Category Archives: Photography

Water Bath For Developing Film At Home – C41 E6 B&W

Here is a quick video, some pictures, and a parts list for my over engineered water bath. I will use this water bath for processing color film where maintaining temperature is critical for success. Of course, it could be used for processing B&W film too.

Note: This is by no means a detailed how-to/tutorial. It’s just a video, some pictures, and a list of parts that I used to make it. Hopefully it will give you some ideas for making your own water bath.

Video

Parts List

-Water Tank – I had my stainless steel tank already. You could search ebay for something that might work, or maybe you can find something at your local hardware.

PID Temperature Controller, Thermocouple, SSR (Solid State Relay) – I didn’t use the Thermocouple (Temperature Sensor) that came with this kit. The thermocouple is not water tight. I could have sealed it up with a bunch of sealant, but that’s not my style. I purchased the liquid tight RTD sensor below instead. You may be able to find this PID for cheaper if you purchase just the PID without the Thermocouple. You’ll need to purchase the SSR (Solid State Relay) separately as well though, so it may be a wash.

120 GPH Submersible Aquarium Pump – (Qty: 2) – The pumps circulate the water in the tank. You can probably get away with one pump, but I like two. It will depend on the size of your water bath tank too. The video shows only one pump.

Liquid tight RTD sensor, 2 in, 1/4 NPT Thread (Deluxe Cable) – This is the sensor that monitors the temperature of the water in the tank.

1000 Watt Heater Element
Power Inlet
Die Cast Aluminum Enclosure
External Mount Heat Sink for 25A SSR
Brass Pipe Fitting, Locknut, 1/4″
Brass Pipe Fitting, Locknut, 1″

Red 15A Single Round Outlet Receptacle – The red outlet is controlled by the PID controller and turns on/off based on the water temperature. It’s what I plug the heater element (yellow cord) into. You don’t have to use a red receptacle. I just thought it was cool.

Hubbell AC Receptacle 15A/125 vac – (CNE) HBL5261D
1 Gang Weatherproof Electrical Outlet Box
-2 A/C Neon Indicator Lights (1 Red, 1 Green)
-A/C On/Off Toggle Switch
-An old yellow extension cord I had laying around
-A power cord from an old computer to power the controller/system.

Pictures

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The Power Of Sound And The Still Image

A couple of months ago I read a short blog post by a photographer named Zack Arias. He was hired by Fujifilm to try out their new X100s camera and then blog about his experience with it. He ended up really liking the camera, and was able to capture some really nice images during his trip to Istanbul, Turkey. The following images were taken one evening after Turkey beat Germany in a game of football. Mr. Arias said a mob of thousands of people in the streets were “singing, and chanting, and lighting flares.” At the time, I didn’t give that statement too much thought. None, really. Afterall, the images spoke for themselves. Here are some of the images from that night:

(All Images Below – Copyright Zack Arias)

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He created some beautiful images. Thinking back, it never really crossed my mind to wonder what all of the “singing and chanting” actually sounded like. I pretty much skimmed over that part in Mr. Arias’ original post. He only briefly mentioned it, really. I hadn’t pondered the additional meaning, depth, or power the sounds from that night could give to these already strong still images.  That is, until I came across a new promotional video from Fujifilm from a couple of days ago. Here’s an excerpt on Youtube…

(Click image below to see the Youtube video clip.)

Note: I can’t set an end point in the video, just a beginning point. The excerpt is only about 20 seconds long, but the video will keep playing beyond that.

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The images accompanied by the sound really gave me a sense of place and made me feel more connected to the event. More so than just seeing the still images on their own, in silence. Somehow, it made them more real to me. I guess one could argue that having the sound leaves nothing to the imagination when viewing the images, but I don’t see it that way. In this particular case, it added another layer of complexity/understanding that I hadn’t expected, and now really appreciate. I don’t think I’ll ever look at another war still image, for example, and not wonder what horrifying sounds the soldiers, photographer, and civilians were hearing at the moment the image was made. This realization of the power of sound has changed the way I will look at still images forever.