Fern said:
Perhaps she could have worked for a studio that did their own developing. I remember applying for a job at a photographers studio around 73 or so and being shown the "darkroom" since learning to develop film would have been part of the job. All I remember was they dipped the film in some solution and left it for a certain length of time, then hung the photos to dry. (Don't know what if any steps were in between.) Its conceivable that your person might have worked for a place like that and been trained "on the job".
Hmmm, it would probably work for her first photo developing job. For the ideas I had, she'd need to be working in a place that saw a lot of customers. But working at a studio first would probably be best, just so she'd have enough experience to get another job.
Cathy C said:
Hi, TheNightTerror,
I asked my hubby, who was a professional photographer in the 70's. Here's the scoop for you:
No one-hour photos unless it happened to be a local phenomenon. But not in Denver, since that's where he lived in the 70s.
Perfect!
Actually, if anything, I was hoping they wouldn't be around, so that's great news for me.
The first thing your character would have to deal with is that she would have to be able to work in a completely dark room -- absolutely no light. According to hubby, this really freaks a lot of people out. She would have to break apart 35mm film cartridges in the dark, wind the film onto a stainless steel spool so it doesn't stick together. Then, the reel goes into a stainless steel tank with a lid that liquids get poured in and out. It has an internal baffle in it that is "light tight" so the developer has to do all of this in the dark to run the film process. B/w prints can use the red light you often see in movies, but color prints (most common 35mm film at the time) have to be developed in complete dark.
Hmmm. Actually, it's sounding like something that would work for the character. When she gets the job, she'd be in a fairly dark time in her life. She'd have gone through so much that working alone would be something she'd prefer, and depressed people seem to prefer the dark most of the time.
You might place her in a black and white portrait studio, since it's a bit easier for a beginner. Usually a person graduated from b/w to color in the business, because you have to get the hang of it slowly.
Yeah, it would probably work out pretty good that way. She'd probably work in a B&W studio in Denver, and maybe upgrade to color pictures just before moving to Oklahoma, where she'd be developing color photos for a grocery/drug store.
Adding each of the chemicals to the "can" or stainless steel container requires flushing and filling with the next chemical in the dark. Easy to mix up the bottles without practice.
Okay, I'll remember that. It would probably be something she'd mess up when she's stressing out big time, but otherwise, she'd be able to pull it off.
She would come out of the darkroom with her hands and clothing smelling of chemicals, mostly acidic acid, which is very sour, and stronger than vinegar. Hubby said that he used to keep a bottle of aftershave in the dark room to cover the smell before he went back into public. People stare and comment otherwise.
She wouldn't care much about what people thought of her, but she loves her car, and she wouldn't want it reeking. She's not a typical girly girl, she probably wouldn't even have perfume or anything scented to put on. Methinks she'd be bringing along a change of clothes, and maybe scented soap for her hands.
Temperature is VERY important. The darkroom has to be kept at exactly 72 degrees, which means that the chemicals would be 68 degrees. If they get too hot, the process will occur faster and screw up the prints. If it's too cold it will be too slow and you'll apply the fixer before the image is fully on the paper so it's faded.
Another way the important pictures she develops could get messed up . . .
The most common mess-ups of a newbie:
Forgetting to set the Timer for the chemical baths. Happens all the time and ruins the whole roll.
Not placing the film on the Reel correctly. Remember it's done in TOTAL darkness, so all by feel. If the film touches itself, it sticks together and ruins those frames.
Forgetting to lock the door and having someone walk in and turn on the Light before you fully shut the lid on the can. Lots of swearing in a photo lab! LOL!
Knocking things over, so Dexterity. He couldn't remember the number of times he knocked over cans of chemicals onto himself. Even the pros do it, so it's important to remember to put the cap back on the chemicals AS SOON as it's been poured
Ruining Paper. Again, photo image paper can only be opened in the dark. Drop a box or knock it over with the lights on, and bam -- a whole box ruined.
Hope that helps with your newbie developer! Good luck!
That helps a TON.
Thank you! You definitely stopped me from a mistake, I would've had the dark room lit with a red light when she was developing color photos. I was thinking of having her see developing negatives that make her freak out and end up rushing the process, and ruining the roll. Sounds to me like that just can't be done with color photos, but B&W, maybe. Then again, I have a ton of ways she could mess up the photos now, by accident or not.
How long did the whole developing process take? Several days, a few hours, somewhere in between?
Thank you both for the info.
I'm falling more and more in love with this place every question I ask, it's stopped me from making many stupid mistakes.
It's too bad I didn't find this place sooner.
17 years?! Oh man, I never would've been able to stick to one story for 17 years. How long was it? The longest story I've ever managed was about 500 pages long, I did that in under 2 months. (Of writing about 6+ hours a day, every day.) I don't know why, but most of the time, I could never concentrate on the same story more than 2 months. 
