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.

Yes, the news came through this afternoon in a collective email from Foto Freo headquarters  for this year’s fringe dwellers to be given the “go ahead”. So there we have it, ladies and gentlemen.  According to Bob Hewitts’s Foto Freo December 2011 newsletter, “Landscape photography, along with wild life photography, has not received much attention in past Festivals.”  So I am pleased to assist by doing my small part in addressing this imbalance by participating in this year’s Foto Freo Fringe Festival 2012, along with my good friend and colleague Peter Kovacsy. Our exhibition, “Changing Places” will be held at the Barracuda Studio Gallery, U3&4/56 Pakenham St (corner of Pakenham St and Nairn St, Tele 08 9430 6606), starts March 17th. Come along, see some traditional hand made prints and catch up for a chat.

We had just spent a pleasant morning buying some fruit , vegies and cheeses at the weekend markets in Dunedin. Across the Railway Station where the markets are held we stopped and had a breakfast coffee at a little cafe. The four of us sat around a small table outside, sipping our coffees and discussing our purchases and the meal we were preparing. As we left the cafe I was suddenly struck by the curved form of the vacated chair and the diagonal shadow.

Busking, Dunedin markets.

Street art near Save Mart, Dunedin.

As a photographer you are often stuck with a difficult choice as to what camera or cameras you should take when traveling overseas on holidays. There is an expectation that you will be taking the latest digital offering with all the usual accoutrements. As I usually work with a 4×5 film camera and tripod there was a temptation to take this with me, after all, New Zealand has stunning landscapes. However, I resisted. This was a holiday. Nor was this my first visit. The key here is the word holiday. I wasn’t on an assignment, just kicking back and relaxing with family, so why burden myself with photo gear for which I had no clear purpose to use? I wasn’t tramping in the back country and I certainly was not interested in doing too much of the tourist sight seeing thing (I did visit some galleries and art practices, which is always interesting). I decided I would travel light, no tripod, one camera with a fixed lens. Limited choices. Keep it simple, keep it flexible and above all keep it fun. So I packed my 21/4 square Yashica 124G and 20 rolls of 120 Tmax 400. My subjects were largely urban images and portraits with a couple of landscapes thrown in. The 21/4 square format  yields a lovely full tonal range in black and white, and the camera wonderfully simple to operate and light enough to take everywhere. And when I came across an image that I really liked I knew I had a quality medium format negative to make a print with. This image was made in Matakana, a popular weekend getaway for Aucklanders. They make some nice wine there too.

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.

Spent the last week in the south west and Spring is definitely out. I was doing a few coastal walks, the weather was wonderfully changeable, rainy and blustery one day, then calm, fine mornings with light wisps of high cloud the next. Just the sort of conditions I like most as it offers a wide range of photographic opportunities, from different light qualities to varying subject matter. On my way back one fine morning I sheltered for a while under these peppermint trees which were laden with white trails of bloom. There was the added bonus of a small brook and the sound of running water. So nice to see some water flowing in the brooks and streams this year compared to the dryness of last year. It’s a great time of the year to get out and do a bush walk, ramble, hike or what ever you choose to call it.

Reflections, second hand bikes, South Terrace, Fremantle 1982 (colour corrected)

I was going through my photographic archives retrieving a negative that I had made of someone in a studio nearly 30 years ago. The film was C41 120 professional roll film, popular with portrait and wedding photographers at the time and was processed by a professional colour laboratory here in Perth. The negatives have been stored since in archival sleeves within a binder in a dark place (ie filing cabinet in room temperature). Admittedly it’s not a perfect temperature and humidity controlled environment such as a museum, but it’s within range of what is practical for most photographers. Even so, the negatives had undergone a considerable colour shift in what I consider a relatively short period of time. If I had tried to print them with a conventional colour enlarger, I would have encountered a major colour shift  towards cyan, which would have been unacceptable. So profound was this shift that I am not sure I could have balanced the magenta and yellow densities to achieve an acceptable colour print using this method. As I nolonger have access to a colour darkroom I scanned the negatives on a Imacon scanner. With some colour balance and density adjustments I was able to obtain an acceptable colour print. Interestingly, I also noted that some of these older colour negatives also produced white “snow” like artifacts on the scan which created a considerable retouching problem, yet I could not perceive these on the negs even when I viewed them through a magnifying lupe on the light box. However, I could see flecks within the emulsion as it curved under the scanner’s light source, but have no idea what they are.  I have had no problems of this type in the past when scanning with the Imacon using current transparency films, so I suspect it is something to do with the age of the colour emulsions.

