[Leica] Scanning woes

[len-001 at verizon.net (Leonard Taupier)]

I use distilled water for everything except the final wash as well.  
My developer is always one shot but I reuse stopbath and fixer. I  
found the biggest offender to dirty negatives is used wetting agent.  
It stays on the negatives and doesn't get washed off. I find 3 or 4  
rolls through the PhoFlo is about it before the negatives get dirty.  
I never force dry negatives but run a humidifier in my darkroom in  
the winter. That keeps the dust down and helps curling, especially MF.

Len

On Sep 18, 2008, at 10:54 AM, David Rodgers wrote:

> Tina,
>
> Haven't tried nose grease. Maybe I should :-). Kodak film cleaner  
> helps.
> I still have a small amount. I don't think you can get it any more. I
> wear gloves when I use it.  It helps with the dust, but not with  
> defects
> in the neg caused by things like film that's been (high) temperatures
> affected and bad water. I think water is my biggest issue. I  
> switched to
> using distilled water for everything, except the final wash, and that
> seems to have helped a lot.
>
> When I lived in Portland I don't remember having issues with tap  
> water.
> That's not the case where I live now. Also, my tap water this time of
> year is always 70 deg F plus. So I have to adjust dev times. For years
> my tap water was cool enough that I had no problem keeping  
> everything at
> 68 deg F. While that doesn't sound like a big deal, it is. I'm finally
> getting used to it.
>
> Film is certainly not as clean as a digital capture image. I can
> understand why people have given up on BW film. I can't seem to let it
> go. It's like the weathered face of a cowboy who's been on the range
> most of his days, vs the silky smooth cheeks of a beauty queen. It has
> its own character.
>
> DaveR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tina Manley [mailto:images@comporium.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 5:35 PM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Scanning woes
>
> At 12:45 PM 9/17/2008, you wrote:
>>  On the plus side, it's really
>> make me take more care with all aspects of the film process.
>>
>> DaveR
>
> I wish I could go back in time and take them again. ;-)  I would use
> refrigerated film, filtered water to mix developer, PhotoFlo and a
> film dryer!  I would also take more care with focusing the camera
> :-(  I have learned a little over the years but I'm working with what
> I've got here.  I can get a lot more out of these poor old negatives
> by scanning with Silverfast and  developing in Lightroom than I would
> ever be able to get in the darkroom.  Does nose grease work with
> scanned film?  I'll have to try that!
>
> Tina
>
>
> Tina Manley
> www.tinamanley.com
>
>
>
>
>
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