Hello all, I took four shots to try out a new (to me) Wollensak 90mm lens I had recently purchased. Loaded film as per the usual, in the darkroom. When I got the shots back, I had weird results - green ivy looked green on the neg, thus would print red/orange on print.

At first the lab, a very good high end lab here in Hollywood, CA, thought I loaded the film backwards, but the notch codes indicated that I did not. And a Densitometry reading had my exposures dead on and consistent. And yet there is this color shift on the negs. They asked about filtration - I used none.

I flew with this film recently, and processed the other shots I took from this box of film earlier. It was a domestic flight and I have all my photography gear and film stock hand checked. The box of film was a month old, refrigerator kept, at the most.

I rated the film at 100 and my exposures were 1/10th of a second at f/16 and 1/50th of a second at f/11 when the sun peaked through the clouds. It was an overcast day. I own, but did not take a reading on my color temperature meter. I doubt that UV from the overcast day would have caused that dramatic a shift in colorimetry.

The colors on the ground glass were fine. No obvious color shift there.

Weird. Any thoughts?

Christopher Lockett
Los Angeles, CA

It sounds like a processing problem, but since you've been within 5 miles of an airport they are going to claim that's what did it.

The really strange part was you being able to get a box of 4x5 gear and sheet film through the air port and still making your flight.

The stories I've heard about security agents dropping APO sironars, opening boxes of film....

how did you do it?

>>How did you do it?

I hand check stuff all the time at airports. It's a pain, but I shoot documentary films and it's part of the job - unless I have an AC with me. If it's stills, it's usually all on me. In the last year, I've been through L.A., Boston, New York, Miami, Port-Au-Prince Haiti and Guatemala City without incident. I am told that either Orly or Degaulle (spelling?) in France is notorious for ignoring you and tossing your footage into the x-ray while you fumble for the right French words.

I've picked up a few tricks along the way to ensure that I don't have to put the film into the machines. I always carry a roll or two of RGB film, which is Kodak motion picture film recanned in a 35mm still canister, and a roll of 3200 speed film that I've had in the fridge for about four years. When domestic airport personnel say "It's safe except for high speed film," I say "It's motion picture film. It's all high speed." I figure most of the agents don't know that speed refers to ASA/ISO. Some do, so when they say "It's safe up to 1000 speed film," I tell them "Hey man, some of this stuff is 3200 speed film." You can buy RGB film from RGB lab on Highland in Hollywood, CA. And can get Fuji's version from Fuji on Citrus in Hollywood.

I also carry a printout of the FAA regulation allowing all domestic U.S. passengers to ask for a hand check of photosensitive materitals.

I sometimes use Kodak's printable "Do Not X-Ray" stickers. And I always carry this credit card I've had for years - it's got the National Press Photographer's Association logo on it, even though I haven't belonged to NPPA since 1997. I even have my old press badge from my Atlanta Journal-Constitution days, just in case.

No drops so far. Keep your fingers crossed.

The film stock in question never passed through x-rays and the other six shots from the box of ten came out just fine, although I had them processed a few weeks before I shot these recent four. It was only these last four that were weird.

No X-ray banding' no strange "base plus fog" milkiness or "flashing" type effects, nothing that looks like a light leak or similar, just a color reversal on the neg. Green looks green on the neg, thus red/orange on print. I haven't printed them, but might just to see what they look like!

I've cross-processed reversal films plenty, but never C-41. Anyone think this might be the culprit?

Thanks,
Christopher Lockett
Los Angeles

Quote:

I've cross-processed reversal films plenty, but never C-41. Anyone think this might be the culprit?

Could be I'll ask my lab next time I'm in. But I would think it would shift more than just one color.

I had a friend that was returning to the US from Canada. Came in through Newark and found a guard that probably didn't have the "people skills' for his position.

My friend had a couple of rolls of Trix and som P3200 and asked for a hand inspection.
"Denied"
"Sir," my firend courteously said as he was pulling out the FAA rules "if you'll check the FAA..."
"DON"T pull rank one me punk or you'll miss the next 4 flights home!"
"I'm simply asking for what is rightfu...."
"Do you want me to call in the FBI?"
"At this point yes! you are obviously playing by your own rules"

At this point the guard threw the cassettes accross the room and barked, "Check these for explosives"
5 seconds later the explosives checker alarm went off.
"Well Well, looks like I was right after all."

And into the fryer they went.

funny thing, they never set off alarms on the last 4 stops.

I traveled from Detroit to Idaho. Shipped my 5x7 2D (Made by Graflex, Inc.) on ahead and took my lenses. I found out these guys don't like metal cylindrical things at all. They weren't gruff or nasty, but I wasn't going to pass through unnoticed.

The thought of carrying 2 100 sheet boxes of 5x7 film was more than I thought I could get away with. Those boxes are just too big to say with a straight face. "No you can't open them, no you can't x ray them, yes they do weigh quite a bit, and now will you please let me on the plane?"

I've heard from other large format p eople that they've encountered guards that refuse to believe a 4x5 monorail is a camera.





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Les on 2002-11-05 19:29 ]</font>