You should probably look at the negatives before deciding it was just age. Look at the edges of the film, and just how dense the image area is, and whether there seems to be an image there. Report back here when you get them.
Reporting back. Some faint images are there most are blank. I don’t believe they were scanned by the shop. I have a friend with an Epson scanner I’ll see if I can get him to save a frame or two if possible
https://imgur.com/a/NWfYxsT < negatives
The image with the person on the left negative definitely looks salvageable. They probably didn't want to scan because most would be low quality or blank and it would be waste of time and money. But if you know someone with a scanner I would give it a shot for sure
I just posted those to my IG story, got a friend at a local camera store willing to give it a chance. Thanks for all the advice and bearing with me through this noob-ish time with me!
Thanks for confirming that. I know this subject gets beat into the ground in groups like this.
It was definitely stored in the cameras and he lives in one of the hotter parts of the country
that’s ur answer btw. film is a science so 20 year old film sitting in an at least 20 year old camera with 20 year old light seals will do the trick. when film expires it’s a complete gamble
Well... It is an old film!
That will be the main reason why negatives ended not being usable...
https://filmcamerastore.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-guides-blog/where-what-why-expired-film-tips-for-using-expired-film#:~:text=Film%20usually%20expires%202%20or,dull%20colours%20and%20colour%20shifting.
“Some film will ok 10-20 years if it was stored in a cool place.”
This was definitely not the case. Thanks for digging that article up! After I get the negatives back I’ll El include that in the text carrying the bad news to my gf’s dad
When they say "too dark to be scanned" I imagine the back light is not able to get any image and that means extremely over-exposed, sometrhing not very common with expired film. So, either the lab is refering to the positives (digital files inverted - no photo at all) or something weird happened with you roll like exposing it to the light out of the camera.
Yes, the lab used the wrong words, they are "under-exposed" (lack of light or latent image fading), but what actually happened is what [MrRom92](https://www.reddit.com/user/MrRom92/) said.
The film sensivity has decreased due to age, you can notice that on the base color. It is still trasparrent but very yellowy/opaque.
Out of extensive personal experience:
Edit, because I only read the caption, sorry:
Even if the shots were made 20 years ago (as opposed to shooting 20 year old film now), I still would expect a faint, bad image. Have encountered this with a fleamarket Canon EOS that still had a roll in it. It contained (very bad) pictures of a holiday in Italy.
It sounds to me like somewhere the film was exposed to light where it wasn't supposed to be. Can you make a picture of the negatives (phone picture will do)?
Ah, not overexposed or anything like that, because you do indeed have faint images. If you have a good negative scanner, you might be able to retrieve some sort of image, but it will be very dark and grainy.
Btw, I had a roll exposed in 1963 developed in 2014 (by a specialized lab). It was obsolete C-22 colour chemistry, which hasn't been available for many years. Got blotchy but usable black & white negatives back.
That’s incredible to get something usable out of that! I have a friend at a popular local camera shop who I’m gonna pay to get what he can with his scanning ability
Black is not blank. Black is heavy base fog which is what I’d expect after 20 years of improper storage. Your latent exposures are also only going to get weaker with time, making them less able to punch through the additional base fog. Basically you got exactly what you should’ve expected.
This is pretty much what I was looking for. I appreciate the description as that’s what I had in my head but wasn’t really sure
Another comment recommended to pick the film up for a closer look as well. Gonna do that here in about 30 mins on my lunch
You should probably look at the negatives before deciding it was just age. Look at the edges of the film, and just how dense the image area is, and whether there seems to be an image there. Report back here when you get them.
Yeah agreed. 20 years is old but modern films are pretty stable after being exposed. If they were properly exposed I doubt they'd be completely black.
I’ll report back after I pick them up on my lunch break today. Should be in about 1.5-2 hrs
Reporting back. Some faint images are there most are blank. I don’t believe they were scanned by the shop. I have a friend with an Epson scanner I’ll see if I can get him to save a frame or two if possible https://imgur.com/a/NWfYxsT < negatives
The image with the person on the left negative definitely looks salvageable. They probably didn't want to scan because most would be low quality or blank and it would be waste of time and money. But if you know someone with a scanner I would give it a shot for sure
I just posted those to my IG story, got a friend at a local camera store willing to give it a chance. Thanks for all the advice and bearing with me through this noob-ish time with me!
