Portable Light Box For Free – A Quick Tip

If I’m away for more than two weeks I generally take or have available equipment to develop B&W film – a tank, reels, Rodinal and fixer. Other equipment can be easily obtained – empty bottles, some sort of measure, purified water if necessary, coat hangers and clips to dry film. What is missing is some means of checking the results – a portable scanner and PC would be ideal but not always practical. I recently found a better way to view the negatives than holding them against a window pane, and its free. I assume you already have a loupe such as the one pictured, if not they are easily available cheaply – I bought a 6x loupe (better than the one illustrated!) while in Brussels for under $10.

There are smartphone apps that evenly illuminate a screen – I use “Loomy Night Light” for Android, there are probably others. While the film can be viewed directly on top of the smartphone the problem is the individual pixels are in sharp focus as well as the film. One solution is to get hold of a clear plastic container that comes with many take-out meals or snacks. The sort which clicks to a base is best since this gives added rigidity to the surface on which the film and loupe rest. A better and more rigid option is to cannibalise (at least for the trip away) a small picture frame – the sort with acrylic not glass – and rest the acrylic on a couple of books, boxes, stacks of coins or whatever to support it above the smartphone.

Of course this is not intended to be a permanent solution. For me the aim is to check development has proceeded as it should and to make sure there is not a major problem related to the local water purity or dust affecting the film – and its good enough for that.

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