Film Photography

We shoot film. . . doesn’t everyone?

THOMAS DUPLEX SUPER SAFELIGHT FILTERS

Seems the last couple of times I have tested the darkroom safelight I have had to cut down the illumination.  That should be a clue that the filters are fading and it is time to replace them.  We use a Thomas Duplex Super Safelight that I rebuilt many years ago.  Since we have a small  darkroom I knew I needed to attenuate the light.  My original safelight was modified when I rebuilt it and the 35 watt lamp was replaced with a 18 watt lamp.  Note:  You have to replace the ballast and start capacitor if you change the lamp wattage.  Wasn’t that big a problem seeing how the original ballast was no good.  I purchase the safelight many years ago not working for little to nothing.

So, now I needed to replace the filters.  Since I am only interested in B&W, work that simplifies things for sure.  All I need to find is the correct filter and then I can assemble my own replacement.  I have plenty of scrap glass, and tape.

With a little research on the Internet I discovered that the hard part had already been done.  Seems a Rosco #19 “Fire” filter has the necessary bandwidth to filter out the annoying green and blue spikes in the low pressure sodium lamp spectrum.  And, seems that others had proven this the best way possible. . . they tested it in their own darkroom.

All I needed was to order some filter material.  Rosco filters are the industry standard for stage and film production and readily available.  That was way too easy.  The thing that I was still toying with was how to adjust the light output.  It finally came to me.  Why not put the #19 filter in the body position and then add a Neutral Density filter to the vane?  Yep, that would do it.  So I ordered a sheet of Rosco #19 filter and a sheet of 0.30 ND.

We have a lot of scrap glass around.  I cut new glass to fit the body and vanes using TruVue Conservation Grade UV glass.  Thought it wouldn’t hurt to add even more filtration.  I also found out why the factory uses tissue paper.  Without it, the filter material does not look that great against the glass and I could see that if any moisture were to condense in there, it could be bad for the filter.   I really didn’t want to use tissue paper and I had a roll of Gila frosted window film from another project.  This stuff is a self-adhesive plastic material used to frost windows.  It was exactly what I needed to put a smooth textured surface on the inside of the glass to keep the filter from sticking.  It also works well to diffuse the light.

One of my favorite tapes is the aluminum HVAC ducting tape.  It is lightproof, sticks and stays in place.  Slit a few pieces of tape, peel the backing and it will hold the filter sandwich in place with ease.

I placed the #19 filter in the body and 0.30 ND in the vanes.  My first test showed there was still too much light.  I was testing at my closest point to the safelight for the worst case situation.  I ended up adding a second layer of 0.30 which made for 0.60 ND, which is two full stops attenuation.  But remember, I was testing with the most sensitive VC paper we use at a very close proximity to the safelight.  Always test for the very worst case scenario. 

Once finished, I found that the darkroom is much brighter than before.  This proves that the filters do fade.  Now we are back in business.   With the vanes fully closed all VC and standard papers are safe.  I like to print on Azo, which allows me to open the vanes for even more light.

I will test again in a year or so and if I need new filters they are easily replaced.  I have plenty of material, the Rosco filter comes in a 24 x 24 inch square.  Enough for several more safelight filters, if and when they are needed.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Darkroom, DIY, How-To, Photography

D/FW LF GROUP OUTING; Cedar Hill State Park, Sat 10/20/2012

It’s been a long HOT summer. . . Time to break out the cameras. . .  Let’s go back to Cedar Hill State Park!

Cedar Hill State Park

NOW, IF I CAN JUST REMEMBER. . .

Sunrise is at a much more reasonable 7:25AM  —  Sunset will be at 7:04PM.  Park is open 6:00am to 10pm.  There are several wonderful spots that will be good for both times of the day. 

Some of us are planning on spending the day at the park.  We will do lunch around noon, there are restrooms and picnic areas in the park.  You can either bring your picnic basket or head into town.

As usual, we will have a variety of cameras in play. . . everything from LF to handheld digital.  We will be working on more details as we plan this outing.  Stay tuned for more info.

See y’all there!

Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Events, Photography

D/FW LFG An outing without Dark Cloth

Mary's Cafe  Strawn, TXWe are heading out to Strawn, Texas this Saturday (7-14) to Mary’s Cafe for the best Chicken Fried Steak in Texas.  Some in the group are heading out early to scout the area and we will be meeting for lunch.  Plans are to be at Mary’s for the real thing at 11:30AM this Saturday.

 Mary’s Cafe
119 Grant Ave.
Strawn, TX 76475

Bring some photos to share, equipment to show or sell and let’s have a fun lunch.

Hope to meet some new members!

