Oh what an idiot!

[Vaughn]

I just had a darkroom moment: Loaded the film into the Jobo tank. Now, where's the lid? Managed to find it in the dark, far, far away from where I loaded the film.

That's better than my recent adventure -- loaded five 8x10's into the drum, got the film holders away from the edge of the counter (one had hit the floor previously, breaking the darkslide) and turned on the room light.

It took me a second to realize why the drum looked a little wierd -- I forgot to put the top on .

Vaughn

[Marko]

I used to have senior moments, now I refer to them all as middle age moments. . . .

It all depends on one's perspective and life expectancy...

But to stay on topic - how would you classify taking your entire LF outfit out and then realizing, after setting everything up and ducking under the darkcloth, that the only thing you forgot to bring were your reading glasses?

I still can't decide whether it is a sign of midlife because I've only started using them recently or if it is a sign of old age because I'm becoming old enough to start forgetting things...

Anyway, on my way back, I stopped by at the drugstore and picked up two generic pairs of reading glasses, a bit stronger than for actual reading, and put them in my LF bag as a permanent part of the kit.

[Maris Rusis]

While loading 8x10 sheet film into holders in the darkroom I thought one sheet (#12) might have touched the darkroom bench and picked up some dust specks. I'm a bit paranoid about dust on sheet film but there is no way I know to clean unexposed sheet film in the dark. What to do?

Since I was going to photograph some desert country I figured that the dusty (?) sheet could be used for rocks, trees, whatever as long as there was no sky in the picture. Dust and bad spotting get lost in highly textured details. So I wrote "#12 dust, no skies" on a piece of paper and enclosed the note with the holder in its zip top plastic bag. And forgot about it.

I knew there was trouble when I looked in the fixer tray during the post-shoot developing session and saw a detailed negative but with a 2"x3" clear rectangle on it. Back in the dev tray was my note "#12 dust, no skies"!

Dry desert air plus static electricity had transferred the note to the plastic darkslide and then to the film inside the camera. Definitely my worst dust spot ever!

[Ed Richards]

> It took me a second to realize why the drum looked a little wierd -- I forgot to put the top on

I finished loading the film into the drum in my changing bag, then realized that the lid was on the counter next to the changing bag.

[Rob_5419]

I used to have senior moments, now I refer to them all as middle age moments. . . .

Nope.....definitely junior moments for me.

I had those moments such a long time ago that I can't remember. So it must have been when I was a junior.

[walter23]

I have this bad habit of pulling the darkslide while the preview on the lens is still open, but only with expensive slide films! I did it just last night with a sheet of velvia, and I've lost at least one sheet out of every box I've shot (so far only three, but that's still three for three).

I've never done it - not once - with B&W, and I've shot at least a hundred negatives.

[Padu Merloti]

I've never done it - not once - with B&W, and I've shot at least a hundred negatives.

Very selective indeed!

[Andrew O'Neill]

Once when I was out with my 4x5, I pulled the darkslide out and made the exposure. As I was counting the exposure time, I noticed a sheet of film laying on the ground a few feet away from the camera. I thought to myself, gee, some twit dropped a sheet of film on the ground...
the bloody sheet came out as I pulled the slide out. I was the twit. Man, did I ever have a good laugh.

[al olson]

Yesterday I was shooting some tabletop with Polaroid 55 using the 545i holder. I was using film 4 years out of date and having a problem getting an even spread of the chemicals as I pulled it through the rollers.

To try to even out the pressure I was pressing the holder down on a kitchen counter top as I attempted to pull the film out evenly. I forgot to move the lever over to the P position and as I pulled the envelope out ...

#2 pulled the envelop out with the lens open

#3 forgot to stop down the lens after composing on the ground glass

#4 forgot to pull the envelop out while making the exposure

I think I have covered most of the ways to screw up with Polaroid. Of course #3 could happen with other film holders as well.

[Vaughn]

Making something idiot proof is just a challenge to Mother Nature to make a better idiot...

Vaughn