On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 08:43:09 GMT, "Liopleurodon"
wrote:

Has anyone found a way of not doing this in complete darkness, eg.
night-vision, infra-red or special safelight filter?

Yep - called a "changing bag." Oh - you mean, is there any way to
perform the process visually rather than by feel? Nope - not with
panchromatic films, which have sensitivity into the near infrared.
They must be handled in complete darkness - no safelights, no special
illumination.

That being said, learning how to load your film reels and/or bulk
loader in the dark is just a matter of practice. People have been
doing it for years, and it doesn't take long to acquire as a skill,
unless you have no coordination at all.

When handling the film, how important is it to keep your fingers off the
actual film face? Obviously handling on the edges would be better, but in

It's very important to keep your fingerprints off the emulsion side of
the film. Any oil/moisture from your hands is going to result in
uneven development at that point, and yes it will be visible on the
developed negative. Oils will inhibit development at the point of
deposit.

complete darkness with my clumsy fingers, I can imagine when loading the
developing reel I'm gonna grab the film face at least once.Would this ruin
that patch, or is it ok as long as the touch is light?

When loading film reels, honestly the place you're most likely to
contact a non-edge surface is on the shiny backing side of the film.
As for touching the emulsion side - just don't do it. Once you get
past feeding the leader onto the reel, you should only be touching the
edges, period. Practice in daylight with a sacrificial roll until you
get the hang of loading your film properly. Make sure your reels are
dry - moisture on the reels will cause the gelatin emulsion to get
sticky and prevent smooth feeding. I personally find
Paterson/JOBO-type plastic spiral reels (where you crank opposite
sides to load the film in) easier to load than stainless ones - it's
way too easy to misload the metal versions if you're not careful.
Once the plastic spirals are started, it's almost impossible to
misload them.
--
Strange, Geometrical Hinges: http://rob.rnovak.net