I was never a great user of colour negative film, opting for colour transparency film for publishing and black and white negative films for prints. However I am amazed at the rate of deterioration which the colour negatives have undergone compared to my colour E-6 transparencies and Kodachrome slides from that era which are still good.

Regarding the studio image I was retrieving, I was luckily able to obtain a high quality scan of the colour image and process it into a high quality digital master file. Had it been left for another 5 or 10 years it may not have been possible to obtain an acceptable scan from the colour negative.

Reflections, second hand bikes, South Terrace, Fremantle 1982 (uncorrected scan)

I have been playing around with my 35mm film camera lately, taking it with me on my daily travels. It’s an activity which I have found both challenging and rejuvenating. Unlike using the 4×5 where everything is slower, more contemplated and on a tripod, finding images on the move pushes me to the other extreme. I fumble as I try to control all the variables that rapidly present themselves, and then, in a leap of faith,  I ignore this desire to control and let go. Fluid moments form and disintegrate before your eyes. There is so little time to process in your mind what you are seeing before another image appears. I think that’s part of the buzz I get after developing the film, finding those little surprises on the contact sheets. For a split second did I really see that?

Available light is any damn light that is available! – W. Eugene Smith

Swamp Sheoaks, Canning River Reserve

During May and June I will be offering some introductory workshops to large format photography.

The aim of this workshop is to introduce you to a large format  4×5 inch field camera, provide some first hand experience with its workings and techniques, with applications to both portrait and landscape work. If you have ever wondered about the advantages of using a large format camera in your work and what’s involved, or are considering large format for your photography, then this is for you.
This workshop will be conducted outdoors along the wooded banks of the Canning River Reserve, so you can see and experience using a 4×5 field camera in a real life situation. Through  various discussions and field demonstrations, including some with Polaroid instant 4×5 film,  Alex will guide you through the process of using and choosing a large format camera.  Discussion will also include choice of film types and applications, film loading, processing, lens choices and printing options including digital output.

The Canning River Reserve will provide ample subject matter and an ideal learning environment for participants to gain experience in using a 4×5 field camera within a group setting. Participants who have their own film or digital camera, regardless of
format, are encouraged to bring it along.

To maximise the experience, workshop numbers are limited to a maximum of 6 people. For more information about dates etc, you can down load a printable pdf or you can get more details and book online.

You will be the envy of other photographers with the strikingly fashionable dark cloth hairstyle.

Last week, with strong gusting winds,  fire has once again touched the landscape in several locations around Perth. Whilst helicopter water bombers battled the severe fire at Roleystone, where tragically over 70 homes were lost, fixed wing aircraft dropped water on a blaze in the Canning Regional Park. Thanks to the firefighting crews, the fire was contained by the evening.  Logic would have it that fire should travel in the same direction as the prevailing winds, but when I took a walk through the burnt area it became clear that the fire had not only jumped the river, but travelled backwards on itself, upwind against the gusting easterly winds, to ignite unexpected areas. That gives an idea of the ferocity of the winds created locally by the fire’s intensity. It’s a sobering reminder that fire continues to be a major force in shaping our landscape, evidenced by our highly flammable vegetation, the charred bark remains on mature trees and the fire dependent reproduction cycles of native plants.  Has the reduced use of fire on the landscape over the past 200 years had the unintended consequence of increasing fire severity and therefore greater risk of destruction of homes and environment? This image was made in an area of the park which I regularly visit as part of a longer term photographic project exploring the seasonal changes and activity within the urbanised setting of the Canning River Regional Park, and was made several days after the fire.

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