101 ways to ruin a roll of film

I developed a roll from my Holga yesterday and there's one blank frame where I obviously left the lens cap on, but which I have no recollection whatsoever of what the photo might have been of (although I'm sure it would have been a world-beater!). This clearly proves that practically weightless plastic Holgas are equivalent to LF 10x8 cameras lugged up mountainsides. :D
 
FishyFish said:
I developed a roll from my Holga yesterday and there's one blank frame where I obviously left the lens cap on, but which I have no recollection whatsoever of what the photo might have been of (although I'm sure it would have been a world-beater!). This clearly proves that practically weightless plastic Holgas are equivalent to LF 10x8 cameras lugged up mountainsides. :D
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Nah holgas offer sharper images [emoji23]
 
Asha said:
My outing the other day in the mountains ( shown in the shared outings thread) proved a futile exercise with blank clear negatives coming out of the dev tank.:(
Initially I believed that I had got film holders mixed up in the darkroom.

I was out again yesterday and exposed another three frames.
Just developed and one is again completely clear.
I think I have realised my error .... one that for me is a first and perhaps not seen by you lot on here.
I have a feeling that due to tiredness and general lack of concentration I have removed the wrong dark slide.... that’s to say the dark slide nearest the groundglass as opposed to the the correct dark slide nearest the lens !:banghead::banghead::banghead:
Oh well such is life.
The fact that I’ve lost a beautifully lit mountain scene and an interesting architectural image from yesterday that took an age to compose due to some crazy verticals and horizontals is of course irrelevant and not at all frustrating :rolleyes:
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WTF....erm well the mountain is not going away, and all is not lost as don't forget your body appreciated the exercise
 
Asha said:
Yeah he’s ( @RaglanSurf)definetly losing the plot.
What with the FPOTY score chart, now being unable to keep track of time......I suspect the calendar is located too high up the wall for him to read correctly:exit:
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I'll have you know I can see, and reach the calendar I made sure that when I put the hook up I wasn't standing on a box. However, it doesn't seem to matter how many times I look at the calendar as soon as I look away I've forgotten what day it is. TBH I was never that bothered about what day is which, they're all pretty much the same to me but now with the added confusion of lockdown they've just become, this day, that day, yesterday and tomorrow.
 
I envy your memory and powers of discrimination. I can't distinguish yesterday from tomorrow. Or either from today.
 
Well I can't believe the newbie mistake I made today:- on the camera I swivelled another lens into place erm but forgot to reset the aperture to f5.6 (proper exposure for what I was shooting) so some possible good shots under exposed @ f11 @ 1/250. :banghead:
Can't wait for filmdev to get back to normal to see the results. :eek:
 
excalibur2 said:
Well I can't believe the newbie mistake I made today:- on the camera I swivelled another lens into place erm but forgot to reset the aperture to f5.6 (proper exposure for what I was shooting) so some possible good shots under exposed @ f11 @ 1/250. :banghead:
Can't wait for filmdev to get back to normal to see the results. :eek:
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Bahh it's only a couple of stops ....You can pull that back in post with no problem …...You managed it perfectly well with my mountain shot!;):LOL:
 
Asha said:
Bahh it's only a couple of stops ....You can pull that back in post with no problem …...You managed it perfectly well with my mountain shot!;):LOL:
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Well I'll have no problem with that as I made another newbie mistake in trusting the Konica FS1 i.e. as it has auto wind on I inserted the film but didn't check the film rewind lever was moving as the film wound on :rolleyes: after 24 shots got a bit suspicious but thought it could be 36 shots erm when I got to 38 shots I knew what was wrong and then started to check if the rewind lever was moving and of course it wasn't :eek: :banghead: silly me.
At least the Canon T70 tells you if the film has wound on in display, so a warning to all if you have auto wind on cameras i.e do you know the film has wound on ?
Well I've always said "get to know your camera" but I like to give all my many cameras a workout so I don't get to know many of them properly...anyway that's my excuse o_O
 
FishyFish said:
On the bright side, at least the film won't be ruined. Just unused. :)
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:D but one way of looking at it is:- what you don't know you don't miss as I've forgotten what older shots (maybe over a month) that was on the film as there was nothing really important so didn't bother to write anything down. :rolleyes:
 
I've shot a whole roll of Ektachrome at 100asa, forgetting that it was an expired roll of E200. Thankfully slide film has lots of leeway when overexposing, doesn't it?... :banghead::LOL:

Given that it's seventeen years expired, maybe it'll be ok. I'm expecting purple casts and other artefacts anyway, so what difference will the highlights being lit up like an arc lamp make, eh?
 
Well with that old myth of 1 stop per decade, who knows, you might be somewhat under... ;)
 
ChrisR said:
Well with that old myth of 1 stop per decade, who knows, you might be somewhat under... ;)
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Fingers crossed, although I think the one stop per decade is for colour negative film.

