International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

January, 1934 The INTERNATIONAL P H O T O G R A P H E R 7 wenty-five SOMETHING NEW IN A DEVELOPING STRIP By Paul R. Harmer j^gj OR the benefit of the experimenter, Leica enthusiast and roll film photographers, the following described developing strip is an easy article to make and it lasts a long time without showing wear. This little idea was developed by me sometime ago when I started my home laboratory, using it for short lengths of film when making tests. I have had excellent results. At one time I had hopes of utilizing it for 1,000 foot rolls in a portable laboratory I had designed for use on an expedition, but as the expedition turned out to be another mirage, of which picture people have seen many during the past five years, I had neither the time nor the inclination to patiently sit in a chair and thread 2,000 feet of rubber through 144,000 sprocket holes just to get one length of developing strip in order to show a prospective financial angel that we could do things in a big way without asking the R. F. C. for $90,000,000, like a certain politician did, while others coudn't raise enough cash to pay interest on the mortgage. Anyhow, I took a spoiled piece of negative, then I cut narrow strips of rubber, about 4 feet long from a red inner tube, and went to work threading this through the sprocket holes. The ends of the rubber do not need to be tied together, as it fits rather tightly in the sprocket holes, and just cut them off short enough so they won't ride on the edge of the picture or sound track. For lengths of film up to 8 feet a frame or rack is not necessary. Be careful to tap the edges of the roll on the table for alignment before immersing it in the developer. As soon as the film becomes wet the rubber sticks to the edges of the film and holds rather firmly while you raise and lower the roll in the liquid for about a minute to force the bubbles from the face of the film. The rack is made of wood, painted with black lacquer and immersed in hot paraffin, the lower section is fastened securely to the handle, while the upper section slides loose ly up and down the handle. For constructing this rack use lVi> inch round dowling for the spools, \/\ inch round dowling for the spokes and 1 2 inch round dowling for the handle, using waterproof glue to hold the spokes tight in the spools. The long handle keeps your hands out of the solution. (Those who have had metal poisoning will appreciate this.) A celluloid covered thumb tack will hold the developing strip to the spool for a start and a rubber thong slipped over a spoke will hold the loose end of the developing strip, yet be elastic enough for film shrinkage. This idea can be used on film larger than motion picture film by punching holes in strip celluloid, which is procurable in large pieces at auto supply stores. JAPAN WINS AGAIN In the Third International Contest for the best amateur film, held bv the French Federation of Amateur Cine Clubs under the patronage of CINE AMATEUR, the first prize went to Japan, the second to France and third to the United States. Details as to the names of the winners and titles of their film will follow later. In all probability the next contest will be held in Japan, although the winning country has the right to name any other country in case they do not care to undertake the next contest themselves. Six Months of Actual Studio Use Has Proven u ArtReeveS Twin Fidelity Optical Unit One of the most important contributions to successful sound recording during the past year. ]-[oll\Yvood Motion PicTure/EquipmemT(o. |Td. 64 5 NORTH MARTEL AVE CABLE ADDRESS ARTREEVES HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA. L/SA Phone: WYoming 4501 Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.