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joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography

A Wonderful (film) Accident

joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography

Well, this didn’t turned out like I planned.
joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography joe sterne photography, black and white film, color negative, lomography
I headed over to Shoreline Park the other day to test out a 100mm f2.8 Macro FD lens that I borrowed from Jules’ coworker. I put in ISO400 color negative black and white film to try it out. After I finished shooting the roll of 36 photos, I opened the back of the camera.

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What I saw puzzled me. It looked like the film did not load properly and I didn’t actually get any photos. So I loaded up the film (again) and shot another 36 shots. Once I was done, I took the film to Walgreens to develop.

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Walgreens can’t develop that type of film as it turns out (sadly, after the fact). My pictures were screwed up in the developing process as developing color film is harsher on film that black and white.  However, with the use of Aperture, I was able to digitally correct a few of the photos so you can actually see what I took.

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(I know this isn’t quite what I thought with #projectfilm but I’m rolling with it)

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8 responses to “A Wonderful (film) Accident”

  1. Matt Ronan Avatar
    Matt Ronan

    Yeah Joe I definitely recommend buying some C-41 B&W films like the ones John said. I recently picked up two rolls of BW400CN and now I’m just waiting for some nice weather to test them out with. I think it would make a great stepping stone as you look into pro labs or home development. I know a place in California that can basically process anything. http://www.richardphotolab.com/

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    1. Joe Sterne Avatar
      Joe Sterne

      Thanks Matt! I’ll check them out.

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  2. Emily Yeoh Avatar
    Emily Yeoh

    I’m hopefully going to have the dark room at my university set up soon! Having to locate the chemicals and such myself is proving to be quite the task… although we do have all the equipment!

    On another note, I LOVE how these photos turned out for you! Double exposure is another thing that I need to try and I also need to get back to grips with loading film because sometimes things do go wrong but that is the beauty of film and #projectfilm right? 🙂

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    1. Joe Sterne Avatar
      Joe Sterne

      Why thank you Emily! I wish I had the space for a darkroom (I want to give that a try later this year).

      As for loading film, it’s been a adventure so far 🙂 I’ve noticed that the lomography film (36 shots) is easier not to fully rewind in the camera for some reason.

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  3. Matt Ronan Avatar
    Matt Ronan

    Ah the same thing happened to me with my first roll of film. You’re lucky you were to recover anything. They processed mine at such a high temp that it melted the exposures right off. So I paid for a nice long piece of plastic for nothing.

    I’ve yet to find a local place that does real B&W processing (non C-41). My recommendation would be to look into developing your own B&W film. I plan on turning some extra space into a lab. Of course not something you need to do with your first roll, but as I’ve found out, it becomes addictive.

    Good luck on what hopefully turns into something awesome.

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    1. Joe Sterne Avatar
      Joe Sterne

      Thanks Matt! I appreciate the kind words and hopefully it *does* turn into something awesome.

      I’ve heard unconfirmed reports that Costco might do some non C-41 processing. Haven’t called yet but also debating on the cost/benefits of shooting B&W film that is a pain to develop.

      However, I do plan to check out some of the photo lab spaces in SF that allow you to develop your own film for a fee. Gotta get my feet wet somehow 🙂

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  4. johnmillekerphotography Avatar
    johnmillekerphotography

    Joe, you mention it was Color Negative Black & White film.. There are B&W emulsions specifically made for C-41 developing (which is the chemistry all labs use). But then Walgreens says they couldn’t develop it which tells me it was a standard roll of Black & White. What brand/model was it?

    You’re lucky that you have anything at all on that roll, and someone really screwed up. They’re supposed to check the cans because if they send the wrong emulsions through the machine they can really screw up the chemicals and make up a mess. One or two rolls won’t hurt it, but if they’re just sending anything through that machine I can’t help to think how contaminated the machine and chemicals are. (Should I put a plea here to seek out a professional lab, or at least somewhere they have trained lab people on the machines?)

    Off the top of my head, two C-41 process B&W emulsions are Ilford XP2 and Kodak BW400CN. These are C-41 safe (any local lab).

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    1. Joe Sterne Avatar
      Joe Sterne

      Thanks John! It was a lomo brand in a 3 pack- not C-41 process. Definitely will be more careful next time. Currently on the lookout for a place that will develop that stuff for cheap (Costco perhaps?).

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