Light leak in the darkroom. What is the threat?

hypeo · 2013-03-05T19:18:48+00:00

Hallo, es gilt als selbstverständlich, dass die Dunkelkammer komplett lichtdicht ist und man sehr auf die vollkommene Dunkelheit beim Einspulen des Films in...

hypeo

Hello, It goes without saying that the darkroom must be completely light-tight and that one must take great care to ensure total darkness when loading the film into the tank. I don’t dispute that, but I do have a few questions about the consequences. During my last darkroom session – late in the evening – I forgot to cover the thin gap under the door, and a little light came in from my neighbour’s flat through the window into the hallway and from there under the door into the room. I only noticed the light after loading the film, once my eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, as it shone faintly through the gap under the door. Nevertheless, I developed the black-and-white 35mm negative film as usual in Rodinal, fixed it properly and rinsed it thoroughly. When examining the negatives, I didn’t notice anything unusual and was a bit surprised, as I had expected them to be significantly overexposed. All the negatives look the same – compared to those in the archive – and I can clearly make out the grey tones. Now to my question: Is the light leak in the darkroom taken too seriously? What effect does it have on the finished prints? Regards, hypeo

SxDx

A light leak has the same effect on film and paper: it causes them to become fogged. This can range from barely noticeable (as was fortunately the case for you) to the point of becoming unusable, depending on the light, brightness and duration of exposure. If you make prints from a fogged negative, they will turn out flat; depending on the severity of the fogging, they may even become unusable, as you can no longer compensate for this through the gradient. If the film has been exposed to too much light, the latent image can, of course, be almost entirely or completely overwritten. People don’t take this issue seriously enough, because just because you’ve been lucky once doesn’t mean it will always be that way. :)

ultra8

If the light only hits your eyes after they have adjusted to the darkness, nothing at all will happen. Unless you need a long time to wind a film or leave your paper exposed for a long time outside the box near the light leak.

ErnstKluger

If the incoming light only becomes noticeable after your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, absolutely nothing happens. Unless you need a long time to wind a roll of film, or leave your paper exposed for a long time outside the box near the light leak.

Well, I think that’s a rather bold claim for films that can be exposed at 1/6000 sec. There will definitely be some exposure error. The only question is whether it will be severe enough to be visible on the negative or the positive. See the first posts for more on this. Best regards, Ernst

TiMo

Hi Hypeo, Why not invest in a removable bag? I find it much more convenient than having to improvise a makeshift cover every time you wind the line. Alternatively, you could ask your neighbour to switch off their fuse while you’re busy winding the line. Cheers, Tim

hypeo

First of all, thank you so much for your replies! :) [size=4]

[/size] Hi Hypeo, Why not invest in a replacement bag? I find it much more convenient than having to improvise a Duka every time you need to wind it up.

It’s not actually that difficult: lower the roller shutter, put the heavy curtain in front of it and place a blanket over the door gap – everything else stays light-tight. But even with a roll-up bag, I wouldn’t be able to avoid sealing it off, because to enlarge the image, the light box should of course be as light-tight as possible ;)

I’m not taking this too seriously, because just because you’ve been lucky once doesn’t mean it’ll always be that way. :)

And with that, I hope you have a sunny Saturday afternoon!