Phillip Cohen
(K=10561) - Comment Date 12/8/2004
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John,
I would say you are probably fine, if you are worried, just turn your back to the door when loading film. The eye is pretty sensative to miniscule light leaks like that, probably more then the film. If you really want to know, take a piece of film and lay it on a table and cover half with a book or something totally opaque. let it sit out for a half hour or so, then develop it. see if you see any fogging in the area that was exposed. Try it with fast film. If you see no density line between the part that was covered and the part that was not, it is pretty safe to say you are pretty much light tight. Paper is even slower. Just keep your safelights at a good distance.
Phil
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Jon O'Brien
(K=11321) - Comment Date 12/9/2004
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Hi, Phil - thanks for the tip. I guess you've brought up the next question - for developing paper, how close to the safelight is too close? I have it hung up near the ceiling, about 7' off the floor and another 7 feet or so from the enlarger. But my worktable is a bit crowded and I had thought to put another table underneath the safelight to hold my trays. Will this be too close, do you think?
Jon
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ann clancy
(K=2014) - Comment Date 12/9/2004
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It is going to depend on the type of light, the type of paper. 7 feet should be more than enough.
make a test. place a piece of paper on the table, put a coin on the paper and let it sit there for 6 or 8 minutes. develop and see what happens to the paper.
warmtone papers tend to be more sensitive to fogging, especially Forte.
Remember light does not bend, but it will reflective off of surfaces, so a glimmer of light at the bottom of the door means nothing, unless of course you drop a roll of film in front of it. Never seen ghostly hands and i send many hours a day in the darkroom. :)
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Oliver Nebel
(K=1031) - Comment Date 12/9/2004
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Hi Jon,
whenever you imagine ghostly hands from behind of you, the conditions for paper work will be fine. I was surprised about Phils reply regarding the sensitivity of film and i will do the test he described.
In my darkroom i have such a box with a neon lamp inside for reviewing the negatives (Can anybody help me with the english word for that device?). When i am sitting in the dark and when i start feeling uncomfortable my eyes register a kind of flashing light out of that box. That's the reason why i place two layers of textiles over it when working with undeveloped films.
Oliver
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Jon O'Brien
(K=11321) - Comment Date 12/11/2004
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Hi, Oliver - I would call a box with flourescent lights inside and a glass top either a light box or a slide table... cool about the flashing lights you see from your (I presume while it's off). I have to admit that sitting in my (as yet virgin) darkroom without the safelight on is a bit... spooky... :-]
Cheers, eh,
Jeff
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Oliver Nebel
(K=1031) - Comment Date 12/13/2004
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Hi Jeff,
yes - spooky is the right word for that ;-) I have darkened a radio and cd player with a curtain of black plastic foil to have at least the acouesthesia stimulated while handling fractious film rolls!
Oliver
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