My Darkroom Mascot

...A Film Dinosaur, of course. ~*rimshot*~

Good mascot for a darkroom, doncha think? (I couldn't resist filling part of his shadow with safelight. Just playin' around.)

His name? It would have to be "T-Max," I suppose....

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Stephen Gilbert: "Can a T-Rex lift the viewfinder to his eye?"

Mike replies: Actually he can't. He's waiting for the LCD viewing screen to evolve.

Featured Comment by Timothy: "I don't think he has the dexterity to put the film on the developing reel without using his teeth. After a few scratched rolls he'll probably just send it out to a lab."

Mike replies: The real film dinosaur had a surprisingly amount of difficulty re-learning how to load 120 reels. Turns out it's not like riding a bike.

Featured Comment by Roger Bradbury: "Watch out! He's got a 'big' camera! He is obviously up to no good; fetch a security guard!"

Mike replies: Won't do any good. He eats security guards.

Featured Comment by Francis E: "He can't process colour because he hasn't evolved temperature regulation yet."

Comments

[Chad Thompson]

They should lock you up in a punitentiary.

[Hans Muus]

Great, love it! But Mike, how do you know it's a male T-Max? I have it on good authority female T-Maxes looked equally, well, let's call it impressive. And this is just the way she-Maxes used to wear their camera's.

[David Salmanowitz]

hah hah Well done, Mike. Gave me a big smile and the two tone shadow is great.

[Tim Bradshaw]

A good choice. The dinosaurs lasted for a hundred and thirty-five million years, while we've managed less than three. Except that's wrong: they may not be as dominant as they once were, but they are still here and thriving around a fifth of a billion years after first emerging: I'm watching a particularly successful species of dinosaur scavenging rubbish right now. There are more dinosaurs alive today than humans: in fact there are more of a single species than humans. We have vastly inflated ideas of our own importance.

[Robert Gordon]

Groan. But clever.

[William Schneider]

He he, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one.

For years, I've had a "St. Ansel" effigy hanging from my enlarger for good luck when printing...

[Jeff Damron]

Clever and cute. Surely some viewer can spin this into some sort of controversy though.

[Ed Grossman]

I just checked the Las Vegas line. The over/under for puns like those above that'll be posted here in the comments is eight.

Seems light to me. I'm taking the over.

[Bryce Lee]

Would have thought you'd have one of those What The Duck characters in black for the darkroom. That way it would be seen in the dark.

[Rob L]

Now you'll have to get a 'Tri-Xeretops' as well...

[aaron]

So how's your darkrom coming along?

[Timothy]

I don't think he has the dexterity to put the film on the developing reel without using his teeth. After a few scratched rolls he'll probably just send it out to a lab.

[Richard Tugwell]

Just another snapper....

[Ben]

Not "Tri-reX?"

[Bruce Alan Greene]

First the reptile, and now this camera are becoming extinct :)

[Stephen S. Mack]

...a close relative of the Thesaurus, the velociraptor that chased the children in Jurassic Park.

With best regards.

Stephen

[eJade]

Hey, I think I have that same camera:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8398633@N03/7670427584/in/photostream

Pictured here with big sister and friends.

[Player]

Mike, I find this loathingly distasteful, just kiddin' hehe.

Edison had Menlo Park, you have Jurassic.

[Mike Johnston]

"So how's your darkrom coming along?"

The only problem with it is that too much of the time it doesn't have anyone using it.

Mike

[toto]

Where's the NSFW warning? T-Max is obviously humping its own shadow.

[Andrew Molitor]

The real dinosaur is using plastic self-loading reels? Right? I used stainless a million years ago, and when I restarted developing film I got stainless again. I learned two things:

- the cheap reels come pre-broken and worthless
- plastic reels are SO MUCH EASIER

I have not looked back. I feel like a sellout every time I develop, but it takes place in the dark and alone, so nobody needs to know.

