Lucky finds you've forgotten about in the freezer...

Roger Cole · Jan 2, 2015

Over the holidays I was going through my freezer and re-arranging the film and paper (on the bottom shelf) to make room for food and also to see what film I had that I might take traveling before I ordered more.

I'd totally forgotten about all the Astia I had...in 220! Nine bloomin' rolls of 220 Astia, frozen since I got it in a big lot of film off eBay, supposedly all cold stored until I bought it and the other film, some negative film that expired more than ten years ago, still looks perfect. I recall there was a roll of 120 Astia which I shot and it looked great.

Now I've just got to get a medium format projector before I shoot this precious commodity. I do have a 220 insert for my M645 Pro and that seems the best, even though my Yashicmat 124 will take 220 as well. The 645 will get me the most shots out of these rolls.

Yeahyeah, I passed up some Provia 400X in 120 because I shoot transparency for projection and concentrate on 35mm. But this stuff had landed in my lap with a bunch of other film then I had forgotten about it. I can't let it go unused, and it would be a shame to sell it and not shoot it myself.

Whee!

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 2, 2015

Whoo hoo! Astia is such a gorgeous film.

Black Dog · Jan 3, 2015

A 5 pack of Velvia in 220 format....it's travelled with me through 3 house moves!

hsteeves · Jan 3, 2015

Many days I don't even want to look in my freezer(s). It would be bad - really bad. But maybe one day. I will actually take that film camera out for a drive.

Roger Cole · Jan 3, 2015

Black Dog said:
A 5 pack of Velvia in 220 format....it's travelled with me through 3 house moves!

That would be a cool one to find too, but it would take me a lot longer to shoot a 220 roll of Velvia than Astia. Astia is a good film for most lighting and subjects. Velvia really needs relatively flat lighting (or controlled lighting like fill light of some kind) or a pretty short range subject, and isn't the best for people, at least in my experience. I know a lot of people flip over Velvia but to me it's a rather specialized film for, say, dreary days when you need the extra pop, and in that case the speed means you need a tripod too.

Of course I can buy all the Provia 100F (or Velvia) in 120 that I want still, thankfully, and reviewing some Provia 100F slides I shot last year at Mardi Gras shows there isn't really as much difference as memory tends to paint. Still it's there.

Black Dog · Jan 3, 2015

We have a lot of dreary winter days this side of the pond-I was walking in the woods on NYD and thinking Velvia would be just the thing to really make those winter colours glow...

Roger Cole · Jan 3, 2015

We have our share of them in the winter here, but then the combination of dreary light and ISO 50 means a tripod, or nearly wide open lens and careful shooting at best to stay handheld. But yeah, it's great for that. Ektar 100 is nice too. I still miss the old Agfa Ultra 50 for Velvia-like saturation in a neg film.

M Carter · Jan 3, 2015

2 35mm rolls of 320t (a film I just miss like crazy for cool product shooting, pushed like hell and then duped on velvia sheet film!) and 2 rolls of Polagraph, my all-time favorite film. Doubt the Polagraph is any good though, the processing packs dried out in months when new and are probably a "don't freeze me " chemical anyway.

Roger Cole · Jan 3, 2015

Yeah the Polapan is probably just a memento now but the 320t may be useable - great find, we need a real tungsten film. (Well there is Cinestill but it's neg film AND not really C41.)

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benjiboy · Jan 3, 2015

I found a pro 5 pack of 120 Fuji Astia behind the frozen food on the freezer shelf behind a load of frozen vegetables this Christmas Day to my surprise I haven't kept my film in the kitchen freezer for about four or five years since I bought a small chest freezer I keep in the basement for my film to hopefully get my wife off my back about" not having enough room in the kitchen one" especially at Christmas .

Jim Noel · Jan 3, 2015

What is food doing in the Freezer?

Black Dog · Jan 4, 2015

Roger Cole said:
We have our share of them in the winter here, but then the combination of dreary light and ISO 50 means a tripod, or nearly wide open lens and careful shooting at best to stay handheld. But yeah, it's great for that. Ektar 100 is nice too. I still miss the old Agfa Ultra 50 for Velvia-like saturation in a neg film.

Not forgetting good old Ektar 25 of course!

