Transvestia
ruined; I can even peel off another strip; and yet another. Secondly, I see the immediate results of the session without having to wait for lab-processing. But thirdly, if the entire session produced too many poor shots I do not have to send the film out at all and wait to be disappointed - still "en-femme" I can shoot another roll.
Kodak's Tri-Chem Pack is marvelous and only costs 25¢. Complete with easy-to-follow directions, there is enough solution to do a full evening's work. With a measuring cup, three glass baking dishes, a sink or pan to wash the film and prints in, you are in business. (An egg-timer comes in handy for timing the film development but I get satisfactory results by just mentally "clicking" off the seconds as I work the strip of film through the developing solution - in total darkness, remember.)
Photography is an art of inter-reacting factors and just as wider lens opening (f-11, f-8, down to f-4.5) and slower shutter speeds allow for dim lighting one has to learn that there is a relationship between exposed film, the temperature of the developing solution, and the time the film is kept in the developer. Developing a roll of film strip by strip allows for variations until one is more familiar with the technique. The directions are simple and the knack comes quickly.
Making one's femme prints requires three additional items. First, a 7-watt red bulb to use as a "safe-light" to work under after the strip of film has been processed and dried; secondly, a piece of clear glass to hold the negative securely to the photographic paper; and thirdly, a lamp with which to make the print exposure.
The operation is simple. I use Kodak's Velox F-2 paper which costs 444 in the 21⁄2 x 21⁄2 inch size. And since I'm shooting 135 size film I double the quantity of the 25 sheets in each package by cutting each sheet in half. The paper is available in all sizes, of course, and can be purchased with an eye towards the size film your camera uses.
I work with only one strip of paper at a time keeping the remainder of the package securely wrapped and in a light-proof drawer or container. The paper is placed directly on top of the then the paper and held down firmly by the piece of clear glass exposure lamp is switched on for a brief second or so, then off.
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