Author Topic: The talking room (Read 13317 times)

cs1 · « **Reply #100 on:** August 05, 2018, 10:05:54 AM »

A quick non-bread related note: global warming is real, it has reached film development. I was stirring up a Caffenol brew but I only go 20 °C warm water from the tap. That's a first. I had to put the Caffenol into the fridge to cool it down to 20 °C. Normally our tap water is well below 15 °C.

AJShepherd · « **Reply #101 on:** August 05, 2018, 10:26:33 AM »

A few weeks ago when I developed a roll of PanF I discovered that even after running it for a while the water from the cold tap was 23ºC, so I had to dig out a PDF from Ilford with a chart on it showing how to change developing times for different temperatures.

Been really too hot for my liking so not been out much with a camera lately.

cs1 · « **Reply #102 on:** August 05, 2018, 12:12:33 PM »

I agree, it was incredibly hot. We were on holiday and I ended up using only a small camera that I hadn't expected to use much instead of my medium format camera. I just didn't feel like hauling it through the heat all the time.

Bryan · « **Reply #103 on:** August 05, 2018, 01:40:54 PM »

The tap water here is at about 22C, I’ve been adjusting the time like AJShepherd. I’m in Cottage Grove, Oregon all summer where it hasn’t rained a drop since June 11 and this is the wet side of the mountains. Every now and then the sky gets hazy with smoke from the wildfires. Definitely ready for some cooler weather.

Francois · « **Reply #104 on:** August 05, 2018, 03:24:19 PM »

Here too it's been simply too hot.
When you're a red head, just the idea of being in the sun by 40°c weather is just so not inspiring...
Last thing I want is to get heat stroke.

As for lowering the developer temperature, there is a trick.
The simplest is to keep an old soda ban filled with water in the fridge. I took an small can of vegetable juice which I filled with tap water and sealed with epoxy. When the developer is really too warm, I just dump the can in the middle of the graduate and wait for the temperature to drop.

cs1 · « **Reply #105 on:** August 05, 2018, 06:55:51 PM »

That's good advice, François. For the second batch of Caffenol I put some water in the fridge first. Bryan, it's scary how the climate changed so noticeably. Lucky enough, today was rather pleasant. A light breeze and some clouds with rain in the morning. I managed to take my almost 3yo son on a hike in a kid carrier together with my trusty Canon F-1 with three glasses without suffering a heat stroke. That was quite nice.

Francois · « **Reply #106 on:** August 05, 2018, 09:11:44 PM »

Today's really bad... staying inside trying to clean-up clutter.

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #107 on:** August 05, 2018, 11:36:54 PM »

The heat was horrendous today. I headed towards a state park located about an hour from here, and instead of grabbing the new car, decided to use a $500 Honda Civic that my roommate and I bought as a "running errands" beater. It's a 1996 Civic Coupe, 200k miles on it and runs fantastic. The only issue is that it doesn't have a functioning A/C. I rolled the windows and started driving. 1 hour later I was home, completely drenched in sweat.

My roommate, a 6-tour veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who carried 80+ lbs of gear in 100+ degree weather, left on his bike for a ride and came back 30 mins later. Too hot. Ironically, he doesn't believe in climate change...

Jeff Warden · « **Reply #108 on:** August 06, 2018, 03:36:19 PM »

Last week I also had to chill developer due to water from the tap being too hot.

Over the weekend I read an outstanding article on the subject (which might be behind a paywall, but the NYRB is so good I recommend sending them your money):

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/08/16/arctic-big-melt/

:-)

Francois · « **Reply #109 on:** August 06, 2018, 06:39:55 PM »

Just to give you an idea, my mom just checked the temperature outside... it's 100°F on the thermometer (she's still in Farenheit). She took the lazer thermometer I got her a few years ago and measured the temperature of the steering wheel in her car: 144°F......
Somehow, I don't know how it's related but Youtube suggested me this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PLbJ9g1uc0

You just gotta love Aussie humor.

Bryan · « **Reply #110 on:** August 08, 2018, 01:08:38 AM »

Smoke is becoming a normal part of the weather forecast, they even have a smoke map. We're going to start working on the cleanup of the fire near Redding, California later this month, not sure if I'll end up there yet.

Pete_R · « **Reply #111 on:** August 08, 2018, 10:29:52 AM »

Quote from: Bryan on August 08, 2018, 01:08:38 AM

Smoke is becoming a normal part of the weather forecast, they even have a smoke map. We're going to start working on the cleanup of the fire near Redding, California later this month, not sure if I'll end up there yet.

