it wasn’t going to be another Groundhogs day after all?
Modifying Beseler dichro 45s Enlarger Cooling Fan
February 5, 2010
As my stock of graded photographic papers ran out I recently replaced my Zone VI cold light head on my Beseler MX enlarger with a second hand Beseler Dichroic head. This would allow me to take advantage of the fibre based multigrade papers. However, I struck a problem in that the internal cooling fan seemed to be creating a lot of vibration, noticeable all the way down to the lens turret. I decided to replace the existing fan with a 12volt DC axial fan used in computers. This not only eliminated the vibration but was also much quieter. I’ve posted a description of what I did as a pdf link because it contains quite a few pics. Beselermod
