Thanks all for the thoughtful answers and suggestions. Elias On Jun 9, 2008, at 12:08 AM, Mark Blackwell wrote:
Questions for the beginner is what this list is for, and for that matter the seasoned vet. IF you ever get to the point in your photographic projects that you stop asking question of others and most importantly to yourself, its time to quit.Some papers will tolerate different things, but you need to check the information that came with that particular paper. Papers should have an information sheet with them that should tell you what safelights are safe.Most papers are not sensitive to the red spectrum of light. It isn't just the intensity that makes the light safe, but the wavelength. Most papers are not affected by the red. There are some others, but in my experience red is the safest for most types of papers.Now for a way to test it. Here is a suggestion. First pick a spot not too far from your safelight, one near your enlarger, and one near where your developing trays are placed. Set a sheet of photo paper there and put something on top of a part of the paper. I use a quarter. If your budget allows a silver dollar would work too grin. For most accurate results place the sheets and the money on the paper in total darkness. Some can do this all at one time and others might prefer to test each location individually. Turn the safelight on and leave everything there for about the same amount of time that it would be there while doing the actual work.The next step is to develop the blank paper normally. IF your safelight is really safe, the paper should remain white. If it isn't, the outline of that quarter should appear and the rest of the paper should have some sort of change depending on how safe it isn't. Solid black with a quarter outline is real bad grin.If it passes the working test, I will when using a new darkroom take it a step further and set up several more and leave them for a more extended times. What I am looking for is to find out just how much time I have before it becomes an issue.The other suggestion I would have for a new beginner is to remember that light leaks with a darkroom usually don't show up as soon as you turn the light off. Go into your darkroom with an Ipod (and Id probably cover the display too) and sit there for 15 minutes or so in total darkness. It takes time for your eyes to adapt. In my case after 5 eye surgeries and an additional eye procedure, my eyes do not react nearly as fast as they once did. If you are older give it a little more time, but you can tell when its happening. As the pupils open up and try to use what little available light is there, light leaks will appear. In a completely light tight room, you will not see that change because no matter how wide your eyes open, there is no light for the eye to use. They will not always show with the safelight on. Id do this before I tested my safelight.--- On Sun, 6/8/08, ERoustom <eroustom@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:From: ERoustom <eroustom@xxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [pure-silver] safe light To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Sunday, June 8, 2008, 9:19 PM Here's an ignorant beginner question: If my safe light has been working with older graded Agfa papers, and all sorts of VC papers, will it work with papers like Fotokemika Varycon that specifically ask for a RED light? Even though to my eyes it's a an orange light? Do I really need to spend the money on a red light? Or are there economical options? E.===================================================================== ========================================To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.====================================================================== ======================================= To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.
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