Is it ok to flip the negative?

darkosaric · May 22, 2012

blansky said:
As you know there is a parallel universe that is co-existing with this one, and in that universe that boy actually went in that direction.

And mr. Spock has a beard

BrianShaw · May 22, 2012

Flipping side-to-side = OK.

Flipping top-to-bottom... not so much.

Newt_on_Swings · May 22, 2012

Lol I love how this thread evolved so quickly.

semi-ambivalent · May 22, 2012

Newt_on_Swings said:
Lol I love how this thread evolved so quickly.

Time to devolve it.

Why is it OK to flip this negative (I can agree with this) but National Geographic catches hell for moving the pyramids a quarter inch? In a few second those camels would have accomplished the same thing.

Stay tuned for our next episode of 'What's the Big Deal?', (or 'Who's Calling the Shots?')

s-a

blansky · May 22, 2012

Speaking of devolution, you may or may not be aware but by flopping the negative you have also messed with the sexuality of the person's involved.

A lefty is now a righty ( and I'm not talking handed).

The sexuality is called into question as the shirts and jackets are now buttoned on the wrong side.

Due to the depth of field the people in the back may not be affected, but sure as hell you just made that poor boy gay.

Or at the very least a cross dresser.

Actions have consequences.

Old-N-Feeble · May 22, 2012

blansky... me-thinks you're replying from personal experience. You know we luv ya'... tho' we (most of us) don't wanna love ya'... right? I have a neighbor (nice kid) who can't get... "certain feelings"... out of his mind even though he's married with kids. After months of his strong hinting I finally knocked him back hard on his butt and haven't seen him since then. I've felt bad about it ever since but at least he's stopped asking... about stuff.

Reversing is okay... IMHO... for images. And okay... for those so inclined.

jeff.blackwell · May 22, 2012

While flipping the negative may orient your subject so that he is running to the right, you are reversing the side you are scanning, and moving away from the emulsion side. I would far prefer to scan the correct side of the negative, and then flip the image in Photoshop, thereby improving scan quality.
And, as an aside, any daguerrotype photographer would tell you to learn to eliminate printed letters and numbers from your compostion, although some palindromes wouldn't be noticed. In my area the Philadelphia Phillies sell a tshirt aimed at younger fans with the script, "lil".
To noones suprise, when photographed as a daguerrotype, or scanned and flipped, it still read, "lil"

MattKing · May 22, 2012

The young boy's mother will notice ......

cliveh · May 22, 2012

I'm with Blansky on this one, but wondered why you even ask the question, as it is most definately YES. Having said that, I rarely do this, but sometimes it does work.

removed account4 · May 22, 2012

you certainly can do it,
but its one of those things you shouldn't do ...

Roger Cole · May 22, 2012

jnanian said:
you certainly can do it,
but its one of those things you shouldn't do ...

Why not?

BrianShaw · May 22, 2012

probably because it changes reality.

BrianShaw · May 22, 2012

photographs are intended to be literal recording of reality, aren't they?

removed account4 · May 22, 2012

exactly, brian ...
besides who knows what other insanity might happen next,
first the whole flip the negative thing,
then what's next ??!
... it makes me nervous just thinking about it !

cliveh · May 22, 2012

Roger Cole said:
Why not?

He's joking.

Vaughn · May 22, 2012

Roger Cole said:
Why not?

Because who knows?...people might start making blurry pictures on purpose!

Roger Cole · May 22, 2012

cliveh said:
He's joking.

Figured that out from the followup. I saw no reason to think that was so from the deadpan original comment, but apparently I'm pretty bad at picking up on such things.

blansky · May 22, 2012

Actually instead of flopping the negative, try turning the enlarger inside out. That way the image goes in the other direction but without all the other problems.

E. von Hoegh · May 22, 2012

blansky said:
Actually instead of flopping the negative, try turning the enlarger inside out. That way the image goes in the other direction but without all the other problems.

Or just send the negative through a wormhole into our complementary universe, the negative made in that universe will automatically appear in ours.

BrianShaw · May 22, 2012

E. von Hoegh said:
Or just send the negative through a wormhole into our complementary universe, the negative made in that universe will automatically appear in ours.

And it will get kind reviews rather than harsh criticism???

E. von Hoegh · May 22, 2012

BrianShaw said:
And it will get kind reviews rather than harsh criticism???

Depends.

pentaxuser · May 22, 2012

clay said:
cars with the steering column clearly visible, no one will be the wiser. ( yes, i know some countries have right-side steering, but if the photo's location is obvious from the context, it will look 'wrong'.)

All cars without right side steering look wrong. Best comment I ever heard was from a S African tourist guide on our coach trip in that country: "For those of you from outside the U.K., Australia and N Zealand, we drive on the correct side of the road in S Africa, that is to say, the left side

pentaxuser

Nige · May 22, 2012

recently I printed headshots of my sons and one of them was troubling me... something was 'wrong'. I took the 8x10 out and held it up next to him and immediately worked out I had printed it flipped...

Steve Roberts · May 23, 2012

I was once short of a slide of Portland prison for a show, so rather than drive 100+ miles for one shot I went a couple of miles up the road, photographed H.M.P. Dartmoor with no background to give the game away and projected it reversed for good measure. No-one was any the wiser and the slide remains in the show to this day.

Steve

Old-N-Feeble · May 23, 2012

Nige said:
recently I printed headshots of my sons and one of them was troubling me... something was 'wrong'. I took the 8x10 out and held it up next to him and immediately worked out I had printed it flipped...

To him it probably looked more natural that way. We see ourselves reversed in the mirror all the time.

Is it ok to flip the negative?

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