Watching. Jeff Edwards

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СКАЧАТЬ left my Box Brownie at home. I should have thought to bring it.’

      ‘I have something here that might suffice,’ said Robert, taking a small leather case out of his pocket. Undoing the case, he revealed to Jade the smallest camera she had ever seen. ‘I bought it in Germany. It’s made by Leica. I’ll show you how to operate it.’

      It had many more parts and settings compared to her trusty Brownie, and Robert’s explanation of exposure and shutter speed confused her completely.

      ‘I’ll never get the hang of this! It’s just too complicated!’

      ‘You’ll be surprised how easy it is once you get used to it. That’s why I’ve brought you out here. There are no distractions. Now, I’ll show you how to load film into the camera, and we’ll start taking photos.’

      Robert took her slowly through the steps of loading, and shooting, being patient with her difficulties, and teaching her the correct settings for each situation. Finally, he was sure that Jade was losing her reticence with the camera, and learning to like it.

      ‘I’ll set out the food, while you practice with the camera.’

      ‘But how will I know if the photos are any good?’ asked Jade.

      ‘You won’t until they’re developed.’

      ‘When will that be?’

      ‘I might do them tonight.’

      ‘I thought they would have to go to a camera store?’

      ‘I have my own darkroom at home.’

      ‘Can I come, and see you develop them?’

      ‘I suppose you should learn to develop film. It might come in useful to you later. It’s also better that you know, so that you can do special things with the photo as you develop them.’

      ‘Like what?’

      ‘Like cropping, and toning.’

      ‘I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.’

      Robert laughed, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘You’ll soon be an expert. Don’t worry. By the way, it might be a tight fit in the darkroom. It was only built for one.’

      ‘Do you mean my honour may be in danger?’ Jade joked.

      ‘No! Of course not!’

      ‘Oh, and I was so looking forward to repulsing your manly charms,’ laughed Jade.

      Robert, on the other hand, was not sure how he felt about being forced to be so close to Jade and her obvious charms for an extended period of time, but he was definitely delighted to find out.

      They drove back to London, and, for the first time, Robert took Jade back to his home, which proved to be a block of four flats, in a delightful tree-lined street, not far from Jade’s house.

      ‘I thought soldiers lived in a military camp.’

      ‘Most do,’ agreed Robert.

      ‘But you don’t.’

      ‘No, I don’t.’

      ‘What about the men under your command?’

      ‘You ask too many questions. Especially questions that I can’t answer.’

      Robert escorted Jade upstairs to his flat.

      She was surprised to find it to be comfortably furnished, and not at all the masculine domain that she expected. There were definite feminine touches, in the colours selected, the curtains, and the ornaments.

      Robert saw her taking in and assessing the decor.

      ‘The furnishings, and decorations, are courtesy of my mother. This is my parent’s townhouse, but they rarely visit the city any more. They prefer their country garden.’

      ‘My grandfather, the Commodore, is much the same. You have to drag him to the city. Now, where do we find your darkroom?’

      Robert led her to the second bedroom, where the attached bathroom had been converted to a darkroom. When he switched on the overhead light, the room was thrown into a harsh shade of red, caused by the single red light globe. A bench had been constructed over the bathtub, holding several deep trays, and an array of chemical bottles.

      ‘We have to close the door, and ensure that no light seeps in from outside,’ Robert explained, ‘Anything but red light will destroy the photos.’

      ‘You were right; this is a tight fit,’ said Jade, as she used the excuse to move in close to Robert.

      Aware of Jade’s closeness, he proceeded to explain to Jade how the film was removed from the camera, and, using a black bag with two armholes in it, to place them in a developing tank, which was then sealed against light seepage.

      Removing the tank from the bag, chemicals were mixed, and poured into it. Then, the tank was agitated to ensure the film inside was completely coated, before the chemicals were poured out, and replaced by a new mixture.

      Finally, the film was removed from the tank, and washed, before the negative film was hung up to dry. While the film dried, Robert prepared to print the negatives onto photo paper.

      More chemicals were mixed, and poured into trays, and an enlarger turned on. Placing the roll of negatives into the enlarger, Robert showed how the image was concentrated on the board below the enlarger, blurred at first, then brought into sharp focus with a turn of the focus knob.

      When the image was perfect, the enlarger was turned off; a sheet of paper was inserted on the board. When the enlarger was turned on again, its light burned the image into the chemical-covered paper. After allowing the image to set, Robert switched off the enlarger, and removed the paper, placing it in the first tray of chemicals, also making sure the paper was fully immersed.

      Looking on, Jade was mystified. ‘It’s blank. There’s nothing on it.’

      ‘Watch, and be amazed.’

      The paper remained blank as Robert slowly swirled the developing chemical. Jade continued to watch, just as a faint black line appeared on the paper, slowly followed by more lines, as an image began to appear. Finally, the image that had been shone onto the paper by the enlarger was before her.

      Robert washed the photo in clear water then placed it in the second tray of liquid chemical.

      ‘This fixes the image in place, so it won’t fade. When that’s finished, we wash it in clear water again, and then it’s hung up to dry.’

      ‘Can we do the rest of the photos now? I’m dying to see how they turned out.’

      ‘Well, if you like, I’ll do the enlarging, while you do the developing.’

      So they set to work together, in the cramped space.

      Robert tried to concentrate on his work, but was continually faced with the figure of Jade, lifting the photos СКАЧАТЬ