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Photography

A GREAT STORY

Story

Posted by JB Harlin in Commentary, Photography

A 4X10 TREASURE

4x10 Film HolderThere are times when things fall into place. . . then there are those times when everything seems to just fall apart.  My Mother used to say, “even a blind hog will pickup an acorn every now and then.”  We struck on some good fortune recently and found something extremely rare.   I found six, in-the-box, never-used, Lisco Regal 4×10 medical film holders.  In case you didn’t know, Wisner designed his 4×10 camera around these extremely rare and difficult to find film holders. 

Susan started out with the Wisner 4×10 camera and a handful of holders, since we have forever been searching for more holders.  She has found Wisner-style holders off and on and has collected a good assortment, but we are still on the lookout for more.

This group popped up on one of the photo chat sites and I couldn’t resist asking questions.  The seller said he purchased them from another person that acquired them from a medical supply house and they were pristine.  Pristine is an understatement!  I still can’t get over how these holders look.  The boxes were shelf worn, but the holders were absolutely un-used and still had the warranty cards.

It is strange how things sometimes happen, and here is one of those times I stumbled upon an acorn.  These holders have found a good home and will be well cared for and put into service doing what they do best. . .  holding film!

Happy hunting everyone!

 JB

PS  Just in case anyone asks, NO these 4×10 holders are not for sale. . . But. . .  we do have some new, in-the-box, Fidelity Elite 4×5 holders and some lightly used, with-the-box, Toyo 4×5  holders for sale.  Drop by our For Sale area to take a look.  Thanks!

Posted by JB Harlin in Film, Photography

Photographer Print “Throw Down” WHAT A GOOD TIME!

Print Throw Down

We had a fun afternoon today at the Sun To Moon Gallery and were delighted to be invited to participate in their second annual Photographer Print “Throw Down.”   We had a great time and a great crowd, sharing photographs and stories about what we do and why.  Already looking forward to next year!

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Photography

Photographer Print “Throw Down” and Get-Together Saturday, June 30th

Hello fellow photo enthusiasts. . .  we have been invited to participate this weekend at the Sun to Moon Gallery Photographer Print “Throw Down” and Get-Together.  If you are looking for something to do this Saturday afternoon, inside out of the heat, drop by.  Susan and I will have several of our prints displayed.

WHERE: Sun to Moon Gallery

WHEN: Saturday, June 30, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.


Sun to Moon Gallery

1515 Levee Street
Dallas, TX 75207
214.745.1199

http://www.suntomoon.com/pages/Tri_framesets/gallery_tri_fs.html

Posted by JB Harlin in Photography

RABBIT, BUTTERFLY, WEATHERED WOOD. . . CEDAR HILL STATE PARK

Haven’t had a lot of time to write lately.  We have been working on several remodeling projects here at the house.  We did have a D/FW LFG outing back Saturday May 26th.

This is a really great place for the B&W LF shooter.  We had a few  courageous people join us to brave the heat and wind.  One thing is certain, we will be returning once the weather cools down some.  I would say after the first fall frost would be a great time to return.  Special thanks to David for arranging this outing, lunch and the tour of his darkroom. .  . plus, showing us some of his photographs.

Hopefully fall will come early this year!

JB

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Posted by JB Harlin in D/FW LF GROUP, Photography

CONTACT PRINTING & AZO

Contact Printing AzoI have to admit that I am a contact printer.  Susan and I both contact print.  There seems to be some confusion about contact printing and all I can say is, it is the easiest way you can make a print.  Contact printing is nothing more than laying the negative directly on a sheet of printing paper, covering it with a piece of glass, and adding some light for the exposure.  Nothing could be more simple.  You do not need any special equipment to print on graded paper.  A negative, some graded paper, a sheet of glass, and a lamp.

As a side note at this point, note I use the term LAMP.  I have been corrected for years by an old friend that worked in the lighting industry at one time.  In the industry, there is no such thing as a Light Bulb. . . it is a LAMP.  So when I say LAMP, you can be assured that to the laymen I am talking about a Light Bulb.  Now back to contact printing.

You can contact print on any paper, but one of the more interesting papers that is highly sought after is the old Kodak Azo.  Azo is a silver chloride printing paper that was manufactured primarily for making proofs.  It is extremely slow and requires such a large amount of light to yield an image it is mostly used as a contact printing paper.  There seems to be some confusion about printing on Azo, and believe me, it is not that complicated.  You just have to use a light source that is bright enough to yield reasonable printing times.  This is where the lamp comes in.

All you need for printing on Azo is a simple, frosted lamp.  For small negatives, 4×5 or smaller you can use a sheet of thick glass for printing.  Larger negatives require a printing frame that holds the paper and negative under pressure.  Edward Weston printed most of his most famous work using an 8×10 negative in a simple spring back printing frame, exposed under a lamp hanging by its cord from the ceiling.  He adjusted the lamp intensity by changing the lamp size, or moving the lamp up and down by coiling the cord and using a clothespin.

