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A new kitchen installation is in progress...
Liberated from a block of ice at the bottom of the freezer, an almost forgotten cache of mainly 120 film.
View attachment 250443
You youngsters won't appreciate this, but forgetting is easy.How on earth do you manage to "almost forget" about that lot!
You youngsters won't appreciate this, but forgetting is easy.
That's a mountain of film to finish, it's going to cost a mountain to process!
The Provia 400X alone would have him covered.Blimey Peter, if you have a mortgage you could probably pay it off with that lot!
It will be interesting to see how the Portra 800 has survived; freezing doesn't stop age damage by gamma radiation, to which faster films are more susceptible.And worth every penny.
Some nice films there. I spy a box of my favourite. Portra 800.
Not according to what I've read, including some info from Kodak. It seems the freezing significantly slows/arrests the aging of the emulsion and film, but those little particles of gamma radiation keep on passing though... and that's what does the damage, and it seems there's not much we can practically do to stop that where the storage of high ISO film is concerned.
γ GAMMA: To reduce typical gamma rays by a factor of a billion, thicknesses of shield need to be about 13.8 feet of water, about 6.6 feet of concrete, or about 1.3 feet of lead. Thick, dense shielding is necessary to protect against gamma rays. The higher the energy of the gamma ray, the thicker the shield must be. X-rays pose a similar challenge. This is why x-ray technicians often give patients receiving medical or dental X-rays a lead apron to cover other parts of their body.
There really shouldn't be a lot of gamma radiation around in a domestic kitchen, mind.It will be interesting to see how the Portra 800 has survived; freezing doesn't stop age damage by gamma radiation, to which faster films are more susceptible.
Depends on which area of the country your kitchen is in... and which country. It seems it's naturally occurring and all around us in small doses, and the longer the film sits there the more will have passed through it.There really shouldn't be a lot of gamma radiation around in a domestic kitchen, mind.
So not much hope for all those with granite kitchen worktops then?!IIRC from taking no notice in geography classes, granite is a major culprit.
Unless of course they've used granite chippings to make the concrete with! Joking aside, a bit of background radiation may seem insignificant, but apparently it doesn't do stored high ISO film much good over longer periods of time. That's why I asked the original question, it would be interesting to see how that Portra 800 has stood up to storage if it's a few years old. I have a couple of rolls of it in my freezer too, but it's only around 2 years past its expiry date.I saw a YouTube video a while back of a chap who dug a BIG hole in his garden - big enough for a reasonablly sized swimming pool - then got in the concrete and steel and constructed an underground bunker. I can't recall if it was intended as a shelter in the case of nuclear attack (I think it had rudimentary living arrangements) but it was trather wasted in the end as he stored wine in it.
A similar idea could be used to build an underground film store. Possibly if a few people clubbed together, a community film bank could be created. Possibly some may have a head start; when we moved here in the 1970s, the details of one of the houses we received stated that it had an air raid shelter in the garden. There may be others. A few more feet (or yards) of concrete, and you're there. Add in electricity and a few freezers, and you're in business.
freezing doesn't stop age damage by gamma radiation,
A block and ice and a metal box will stop a lot of gamma radiation
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Not according to what I've read, including some info from Kodak. It seems the freezing significantly slows/arrests the aging of the emulsion and film, but those little particles of gamma radiation keep on passing though... and that's what does the damage, and it seems there's not much we can practically do to stop that where the storage of high ISO film is concerned.
Best way to avoid any gamma ( or other issues) is to avoid storing the film for long periods of time in the first place!
Buy fresh, expose it within a reasonable time period, develop, buy more fresh.....Problem solved
Honestly there was a period of time when nearly every other week a film stock was vanishing. There has been a film resurgence of late, but I'd say if you've found film stocks you love, storing as much as you can and rotating it out with new stock is the only safe option.
I used to live in Cornwall (it is based on granite) and worked as a miner at Wheal Jane. This was in the early 1980s. The National Radiological Protection Board was becoming concerned with domestic radiation levels caused by radon gas in houses. They were already involved in monitoring radon levels in the underground workings at Wheal Jane. They asked for volunteers to install radon detectors in their home. I volunteered and was given two detectors - one for the sitting room and one for the bedroom. These were replaced annually for a few years. The outcome was that our house was at the concern level. Later they altered the concern level and we were well above the new level. We moved to Lincolnshire which solved that particular problem.IIRC from taking no notice in geography classes, granite is a major culprit.
Look on the bright side, I doubt you'll give your cameras listeria by feeding them re-frozen 'food' that past its best before date! You'll have to shoot a roll of Portra 800 when you go on holiday and see if it's still OK, but make sure your camera is light tight, as fast film is a bugger for detecting light leaks!I had to defrost the freezer so it can be move out for a kitchen makeover. The kitchen conversion should be done in about 10 days then I'll move the films into a dedicated fridge in the shed. Hopefully a few days defrosted won't affect them much.