Back to the grind

 It was another very hot day in southern California. I was tempted to just stay in and Zoom for a few hours (I had several sessions scheduled in my department), but I couldn't bear that idea. Heat or no heat, I was going out, and I wanted to buy some black and white 8x10 film. So I went.

Was served quickly in Santa Fe Springs as the usual place, then went to Heritage Park where I loaded a few sheets of the film in the new holder I had bought and received a week ago. I then took two photos. I exposed both for 25 seconds, hoping to get a denser negative, since the Catlabs 80 film was not working for me.

Went home, zoomed for a few hours, then finished some Powerpoint presentations, then finally got a chance to develop one of the negatives, not two, one. (The Stearman Press tank is only good for one at a time.) I gave it about 9 minutes in the developer and, after fixing, with trepidation, opened the container and, lo and behold, there was a denser negative!

(I can't upload right now, the computer says I lost a connection. Tomorrow there will be four of us using the wifi network at the same time, I hope I can maintain a Zoom connection when I teach my two classes.)

(Uploaded on Aug. 20th, after taking a screen shot. Maybe the file was too big for me to upload.)

I went ahead and scanned on my flatbed Epson V600, in a primitive way, since I don't have a dedicated 8x10 scanner. I lay three sheets of paper on top, then set a heavy book over that, then do a scan at about 800 dpi. It goes by quickly, in about 1 minute, and I obtain something. Next, in a few months, I want to see about buying a lightbox so that I can scan my images with my DSLR. A $100 lightbox is a much better alternative than a $1,200 Epson V800 (or so, I forget the model numbers). 

I inverted in my clumsy software way (which means, I don't have Photoshop nor Lightroom on my Apple computer), and obtained something that was better than I was obtaining with Catlabs film. Much better, although the edges are soft. I know, I know, pinholes are not supposed to be very sharp, but why would the center be relatively sharp and the edges noticeably soft? I suspect issues with film flatness, I did not do a good job loading the film in the car this morning, but I was rushed, it was hot as heck outside, someone with their windows rolled down was playing loud music on their car and not wearing a face mask, and I was nervous. And just maybe, it was the film holder too, it might have imperfections. It gives off a strong chemical smell which makes me want to ditch it.

So, tomorrow I have two classes to teach. It is the beginning of a new journey, but this is why they pay me. I need to do a much better job than I did during spring semester. I think I will achieve that goal.

Afterwards, I want to plan on an outing for Friday. I want to take a few more 8x10 pinhole photos. I still have not used the 6x12 Kraken camera, but I will, I will. The lens is mounted and I think it should be sharp. 

Let's do better than we did before and in the immortal words of George Lopez, "Be happy, cabrón!". 

(Uploaded on Aug. 20th after taking a screen shot. I also mirrored the image so that it faces the way I saw it at the park. This just means I have to be careful about the side I use when I lay it on the flatbed. The first scan of the negative must not have been the emulsion side. I wonder if I did scan the correct emulsion scan if the negative would be sharper.)