So, now we get down to designing a printing rig for Azo.  This can be as simple or complicated as you wish.  I am going to describe how we print Azo and other papers.  This is the setup we use, and how it is designed.  I will say this again, you can use this same setup for contact printing regular enlarging paper also.

Let’s begin with the printing frame.  We print large negatives, and we use a vacuum frame.  The advantage of a vacuum frame is that you get absolute even pressure between the film and paper, no matter what the size of the film.  We shoot 8×10, 11×14, 8×20 and 16×20 film, and have a vacuum frame large enough to accommodate the largest film.  The vacuum frame is positioned under the drop table below the 8×10 enlarger.  The vacuum pump is located just below the frame and includes a vacuum gauge which is handy to confirm the frame is properly closed and the vacuum is drawn down.  By having the vacuum frame located below the enlarger we can also use the enlarger for printing on other papers, including VC papers that require control of blue and green light.  The top of the counter is removable, as is the drop shelf which is used for enlarging.  By removing the counter top and drop shelf, the vacuum frame is exposed and can be used for printing.

Printing on Azo only requires a lamp placed at some distance from the film and paper.  Different negatives require different amounts of light.  We set the vacuum frame to lamp reflector to a fixed distance and change the lamp wattage as required.  The higher the wattage, the brighter the lamp.  We keep a supply of lamps, ranging from 7 ½ watt to 200watt depending on the amount of light required.  For most of our negatives we use the 45watt, 65watt, and sometimes a 100watt lamp.  I like having a reflector around the lamp to help keep the light out of my eyes while printing.  It also focuses the light downward onto the printing frame.

The lamp fixture is fitted with a custom machined clamping mechanism that attaches to the focusing rail of the Beseler 8×10 enlarger just below the lens, and is held in place with a thumbscrew.  The enlarger head is raised or lowered to set the distance from the lamp reflector to the vacuum frame.  We always adjust the lip of the reflector to vacuum glass to 30 inches.  For our setup, this allows for even illumination of the vacuum frame and keeps the reflector between your eyes and the lamp.  The lamp assembly is easily removed by loosening the thumb screw in case you want to change to enlarging paper and use the enlarger as a light source.  This all sounds complicated, but in reality it is very simple.  Refer to the photos for more detail.

The only thing that might affect your printing repeatability would be any variation of the line voltage to the lamp, which will affect the lamp output.  The voltage is easily stabilized using a constant voltage transformer.  You can find constant voltage units used, take a look on eBay.  The one we use is a 350watt unit made by Sola-HD and will easily handle our largest lamp which is 200watts.

The constant voltage transformer is mounted in a large box that is located behind the 8×10 enlarger.  I have also added a timer and a one second metronome, both made from an old digital alarm clock.  Some cheap digital clocks can be modified to function as a resettable timer.   I was able to rig the alarm beeper so that it chirps every second.  I like to use a metronome when contact printing, and there is also a large digital readout timer that I can use as a check, just in case I lose count.  The printing lamp and timer are wired to a foot switch.  When you step on the switch the lamp comes on and the timer begins to count upward.  The metronome runs continuously and has a switch to disable it.  My wife does not like it, she only uses the timer.  There is also a switch on the main box that controls the vacuum pump.   As a safety precaution, the lamp will not activate until the vacuum pump is running.  This way if you accidentally step on the footswitch with your box of paper open, the lamp will not light.

Printing is extremely simple.  Switch off the room lights, place a sheet of printing paper, sandwiched with your negative, in the center of the vacuum frame.  Close the glass top.  Hit the pump switch and check to see that the frame has drawn down.  When you are ready to start, step on the footswitch.  The printing lamp comes on and the timer starts counting.  I always step on the switch in time with the metronome.  Count off the desired exposure.  When complete, release the footswitch.  Turn off the vacuum pump.  Remove the paper and process.

Need to burn and dodge?  Keep track of your exposure and use a card or cutout shape for the appropriate time.  You can easily see the image since the paper is white and the negative is easily seen through the glass of the printing frame or vacuum frame.

Contact printing on Azo, or any other printing paper, is extremely easy, and is not rocket science. By adding the ability to print Azo using the 8×10 enlarger, we save space, which is always a premium in the darkroom.  You can make your printing setup as simple, or complex as you desire.  The main thing is to make prints.  Make lots of prints.  Those prints are what is important. 

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Darkroom, How-To, Photography

THE 2012 ILFORD ULF FILM RUN BEGINS NOW

It is that time again. . . time you get your order in for this year’s Ilford ULF film run.  The ordering window opens on Monday 30th April and will run until Friday 22nd June 2012.  More information and a list of dealers HERE.

 

Ilford

Posted by JB Harlin in Film, Photography