pico Posted September 13, 2011 Share #1 Posted September 13, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Many years ago while daydreaming I imagined a day when there would be no fresh film available. (I was getting all the film I could use for free, as long as it was Tri-X or Plus-X) Yesterday I found that my large store of film has all expired. I over-purchased a years ago in a mild panic that film would go away as soon as the doomsayers said it would. There's nothing quite like fresh B&W film. So, I'm now that I'm retired (read: rather impoverished), I will be shooting old film, possibly until I die. It will be interesting to see the outcomes over the years as it grows older. If I can still notice by then. I keep having this vision. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 13, 2011 Posted September 13, 2011 Hi pico, Take a look here First it was just a day dream. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
JeTexas Posted September 13, 2011 Share #2 Posted September 13, 2011 You could sell all your expired film to the hipster Lomo photographers on craigslist and buy fresh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted September 13, 2011 You could sell all your expired film to the hipster Lomo photographers on craigslist and buy fresh! Funny, but I don't even know what a Lomo photographer is. Is it like a Hippie something? EDIT: I just surfed out Lomo Photography. People having fun, but somehow I feel compelled to flush the cache. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 13, 2011 Share #4 Posted September 13, 2011 How have you stored it, how far is it past its expiry date? My guess is that the film will be ok for a few years to come, especially if its b&w film since there are no dyes to be degraded. I imagine that the expiry date is based on poor storage conditions - high temperatures - so that the film company covers all the bases regarding use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted September 13, 2011 Share #5 Posted September 13, 2011 A couple of years ago, I was given a 120 roll of Ilford FP3 film that the owner had no idea of how old it might be. I processed the film in XTol (the only stuff I had available at the time), I gave it 4x the recommended time for FP4+, added another 10 minutes and kept the dev temp. at 25 degs. throughout. There were three usable negs out of six on the roll. They were RAF wedding images of a relative of his who was married sometime during WW2. A couple of things stood out: the acetate base seemed much thicker than modern emulsions and there was an unpleasant smell given off by the film during processing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan Posted September 13, 2011 Share #6 Posted September 13, 2011 Don't knock on lomographers. They take better pictures than most photographers around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumen Posted September 13, 2011 Share #7 Posted September 13, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Don't knock on lomographers. They take better pictures than most photographers around. I'm seeing this too; although just about having got the hang of taking a technically decent photograph, I aspire to getting in some of the "life" and fun I see in a lot of this work. I find it a lot more interesting than people's high streets anyway I keep having this vision. Funnily enough, I'm really looking forward to seeing Hiroshi Sugimoto's exhibition in Edinburgh next week, includes pictures made from William Henry Fox Talbot's negatives (National Galleries of Scotland − What's On − Hiroshi Sugimoto » Photogenic Drawing). I know you posted Niépce, but thought I'd get it in for potential general interest! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
someonenameddavid Posted September 13, 2011 Share #8 Posted September 13, 2011 I A couple of years ago, I was given a 120 roll of Ilford FP3 film that the owner had no idea of how old it might be. I processed the film in XTol (the only stuff I had available at the time), I gave it 4x the recommended time for FP4+, added another 10 minutes and kept the dev temp. at 25 degs. throughout. There were three usable negs out of six on the roll. They were RAF wedding images of a relative of his who was married sometime during WW2. A couple of things stood out: the acetate base seemed much thicker than modern emulsions and there was an unpleasant smell given off by the film during processing. I bet it was nitrate film, not acetate and that nasty smell was nitric acid... And you were processing guncotton!!!! See: Chapter 3. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Holy Moly Posted September 13, 2011 Share #9 Posted September 13, 2011 I I bet it was nitrate film, not acetate and that nasty smell was nitric acid... And you were processing guncotton!!!! See: Chapter 3. David please open all windows in order to safe the glass....... with guncotton as a base the wonderful wetplate photography can be done, best with a Petzval-design lens.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted September 13, 2011 Share #10 Posted September 13, 2011 I I bet it was nitrate film, not acetate and that nasty smell was nitric acid... And you were processing guncotton!!!! See: Chapter 3. David That would explain it! :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiILX1 Posted September 13, 2011 Share #11 Posted September 13, 2011 Funny, but I don't even know what a Lomo photographer is. Is it like a Hippie something? EDIT: I just surfed out Lomo Photography. People having fun, but somehow I feel compelled to flush the cache. LOL. That's funny. Let's all be thankful to LOMO though. Film sales are jumping through the roof and that breathes fresh life into the films we love. Also, the old timers will have less to be bitter about as they have been since teeny boppers started coming around with their latest digitals thinking they knew everything because of the megapixel number on their camera... Sorry my local shop is full of old bitter guys... I went by the LOMO shop in NY and met the national director. I picked up dome Tri-X. They even gave me connoisseur descriptions of every film in their stock- which was a lot! They were having a film party- free beer even! Everyone was hanging out, talking film, shooting film. Sure a lot was still camera talk- but I'll tell you what- there was more substance talk than camera talk, which I appreciated being on the internet so much and hearing so many professional consumers run their mouths. Maybe that was just New York though that they were so into the substance and art of it all... Anyway they even have a darkroom in house and try to do that at each location. It's getting young people into hands-on photography. That doesn't leave an old-timer much to be bitter about! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeplanter Posted September 13, 2011 Share #12 Posted September 13, 2011 I've been donating my expired film to the folks on the Film Photography Podcast. I have managed to better monitor how much film I buy at one time. For the past few years, what I buy in the spring will last me until the next spring. Then I order again. So far, so good. Jim B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted September 14, 2011 Share #13 Posted September 14, 2011 Beside my M7, X1, Bessa ... and Nikon ... there is a Lomo Sampler as well ! Even "serious" photographers need to play, sometimes robert PS: ok, I'm not so serious, I know... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted September 14, 2011 Don't knock on lomographers. They take better pictures than most photographers around. Thanks for that. A humbling from time to time is always a good thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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