Am I the only one who sees a mythical monster in that smoke map?

Bryan · « **Reply #112 on:** August 08, 2018, 01:10:36 PM »

Quote from: PeterR on August 08, 2018, 10:29:52 AM

Quote from: Bryan on August 08, 2018, 01:08:38 AM
Smoke is becoming a normal part of the weather forecast, they even have a smoke map. We're going to start working on the cleanup of the fire near Redding, California later this month, not sure if I'll end up there yet.
Am I the only one who sees a mythical monster in that smoke map?

Now I see it! I think it’s going to eat Boise, Idaho.

Francois · « **Reply #113 on:** August 08, 2018, 02:37:03 PM »

Either that or turn it to a crisp in one small puff.
Funny because this morning's cro-magnon brain of mine just thought that dragons might be the only mythical creature that eats all their food well done....

Bryan · « **Reply #114 on:** August 08, 2018, 10:51:40 PM »

I've been watching the weather up at Crater Lake for the past few weeks, it's close enough to go up there on my day off. On a clear day it's beautiful, a great place to waste some film. So far every day has had smoke in the forecast, it looks like this weekend will be the same. Below are web cam shots from this morning and this afternoon. Every morning seems to start out with some visibility but by afternoon you can barely see the lake from the rim of the crater.

Bryan · « **Reply #115 on:** August 08, 2018, 10:56:02 PM »

This is what it should look like. I shot this back in 2013 with an Olympus OM-1 using Kodak Portra 400.

Crater Lake by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #116 on:** August 09, 2018, 02:57:03 PM »

Just going there when there is so much smoke has got to take a few years off your life....

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #117 on:** August 09, 2018, 03:01:12 PM »

Quote from: Francois on August 09, 2018, 02:57:03 PM

Just going there when there is so much smoke has got to take a few years off your life....

I laughed at this so hard because Satish and I always say that every time we develop C41, the fumes of the Blix takes away a few months of our lives

Francois · « **Reply #118 on:** August 09, 2018, 08:15:39 PM »

Yeah, I know. The stuff is pretty nasty...

Pete_R · « **Reply #119 on:** August 15, 2018, 08:56:24 PM »

Meet the new member of the family. Just 12 hours old and already showing signs of activity.

I know I said I couldn't see me keeping pets but, well, you gotta try everything once.

The black things are grapes by the way. Apparently grape skins are a good source of natural yeast.

Francois · « **Reply #120 on:** August 15, 2018, 09:51:26 PM »

I can see a few bubbles...
They look like some happy little yeast

Indofunk · « **Reply #121 on:** August 16, 2018, 12:39:36 AM »

Nice! My culture is a week old now

And yes, grapes have yeast, just ask the entire wine industry!

Pete_R · « **Reply #122 on:** August 17, 2018, 11:26:18 AM »

None of the books I've read have said anything about this happening...

It also smells terrible. Think I might start again.

Indofunk · « **Reply #123 on:** August 17, 2018, 12:34:48 PM »

That's normal. Bottom layer is the flour/water/yeast mix, middle layer is the alcohol produced as the yeast's liquid waste product, and the top layer is CO2 produced as the gaseous waste product. And I'm not sure what you mean by "terrible", but it'll definitely smell strong and musty. Keep going with it. You'll know you have a problem if it turns pink or green, otherwise you should be good.

Also, I hope you're not sealing the jar? It needs for air (CO2) to be able to escape or you may have an explosive time when you open it! (or worse, you may wake up one morning to find glass shards all over your kitchen)

Francois · « **Reply #124 on:** August 17, 2018, 02:28:37 PM »

I can see that rubber gasket...
I think you'd be better off removing it.
Yeast need air just like any organism. With all those CO2 bubbles the air in the jar must be getting pretty thick.

Pete_R · « **Reply #125 on:** August 17, 2018, 04:43:07 PM »

I had the lid loose but sealed it down after one whiff of the smell. 'Musty' didn't even come close.

'fraid I committed infanticide and flushed it. I'm starting again. I think I'll use raisins this time - seems to be the recommended thing.

Francois · « **Reply #126 on:** August 17, 2018, 09:14:25 PM »

You mean yeasticide...

Pete_R · « **Reply #127 on:** August 17, 2018, 09:28:04 PM »

Quote from: Francois on August 17, 2018, 09:14:25 PM

You mean yeasticide...