I'm not too worried to be honest - the main bit of business was shooting a roll of Fomapan 100 with the Yashica Mat. The expired Ektachrome was just a bit of a side-dish. That said though, I do still hope I’ll get something useable, especially as the Fomapan has been home devved, while I’ve got to pay dev & postage for the Ektachrome!
 
FishyFish said:
I've shot a whole roll of Ektachrome at 100asa, forgetting that it was an expired roll of E200. Thankfully slide film has lots of leeway when overexposing, doesn't it?... :banghead::LOL:

Given that it's seventeen years expired, maybe it'll be ok. I'm expecting purple casts and other artefacts anyway, so what difference will the highlights being lit up like an arc lamp make, eh?
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My prosessed transparencies arrived in the post yesterday and I'm quite pleased with how they look. They're a little overexposed, but not too badly on first glance. I'll have to see how they scan. The last roll of this expired film (expiry date: 2003) was shot through my Holga and those came back with a dramatic purple cast. These have very little colour cast at all from my cursory first look.
 
Just read this whole thread and being a photographer (hobby) for 40+ years I think most of the gaffs made here have been made by me. I think back to my youthful 20s in the 1980s when a good mate and myself were sitting on the edge of the East Coast mainline awaiting the flying scotsman him with his Praktica B100 and myself with my FG20 nikon being youthful and members of CAMRA we'd found a pub with a view and Theakstons on Tap I got great shots of the Diesel Electrics and had spools of Agfa Slide film in my bag along comes the Scotsman I am shooting away and put in a new roll fot it not to fully engage start fumbling around worse for drink and knock my pint all over the spool if the film with the shots of the scotsmans approach my friend dives in to help knocking his praktica flying so we now have one drowning film that should have been in its Container and a smashed 50mm lens and camera. The Moral of the story is don't get plastered awaiting a photo opportunity (even if it is delayed by 4 hours). So that was two films and a camera ruined in one sunny afternoon.
 
This sounds very like the majority of film meets we have on this forum.....:)
 
I do have an additional way to ruin a few rolls of film I bought my 8 year old a Nikon F55 way back on the late 2000s yes dad had his D50 and his F90 his FG20 and D90 but felt his daughters needed to have a "Real Camera" to learn their craft. Ironically she did and as a teen beat me in most comps, but after we had developed many pictures of sky without birds or planes, trains without an engine etc.

To day they are both Nikon nutters but Apple seems to be their preferred weapon as it is always in their mobile kitchen cupboard (handbag),
 
Andysnap said:
This sounds very like the majority of film meets we have on this forum.....:)
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Yes, but take it from me, to ruin a roll of film during an F&C meet you actually have to load it properly into the camera so it winds out of its cassette and doesn't just sit there unused while you take 37 shots of nothing before realising. Perhaps I should have a prize for not even being good enough to ruin a roll of film?! :asshat:
 
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Where the heck am I going to buy film to ruin in Cornwall ??

All my film is packed away god knows where in anticipation of a house move, the longest sale only house move in history, so long....I'm going on a pre booked holiday to Cornwall this Saturday 6 months after instructing solicitors, well they call themselves solicitors.
Anyway, less about that, its looking pretty sketchy for film supplies in Cornwall unless I'm missing somewhere obvious, anybody know anywhere ?
 
joxby said:
Where the heck am I going to buy film to ruin in Cornwall ??

All my film is packed away god knows where in anticipation of a house move, the longest sale only house move in history, so long....I'm going on a pre booked holiday to Cornwall this Saturday 6 months after instructing solicitors, well they call themselves solicitors.
Anyway, less about that, its looking pretty sketchy for film supplies in Cornwall unless I'm missing somewhere obvious, anybody know anywhere ?
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Possibly a better option to order some online and have delivered to your holiday accomodation.
I think that’s what I would do tbh , alternatively borrow a dog from customs to sniff out your film lol
 
joxby said:
Where the heck am I going to buy film to ruin in Cornwall ??

All my film is packed away god knows where in anticipation of a house move, the longest sale only house move in history, so long....I'm going on a pre booked holiday to Cornwall this Saturday 6 months after instructing solicitors, well they call themselves solicitors.
Anyway, less about that, its looking pretty sketchy for film supplies in Cornwall unless I'm missing somewhere obvious, anybody know anywhere ?
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You could try threse folks in Wadebridge and Falmouth; film doesn't appear here but I've seen other things online that suggest they have film: https://www.photoshopcornwall.com .

Mifsuds in Brixham might have some (I know it's not Cornwall, but not too far depending on where you'll be).

... and there's always Boots, which tends to have some Ilford and maybe a couple of Fuji and Kodak colour stocks. They seem to have ended the BOGOHP deals though, so not cheap. You might also find a Snappy Snaps or Max Spielmann with some film stock. But I think @Asha has the right idea...
 
joxby said:
Where the heck am I going to buy film to ruin in Cornwall ??

