When was the last time you screwed up ...

[Fixcinater]

I developed 5 rolls today, all HC110 1:100, 10 sec of agitation every 15 mins for 2 hours:

-1 roll of 35mm in a single Paterson tank. As I was draining the water after developing (I use water for stop bath), the lid popped off the tank and the film fell the foot to the bottom of the tub. I grabbed it, stuck it back in and fixed it. There's some light across the bottom of all the frames but with some creative work, I may be able to salvage some of the shots of my nieces from last Thanksgiving.

-2 rolls of 120 in another tank. One was PanF 50 that I got in a trade, I had shot it last week with a camera that I had never put film through before and a couple of lenses that I had just fixed, so this was test roll. I believe the film expired '06. Came out mostly fine but does have some mottling in the shadow areas. Another was a roll of TMY-2 that I shot in December with a Rollei, I went into it hoping the sometimes sticky shutter would favor me that day, it did not: 2 shots were there, the rest of the film was blank.

-2 rolls of 120 in another tank. Expired roll of original TMAX400, had no images but was dark like it had been light struck throughout, although there was a pattern to it, some strips of the film were lighter than others and it repeated so something happened while it was rolled up. Last roll was shot at Thanksgiving again with my nieces at the park, with a Diana. Also expired, light leaks are pretty aggressive on this Diana apparently. May be able to salvage some of these frames.

Attached is one from the PanF 50.

 

[Vaughn]

...The above quoted post puts it in perspective, though!

I did test the camera before I had left for New Zealand. I took it freshly bought on a 10-day solo backpack down into the Grand Canyon (April). Developed the film but there it was all fogged -- blamed it on the used holders I had bought...so I bought new holders for the NZ trip! I did not know about the flashlight-in-the-bellows trick. I worked all that summer in the wilderness (no chance to use the camera), then was off the NZ that October! The replacement camera I took on the next NZ trip was tested and used heavily for the few years before the trip!!! An image from NZ (16x20 silver gelatin print from 4x5 TMax100):

 

[naeroscatu]

Last night I tried to load a 35mm film onto my plastic Patterson reels. I probably did this thousands of times before but now the film got stuck somewhere midway and would not advance. Once that happens you cannot pull it out from the reel, you have to unscrew the reel and free the film altogether. I think I started 4-5 times from both ends but the result was the same. I took a break closed the film in the developing tank and opened the bag because now the temperature and humidity inside raised so there is additional difficulty loading film. I remembered that I have a stainless tank and reel that I never used before. It seem to be the only solution so I ran to the laptop and watched a video on youtube so I see how it is done. I even tested loading a blank roll of film so I don’t fumble when I do it blindly.

Unfortunately the SS reel that I have is the one with a steel spring in the center that I understand is not very easy to handle. I loaded the film in the bag on to the SS reel and developed in the SS tank.

It came out full of blobs of undeveloped frames where the film touched itself. On one hand I’m happy this is the first incident in over 30 years of developing film. On the other hand I’m pretty upset that there still is no foolproof method or tool. Perhaps I should buy the other version of the SS reels with a clip in the center, people say they are much better.

 

[Vaughn]

...Perhaps I should buy the other version of the SS reels with a clip in the center, people say they are much better.

Hewes reels. I did not realize they have gotten so expensive, but it will last your lifetime and you won't find any better.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/140135-Hewes-Pro-Stainless-Steel-Reel-35mm-Reel

 

[Saganich]

Besides the daily mistakes the last major "oh Hell" moment was trying to reload film before rewinding the one I just finished. The effect was interesting.

 

[naeroscatu]

Hewes reels. I did not realize they have gotten so expensive, but it will last your lifetime and you won't find any better

Vaughn, this is exactly what I had in mind. Adorama and B&H have these for $29.95 but I'm sure I can find cheaper on the EB.

 

[pdeeh]

Here's a Top Tip:
When out photographing for the afternoon, don't leave your camera switched to multi-exposure and then fail to notice the fact that the film counter isn't moving every time you wind on.

Here's another Top Tip:

When out photographing for the afternoon (an afternoon where you leave your camera on multi, for instance), don't allow your (uninsured-and-can't-afford-to-replace) light-meter to fall through a hole in your pocket, and then only discover this 5 days later.

 

[Moorlander]

My last massive mistake? Only last week I looked in my drawer where I put films to be developed and saw what I thought were two Kodak Tri-X 120 roll films. ( plus a roll of Fuji Neopan 400 135 film) so I got my development drums out (Jobo) and in the changeing bag I put bothth 120 films on one spool in one tank and the 135 in another: then I developed the films in XTOL 1+1 and when I opened the tank with the roll film I found that one of the films was actually a colour film .....

I have not scanned that film yet so I do not know whether anything usable has come from it - but this was my most recent massive mistake

 

[Helios 1984]

I tried to extract the unexposed film of a disposable kodak, I failed. It was a ISO800 expired since 2006, not a big loss.

 

[esearing]

Just today I
1) took the lid off the paterson tank instead of the drain/fill cover - ruining the top roll.
2) Mixed Pyro at room temperature and pulled my fixer from the cold garage - Almost forgot to warm it up. Had to stick it in a water bath while the pyro was at work.
3) found that I have a nice collection of back of the lens cap shots from my Leica lenses.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

How many of your screw ups end up being a "Fortunate mistake"? Some times these mistakes add an element that enhances the image. They do have computer programs that put film fogs and chemical cross process to give images an organic look.