RattyMouse · Jan 5, 2015

Roger Cole said:
That would be a cool one to find too, but it would take me a lot longer to shoot a 220 roll of Velvia than Astia. Astia is a good film for most lighting and subjects. Velvia really needs relatively flat lighting (or controlled lighting like fill light of some kind) or a pretty short range subject, and isn't the best for people, at least in my experience. I know a lot of people flip over Velvia but to me it's a rather specialized film for, say, dreary days when you need the extra pop, and in that case the speed means you need a tripod too.

Of course I can buy all the Provia 100F (or Velvia) in 120 that I want still, thankfully, and reviewing some Provia 100F slides I shot last year at Mardi Gras shows there isn't really as much difference as memory tends to paint. Still it's there.

My Provia 100F shots turn blue far easier than my Astia shots do. It seems Provia's daylight balance is easily thrown off by any shadows at all. I find so much blue in my Provia shots that I really don't shoot it much anymore. I still have about 20 rolls of Astia left and then it's all Ferrania for me if I want color slides.

benjiboy · Jan 5, 2015

Jim Noel said:
What is food doing in the Freezer?

Unfortunately my wife of fifty years insists on it, especially at Christmas

Axle · Jan 6, 2015

Propack of Fuji Astia!

Nige · Jan 6, 2015

I've got 2 bricks of 120 APX-25 that I notice every now and then... keeping it for a special project along with some MCC 111 Agfa paper.

Other oddities include a few rolls of HIE, Techpan, some Konica IR750, some Maco IR820 and a few rolls of miscellaneous colour neg and transparency.

Roger Cole · Jan 6, 2015

Nice - all the APX films were good stuff. Wonder if the HIE has kept? I bought up a bunch of IR820 when Efke went under but haven't been able to use much at all. I worry some about how it's keeping.

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Alan Gales · Jan 7, 2015

My Grandma was at a friend's house and she had her cat in the freezer. The cat had died and being winter the ground was too hard to dig in so she was waiting for the spring thaw for proper burial.

My Grandma said she would never eat at her friend's house again.

Roger Cole · Jan 7, 2015

Not exactly the kind of "lucky find" I meant, but funny none the less.

Reminds me of the cussing parrot thrown in the freezer to shut him up, who comes out very polite and chastened to gently inquire, "Might I ask...what on earth did that turkey say?"

Alan Gales · Jan 7, 2015

Roger Cole said:
Not exactly the kind of "lucky find" I meant, but funny none the less.

Reminds me of the cussing parrot thrown in the freezer to shut him up, who comes out very polite and chastened to gently inquire, "Might I ask...what on earth did that turkey say?"

That jokes funny, Roger!

My Grandma thought it was a lucky find because she learned not to eat there anymore. The cat was wrapped up and it wouldn't have affected any of the meat in the freezer but just the thought of it all bothered my Grandma.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jan 7, 2015

Nige said:
I've got 2 bricks of 120 APX-25 that I notice every now and then... keeping it for a special project along with some MCC 111 Agfa paper.

Other oddities include a few rolls of HIE, Techpan, some Konica IR750, some Maco IR820 and a few rolls of miscellaneous colour neg and transparency.

Use that film up sooner rather than later. I had a bunch of older APX 25 where the ink from the markings on the backing paper imprinted on the emulsion. I wasn't aware of it as one test roll had come out great, but somehow the rest of the rolls had the issue. Ruined a photography trip for me.
Don't mean to sound negative, but use it or lose it. Be a shame for that to happen.

MattKing · Jan 7, 2015

A small prime rib roast, hiding behind the tupperware bins of film.

Nige · Jan 7, 2015

Thomas Bertilsson said:
Use that film up sooner rather than later. I had a bunch of older APX 25 where the ink from the markings on the backing paper imprinted on the emulsion. I wasn't aware of it as one test roll had come out great, but somehow the rest of the rolls had the issue. Ruined a photography trip for me.
Don't mean to sound negative, but use it or lose it. Be a shame for that to happen.

arrrggghhhh!!! that doesn't sound promising!

Fred Dusel · Jan 8, 2015

How about a one-pound jar of Black Palladium powder. I believe this if PdO, and is unusable for photography but I would like to here if anyone has any experience with this stuff.

Best, Fred

Black Dog · Jan 8, 2015

Nige said:
arrrggghhhh!!! that doesn't sound promising!

Well I've just developed a couple of rolls of AP 400 that expired in 1988-a little flat and base foggy but pretty good all things considered.

Lucky finds you've forgotten about in the freezer...

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