Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 33

Thread: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

  1. #1

    Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    I went out this morning to take my first shots with my new Chamonix. I hiked, set up my first shot, was very careful, took the shot, and was pleased. I went to location 2 and set it up, took a shoot and then realized when replacing the holder in my bag that I had forgot to reverse the darkslide for shot 1.

    Crap.

    I had three holders with two sheets of film each. Because of the way they were in my bag, I figure the probability that I double exposed shot 1 on top of shot 2 is about 25%. So what to do now?

    I pay about $2.50 a shot to get them processed. What would you do? I've thought of a few options:

    • Shoot all 5 remaining sheets. Perhaps shoot doubles of two shots. I will surely lose shot 1, but the rest of the shots will be good.
    • Just eat the cost and develop all 6 sheets. 25% chance of total failure and $15 wasted.
    • Ask the lab to develop the 5 mystery sheets one by one, stopping if they get shot 1.
    • Something I'm not thinking of


    Things to do in the future: when taking exposure notes, make sure I include which side of which film holder was used. This will be useful for a number of things and necessary if I want different sheets processed differently in the future. Also necessary if using different kinds of film. Check the damn darkslide before removing the film holder.

  2. #2
    Has Been LF Photographer
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Omaha, Nebraska
    Posts
    182

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    No solution for you, but I will mention that I numbered all of my film holders right at the beginning. The side containing the film holder number was considered side A and was used first. The other, of course, was side B.

    Not a perfect system, but with 100 film holders, it helped to know where I was when I handled them.

  3. #3
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Seattle, Wash.
    Posts
    2,929

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    Is there a chance you can identify which of the three holders you used? (Perhaps you placed it on top, or beneath the others in your bag?) That would narrow down your exposed sheet to two possible sheets.

    Another hint which has saved me before: I noticed that on the holder I used, I didn't return the tiny L-shaped bracket into position (which secures the specific darkslide into place). This second oversight saved me my first one!

  4. #4
    Robert Oliver Robert Oliver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Shell Beach, CA
    Posts
    488

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    I also make exposure notes on each film holder in pencil after every shot. When I unload the shot, i write empty on it. When I reload it, i write in the film type.

    You just have to be consistent with whatever you do.
    Robert Oliver

  5. #5

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    @Deane - I can say for sure that you started out smarter than I. I only have a dozen holders, but the principal is still the same.

    @Heroique - I have no idea which one I used. Unfortunately relocking the darkslide is something I am remebering to do.

    @Robert - Consistency will be vastly improved after this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    2,474

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    The reversing of the dark slide is just an invitation to a disaster. There are many self adhesive stickers that you can use over and over again (excellent are those for marking pages in a book). Stick them on all holders and then take them off after the exposure (put them so that you have to remove them if you want to remove the dark slide) - like that you eliminate the problem.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    140

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    If I am working in the studio and shooting many negatives I use bright tape marked with "EXPOSED" on it (from bhphoto).

    The tape is wide enough for me to tape the slide to the holder so you can not pull it out again.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Boulder, CO
    Posts
    140

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    5

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    I did exactly the same.. on my first shoot.

    I did, however, know which slide I'd used. So I just shot the current shot twice ( knowing I'd doubled one ) grabbed another Slide and re-shot the first slide and chalked it down to a £2.50 lesson learnt.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    2,049

    Re: Forgot to reverse a darkslide after shooting

    thechrisproject, such confusion is a very good sign. It means you were so excited about the scene that your mind was preoccupied with the image rather than the mechanics of picture taking. If you can keep this approach up you are assured of an occasional great image amongst the double exposures.

    Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Similar Threads

  1. Cruise ship shooting
    By Ed Richards in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 9-May-2008, 08:50
  2. Out shooting in Downtown Toronto 29th Dec ?
    By Ron Bose in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 30-Dec-2006, 18:35
  3. shooting fine art
    By Savanna in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 36
    Last Post: 16-Jul-2006, 17:50
  4. shooting in snow
    By Joe Farrell in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 25-Jan-2006, 14:09
  5. Shooting days per year?
    By Kirk Gittings in forum On Photography
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 4-Feb-2005, 18:54

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •