![]() ![]() After processing, you will be able to see any effect that the safelight has had on your paper, and take corrective actions if necessary. After flashing the paper, you will expose it to the safelight in increments of several minutes (just like making a test strip under the enlarger). This flash exposure will cause the paper to react to the safelight in the same way an exposed print does. ![]() In the second part of the test, you will mask off a fresh sheet of photo paper and “flash” expose it for the time determined in the first part of the test. The flash-point will be used in the next part of the test, to determine how long a sheet of exposed paper can be subjected to the safelight before fogging. When paper is “flashed,” it becomes more sensitive to any light that it is later exposed to. The flash-point is the exposure time just before a visible gray tone is produced. In the first part of the test, you will determine the flash-point for your paper. Make sure that no white light is leaking through. ![]() Switch on your safelight and inspect housing. While you are at it, look at the electrical cable to make sure that it is also in good shape with no splits or exposed wire. Check to make sure that has the correct wattage bulb, and that your filters are not cracked. (Mask-off shiny things you bring into the room, too, like "canned air".) If the light reflects brightly off any shiny objects, mask them off. Turn on your enlarger lamp and look around the room. Now hold out one arm in front of you, with your palm out, like a traffic cop signaling "stop." Can you see the outline of your hand? Plug any holes and use darkroom Blackout Cloth to curtain entrances. It may take up to 10 minutes, but eventually your eyes will adjust and problem light leaks will shine brightly. Turn off all the lights, including the safelight, and sit in your darkroom for a time. Before you use it, test your darkroom for lighting problems. The first step is to make sure your darkroom is free of light. After completing the test, you will know how long your paper can stay under the safelight without fogging. This article gives step-by-step instructions for a comprehensive safelight test. Photo paper spends several minutes under the safelight before it is fixed, and in that time a safelight that is overly bright, or the wrong color, can ruin a great print. Light can sneak into the darkroom in many ways, but few people realize that even the trusty darkroom safelight can cause fogged paper. On the other hand, if uncontrolled, light is an obstacle for anyone wishing to work in the darkroom.įogged paper is the muddy, low-contrast product of harmful light in the darkroom. Light is both a blessing and a curse for photographers! Without it, Hershel could not have coined the term "photography", which literally means "writing with light" (Photo means light, graphy means writing). ![]()
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