All my film is packed away god knows where in anticipation of a house move, the longest sale only house move in history, so long....I'm going on a pre booked holiday to Cornwall this Saturday 6 months after instructing solicitors, well they call themselves solicitors.
Anyway, less about that, its looking pretty sketchy for film supplies in Cornwall unless I'm missing somewhere obvious, anybody know anywhere ?
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You wont be alone as IIRC one or two members here live in Cornwall and maybe your next nearest would be Bristol or Bournemouth.
 
Some stockists offer next day delivery (if you're willing to pay for it). E.g. Harrisons usually have a decent range of film and do next day delivery for £5.95.

Delivery Options | Harrison Cameras

Same day dispatch on all orders placed by 2pm on weekdays. Free delivery to UK Mainland on orders over £50. Express delivery available.
www.harrisoncameras.co.uk www.harrisoncameras.co.uk

If you're quick, you can get some delivered to your home before you set off on your trip.
 
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ChrisR said:
You could try threse folks in Wadebridge and Falmouth; film doesn't appear here but I've seen other things online that suggest they have film: https://www.photoshopcornwall.com .
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They do have it, but it looks like it only appears via the Shop Online menu (which looks almost the same as the set of links on the home page)...

Film- Photography Shop in Cornwall

www.photoshopcornwall.com www.photoshopcornwall.com

Not a huge range, and maybe a bit on the pricey side, but fine if you were on holiday and needed a few rolls, especially if the shop is nearby.
 
ChrisR said:
You could try threse folks in Wadebridge and Falmouth; film doesn't appear here but I've seen other things online that suggest they have film: https://www.photoshopcornwall.com .
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@Andysnap and I went in both these shops during the F&C week in Cornwall in 2017. They both stocked film then. There's also a small camera / printing shop in Okehampton which had a selection of film cameras for sale so could well stock film too.
 
Thanks for the replies gang....:)

I've struggled before with Cornwall, I've never gone down without film but occasionally I've run out of Delta or something and tried to find some.
There are little camera shops all over the place, I've been to most of them and they're all pretty much the same, a bit iffy with limited opening days and times, there's one in Truro that went to lunch for 3 days and when he finally opened up all he stocked was Dust and Cobwebs 100.....in 35mm.. :ROFLMAO:
Yeah, its a sad state of affairs but its not like I didn't know.
Anyway, I've bought some from discountfilmsdirect ebay store, click and collect from Argos Newquay on Saturday.....bonza......if it turns up.
Would be nice to know that there was at least one place anywhere in Cornwall that had a reliable-ish inventory of stock that opened in the am more often than once every Michaelmas Tuesday, I kinda thought there was a big player down there but I must be wrong.
 
I’ve not even finished the roll yet, but I’m relatively sure that most of the frames I shot in the Peak District on a roll of Provia 400 are toast.

I used a Sekonic L-308 to meter and was a little concerned when it was giving me weird shutter speeds like 1/128sec. Still, they seemed close enough, so I set the camera to the closest speed, e.g. 1/125sec. This continued for several frames before I noticed it had low battery and I switched to the light meter app on my phone for another few shots.

It was only when I got home and looked at the manual that I realised that I’d accidentally set it to meter for cinefilm and the 128 figure was frames-per-second!

God knows if I’ll get any useable images. :facepalm:
 
You might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, after doing something equally... odd!
 
joxby said:
Where the heck am I going to buy film to ruin in Cornwall ??

All my film is packed away god knows where in anticipation of a house move, the longest sale only house move in history, so long....I'm going on a pre booked holiday to Cornwall this Saturday 6 months after instructing solicitors, well they call themselves solicitors.
Anyway, less about that, its looking pretty sketchy for film supplies in Cornwall unless I'm missing somewhere obvious, anybody know anywhere ?
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There are camera shops in Wadebridge and Falmouth that develop and stock film. https://www.photoshopcornwall.com/ Not sure how much they actually stock in their shops as haven't been into one in a few years as the film is cheaper online at other stockists. But they should have something if you are stuck and you can always call them first to see what they have, Cheers
 
I thought I'd resurrect this rather than start another thread.

Any thoughts what's happened here? Is it just a crazy lens flare?

Rollei 35B, it's had plenty of film through it recently and had no issues.
 

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Thmaga said:
I thought I'd resurrect this rather than start another thread.

Any thoughts what's happened here? Is it just a crazy lens flare?

Rollei 35B, it's had plenty of film through it recently and had no issues.
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Absolutely no idea what's happened there but if it"s only on the one frame and not subsequent ones then i wouldn't fuss over it tbh.
 
Asha said:
Absolutely no idea what's happened there but if it"s only on the one frame and not subsequent ones then i wouldn't fuss over it tbh.
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Curious more than anything. I shot half this roll in the Vito B which is misbehaving, so switched to the Rollei 35 which has never let me down, this is the penultimate frame.
 
Not a clue what that is. I doubt lens flare, as that is seldom bright enough, large enough, and central enough to cause anything that looks like that.
 
Looks skin coloured. Finger in front of lens?
 
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