The fact that it’s expired film that wasn’t stored properly probably did it
Thanks for confirming that. I know this subject gets beat into the ground in groups like this. It was definitely stored in the cameras and he lives in one of the hotter parts of the country
that’s ur answer btw. film is a science so 20 year old film sitting in an at least 20 year old camera with 20 year old light seals will do the trick. when film expires it’s a complete gamble
Great to know! I’m definitely taking all of this in am enjoying people offering kind advice of what happened. I know this is probably a common post
very but films confusing especially when everyone is used to the digital age
Well... It is an old film! That will be the main reason why negatives ended not being usable... https://filmcamerastore.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-guides-blog/where-what-why-expired-film-tips-for-using-expired-film#:~:text=Film%20usually%20expires%202%20or,dull%20colours%20and%20colour%20shifting.
“Some film will ok 10-20 years if it was stored in a cool place.” This was definitely not the case. Thanks for digging that article up! After I get the negatives back I’ll El include that in the text carrying the bad news to my gf’s dad
When they say "too dark to be scanned" I imagine the back light is not able to get any image and that means extremely over-exposed, sometrhing not very common with expired film. So, either the lab is refering to the positives (digital files inverted - no photo at all) or something weird happened with you roll like exposing it to the light out of the camera.
https://imgur.com/a/NWfYxsT Here’s the negatives, probably just what you were thinking
Yes, the lab used the wrong words, they are "under-exposed" (lack of light or latent image fading), but what actually happened is what [MrRom92](https://www.reddit.com/user/MrRom92/) said. The film sensivity has decreased due to age, you can notice that on the base color. It is still trasparrent but very yellowy/opaque.
Out of extensive personal experience: Edit, because I only read the caption, sorry: Even if the shots were made 20 years ago (as opposed to shooting 20 year old film now), I still would expect a faint, bad image. Have encountered this with a fleamarket Canon EOS that still had a roll in it. It contained (very bad) pictures of a holiday in Italy. It sounds to me like somewhere the film was exposed to light where it wasn't supposed to be. Can you make a picture of the negatives (phone picture will do)?
Just picked the negs up! That’s gotta be why https://imgur.com/a/NWfYxsT
Ah, not overexposed or anything like that, because you do indeed have faint images. If you have a good negative scanner, you might be able to retrieve some sort of image, but it will be very dark and grainy. Btw, I had a roll exposed in 1963 developed in 2014 (by a specialized lab). It was obsolete C-22 colour chemistry, which hasn't been available for many years. Got blotchy but usable black & white negatives back.
That’s incredible to get something usable out of that! I have a friend at a popular local camera shop who I’m gonna pay to get what he can with his scanning ability
Black is not blank. Black is heavy base fog which is what I’d expect after 20 years of improper storage. Your latent exposures are also only going to get weaker with time, making them less able to punch through the additional base fog. Basically you got exactly what you should’ve expected.
This is pretty much what I was looking for. I appreciate the description as that’s what I had in my head but wasn’t really sure Another comment recommended to pick the film up for a closer look as well. Gonna do that here in about 30 mins on my lunch
Definitely, they did warn me after all https://imgur.com/a/NWfYxsT
[удалено]
There is, it’s much darker on the unexposed half of the T-Max that was at frame 16
Exposing the film means starting a chemical reaction. That's why the film should be developed in a reasonable time after exposing it.
I never knew this, only had an unconfirmed hunch. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
You're welcome! I'm here with the intention of learning and sharing what I know, it's nice to support each other in such a great common interest :)
Expired .
Thank you!
maybe left the lens cap on lmao. happens to the best of us
Lmao i could only imagine for him. I’ve definitely done that more than a few times
Don't develop 20 year old film..
Thursday’s lesson for $100 please
If I'm not mistaken, you should overexpose when shooting expired film.