Indofunk · « **Reply #128 on:** August 18, 2018, 02:44:05 AM »

I still think that was a 100% viable culture. You probably would've had a much mellower scent if you'd left it covered more loosely. The covering is mostly to prevent unwanted bacteria from dropping in, so a towel or plastic wrap is completely sufficient.
Just like us humans, yeast don't like to be suffocated by their excrement!

Francois · « **Reply #129 on:** August 18, 2018, 03:06:25 PM »

Lol

jojonas~ · « **Reply #130 on:** August 22, 2018, 11:07:22 AM »

ooh, nifty thread. good idea francois

I've had summer vacation with the family but took another now to get some time in the newly built public darkroom. too bad they found asbestos on the ventilation pipes and decided to take care about that right now. I think it's been a long time since I been as dissapointed as when I first learnt of this. I was going there all hyped up this monday to get the key with 24h access!

oh well, maybe I'll fix my bronica that's been jammed for a good while now

Francois · « **Reply #131 on:** August 22, 2018, 02:51:54 PM »

I must admit that fixing a camera is never as relaxing as making a nice print.

Lately I've been slaving on a few projects that are not photo related.
I've been toying with an Arduino pro micro. I had to write a custom keyboard convertion file so that it can work with the localized keymap that we have in the province.

I've also been working on a fanzine that will contain pretty much every penny saving photo trick that I know...
When I began I didn't imagine that there would be so much stuff!

cs1 · « **Reply #132 on:** August 22, 2018, 09:00:28 PM »

Please let me know when your fanzine is ready, it sounds intriguing!

I still have parts to put my shutter tester into a case but I haven't found the time yet. Weather's too good to spend it fiddling with stuff inside the house.

What will you be doing with the Arduino Pro Micro?

Francois · « **Reply #133 on:** August 22, 2018, 09:20:30 PM »

I plan on putting on it a modified version of the DuckDuino project and use it to do some keystroke injections. I plan on having a series of switches that will give me the option between multiple scripts and an RGB LED indicator to let me know when the process has started and when the script is over. It's basically a glorified home made version of the Hak5 Rubber Ducky... it's used in testing for computer security, another one of my hobbies (I'm not good at it but still find it an interesting thing).

If I manage to make this work, I'll use part of the script to make a clone of the Loupedeck but this time probably using an Arduino Leonardo since it won't need to be as compact.

As for the shutter tester, I'm still waiting for that darn part from China... it's supposed to arrive on the 30th at the most. I can't wait to get it in order to finish the project. I know I'll have to re-wire the whole thing and make a new sensor block. But as long as I don't have the part in my hands, I can't do a thing.

Is it just me or has shipping from China been very slow for a while?

jojonas~ · « **Reply #134 on:** August 23, 2018, 12:37:49 PM »

ooh, exciting with the arduino stuff. I was just looking at some stuff while in a shop yesterday after looking what kevin kadooka was up to nowadays (putting a mamiya lens on an instax square body, feels very much like him).
it would be cool to tinker with that stuff. maybe I'll get into it next year, we've gone from one to two persons with jobs now in the household and besides moving to a bigger flat I should have a little bit more money on hand in the future

might start off with raspberry, anyone tried that before? anyway, I haven't noticed people saying that chipment from china has taken longer. maybe it's just the big mass of stuff from there clogging up the postal systems. I know it's been a problem here in Sweden with everyone buying piles of cheap stuff that they just chug in padded envelopes.

Keep us posted on the fanzine thing, francois! sounds like proper filmwasters spirit soaking through that thing

Francois · « **Reply #135 on:** August 23, 2018, 02:51:22 PM »

Like usual,I will try my best

But since I'm doing everything with with glue and scissors, it's taking a long time.
I also have been decorating the pages so expect a bit of a sensory overload.

As for the raspberry pi, my mom has one and it's quite surprising. I put in the fastest micro SD card I could find and the performance is quite something. Boots faster than windows. You can do a lot of things with it. She uses it as a desktop and it works well for that. But the best part is how this thing makes you feel. It reminds me a lot of my commodore 64.

jojonas~ · « **Reply #136 on:** August 24, 2018, 12:50:59 PM »

a good feel! yeah I guess I have friends that use them raspberries as emulation consoles

Francois · « **Reply #137 on:** August 24, 2018, 02:51:59 PM »

Yeah, retropie is pretty neat. I compiled it on my old netbook that runs Lubuntu. It took a few hours to get it installed but it works fine.