 

[vdonovan]

I recently bought a used Jobo processor. I rinsed out all the little bottles and beakers that came with it and then, wanting to calibrate the new system, shot two rolls of test shots, which I cut up to process four different ways. As each roll came out of the tank, they looked under-developed. The rolls that should have been way over-developed looked even less developed than the rest! I was getting more and more frustrated. Finally I looked into the Jobo bottle holding the developer, which by now was almost empty: it looked like sour milk. Some old chemical had dried in the bottom of the bottle and had over time dissolved into my developer. A whole day of testing was ruined, along with two rolls of fresh film.

I had also shot some 4x5, so I thought now that I know what was going wrong I'll develop those just to try out the 4x5 tank. I put fresh developer in a fresh bottle. Looking at the 4x5 tank, I saw that it should be easy to load: there are six cylinders, each to hold one sheet of film. "Well that's a relief," I thought. "The only way I could screw this up would be to lose track and put more than one sheet in a cylinder." Twenty minutes later, when the processing was done, I opened up the tank and, yup, I had put two sheets (out of the three I was processing) in one cylinder.

 

[vdonovan]

How many of your screw ups end up being a "Fortunate mistake"? Some times these mistakes add an element that enhances the image. They do have computer programs that put film fogs and chemical cross process to give images an organic look.

A friend recently brought his two young sons (5 and 7) over to my darkroom to make photograms. They brought their own toys and objects to put onto the paper.

Each kid successfully made their first photogram by putting objects on the paper, flashing it with the enlarger, and then processing the paper in trays. For the second round, I told the older boy he could take some paper and get started on his own. He built an elaborate construction and then flashed the paper. I came over and saw that he had put the paper emulsion side down. I apologized for not explaining it to him. He immediately flopped the paper over, made another construction, and then flashed that. When we developed it, the results were MUCH more interesting than the first batch: there were multiple shades of grey, where the conventional ones had been just blacks and whites.

After that the kids insisted on flashing both sides. They made some beautiful images, using a technique they had invented themselves.

 

[Cholentpot]

I just screwed up 18 frames on one roll and 10 on another because of !(@($&$&)!!! Metal REELS! I have two plastics and one metal tank and every once in a while I tell myself this time it'll work. IT DOESN'T!

Arg.

 

[fdonadio]

I just screwed up 18 frames on one roll and 10 on another because of !(@($&$&)!!! Metal REELS! I have two plastics and one metal tank and every once in a while I tell myself this time it'll work. IT DOESN'T!

I completely gave up trying to use stainless reels for 120 film. I can't do it right and I am afraid of spending on Hewes reels and still fail! I have some AP plastic reels that work great with the Paterson Super System 4 tank I also use with my MOD54.

For 135, I have a much better success rate, even with cheap reels.

 

[Cholentpot]

I completely gave up trying to use stainless reels for 120 film. I can't do it right and I am afraid of spending on Hewes reels and still fail! I have some AP plastic reels that work great with the Paterson Super System 4 tank I also use with my MOD54.

For 135, I have a much better success rate, even with cheap reels.

No! You can't talk me into them. They're dead to me! Dead!

 

[Vaughn]

"Come to the shiny side, Luke."

 

[locutus]

Yesterday i opened the lid of my development tank after dumping the.....STOP aaaargh!

Quickly covered it again and fixed and washed as normal, to my complete surprise the negatives look fine! pfew!

 

[MattKing]

Yesterday i opened the lid of my development tank after dumping the.....STOP aaaargh!

Quickly covered it again and fixed and washed as normal, to my complete surprise the negatives look fine! pfew!

Think about it.
After stop bath, what reducing agent comes in contact with the film? None.
Even if you expose the film to light, your next step is fixer, which just removes those exposed but not developed silver halides from the film.
You just followed the instructions in BTZS.

 

[locutus]

That obviously makes sense! not something i thought off when i had that 'oh crap!' moment :-D

 

[Cholentpot]

"Come to the shiny side, Luke."

It's tempting! I develop a lot of cine film and metal shiny is far easier to deal with as the REMJET doesn't stick and I don't need to clean off the reels with a toothbrush like a madman before the stab. But I've been burnt too many times! You'll never take me!

 

[MattKing]

That obviously makes sense! not something i thought off when i had that 'oh crap!' moment :-D

Just don't make the mistake before the stop bath, or if you are using a water stop!

 

[locutus]

Just don't make the mistake before the stop bath, or if you are using a water stop!

Well...... i just developed a single sheet of direct positive paper....and....

Loaded the tank, prepared the chemistry and took a tea break..... came back and started by opening the tank forgetting i already loaded it.

Quickly closed the lid after 2 seconds in faint light, as i had the chemistry already there and the material is ISO3 and i didn't pre/postflash i figured wth and developed it.

Surprisingly came out mostly but with a big streak down one side.

2 screwups within 24 hours, lesson learned: do not develop the same evening after a long day outside shooting 5x4 when feeling tired!

 

[pdeeh]

Here's a Top Tip:
When out photographing for the afternoon, don't leave your camera switched to multi-exposure and then fail to notice the fact that the film counter isn't moving every time you wind on.

I might dupe it and make a big sepiaprint from it

 

[locutus]

that is strangely appealing as a weird abstract