[Mike Johnston]

Andrew,
No, stainless. A relic of the time when I had to develop a lot of film. Plastic reels are easier until you have to use them over and over again...because if they're even slightly wet they don't work at all.

Mike

[Andrew Burday]

'"So how's your darkrom coming along?"

'The only problem with it is that too much of the time it doesn't have anyone using it.'

Nice. Well, some of the time, anyway. It would have been worth a post when you finally got it up and running. But I have to ask: what camera are you shooting 120 in? I thought you got rid of that Bronica rangefinder you had for a while.

[John Robison]

The dinosaur gag is classic. The missus just thinks I'm crazy when I spend $60 or $100 ordering film and chems from Freestyle. Last month I was 40+ rolls of 35mm and about 8 rolls of 120 behind in developing. Over 5 days I caught up but boy, what a headache to read the negs. About 30 rolls were 35mm half frame. I use steel for 35 but plastic for 120 size. Got to wait for winter to set up the darkroom in our tiny bathroom. That way I can open all the apartment windows and keep the place within reason, temp wise. Fortunately the wife is at work all day so I can work without having to give up the space for a potty break.

[Dave Karp]

Mike,

Try Patterson reels. Get a bunch of them, so you don't have to worry about drying them. Love em. Just thinking about those stainless reels freaks me out!

Jobo plastic reels are pretty good too.

[david blankenhorn]

"He eats security guards"

Since he's less than one foot high the one in the picture actually bites their calves and ankles. Unless he can really,really jump. And then all bets are off.

[david blankenhorn]

And as far as those short arms are concerned, he obviously has an assistant load his film reels. As well as lifting the camera to his eye
level when it's time to take the shot.
And while I doubt that he eats security guards maybe his assistants
are tiny enough to eat. Which would be a good way to make sure that the survivors are highly motivated..and take his orders no questions asked.

[david blankenhorn]

re Hans Muus' She-Rex v. He-Rex comment..point taken, but given the camera's position all we can state with confidence is that it's a
Wee-Rex...

[david blankenhorn]

Oddly enough, the pre-eminent pro film lab in Berkeley Ca had the
same T-Rex on their service counter for many years in the 80's~90's.

it goes without saying that both dino and lab are equally extinct today :-(

[robert, quiet photographer]

Wow, when my friends see me with one of mine film cameras they call me "filmosaur" :-)
robert

[Phil Maus]

The problem with metal reels is like pretty much everything else nowadays. The cheap ones are the most prevalent and most likely what a noob wanting to 'try film' would see first. They are almost impossible to load correctly if you're not a seasoned pro and will damage many rolls of film before proficiency is reached. Hewe's and one other brand I can't recall are possible to load consistently with some practice, but they cost a fortune and you have to buy several for each format. Couple hundred dollar investment and that's before you buy tanks.

Patterson auto-loaders can be used for 135 and 120 rollfilm, take seconds to load correctly and never screw up your film, they cost 6 bucks and last a long long time with reasonable care and feeding. I've never had a single bad frame using these and they're still going strong after....many rolls of film.

As an amateur I have enough reels to process two back-to-back rounds of 35mm (x5 rolls) or three rounds of 120 (x3 rolls) before I have to get out the hair dryer. (That only happened once during a feverish bout of 'Ketchup' and I have vowed to never let THAT happen again! Loading almost a whole pack of Print-File sleeves was NOT fun!)

I worked in a busy commercial darkroom for awhile where plastic reels didn't really make sense. Were it a newspaper darkroom (of yore) even more so. In our modern, relatively low volume home darkrooms, plastic is the ONLY way to go. IMHO.

This little share on reels isn't necessarily for you Mike, as I know you've 'been there done that' many many times. More for the TOP reader contemplating giving this rewarding "film thing" a go. I'd hate for 'em to get completely turned off of film over no more than extreme frustration trying to load cheap metal developing reels. It wouldn't be the first time!