Guy at the camera shop in Boise told me my negatives looked like I dried them with a leaf blower

Casey Webb · 2026-09-25T05:10:04.454584+00:00

So I had been developing my own black and white film for about 8 months and I was pretty proud of myself until I brought a roll into this little camera shop in Boise to get a second opinion on why my prints kept coming out with these weird streak marks. The old guy behind the counter holds my strip up to the light, squints at it for like 10 seconds, and goes "did you dry these with a leaf blower?" I laughed, he did not. Turns out I had been hanging my film in my bathroom right next to the heating vent because it was the only dark spot in my apartment, and the warm air was blowing dust and crud right onto the wet emulsion. He told me to hang it in the shower with the curtain pulled and run the hot water for a minute first so the steam settles the dust, and to just let it sit overnight instead of blasting it with air. I tried it on my next roll and the streaks were gone, completely gone. Now I cringe thinking about the 12 or so rolls I ruined before that. Anybody else got a drying setup that doesn't involve a whole darkroom? I'm working with a 1 bedroom apartment here.

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Guy at the camera shop in Boise told me my negatives looked like I dried them with a leaf blower | Analog Photo Fixing - HW Forums