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pocketfulladoubles
23-Feb-2010, 16:07
Sorry if this has been answered (and I'm sure it has but I couldn't find it)...

I sometimes can't get to the lab for weeks at a time. Is there a guideline about how long film can sit around after being exposed before processing? Should I return it to the fridge?

Jack Dahlgren
23-Feb-2010, 16:26
Keep it frozen and it can last years, but sooner is better.

W K Longcor
23-Feb-2010, 17:48
Though NOT what I would recommend --- I once purchased an antique 5X7 camera which came with some plate holders and other accessories. I noticed that some of the holders were heavy ( glass inside) and one had the black side of the dark-slide facing out ( indicating "exposed". So I took it into the darkroom and plunked it into a tray of print developer -- under a red safelight. I now have a somewhat nice (minor fog and some emulsion eaten away by fungus) photograph of someones Christmas tree. Based on room decor and orniments on the tree, we are guessing the photo was exposed around 1910 -- I did the developing in the mid 1980's. Still, store the film well ( cool and dry) and get it developed as soon as you can.;)

pocketfulladoubles
23-Feb-2010, 18:53
So, sitting on my shelf for a month or two at room temperature after being exposed isn't going to affect the exposure?

Jack Dahlgren
23-Feb-2010, 18:59
Not likely. But it isn't hard to put it in a ziplock and pop into the fridge.

Richard M. Coda
23-Feb-2010, 19:10
Sooner is always better, BUT, last year I developed a piece of 8x10 Tri-X that had been sitting in an un-refrigerated box for 20 years and it came out fine.

http://rcodaphotography.blogspot.com/2008/11/glory-days-new-photo-from-my-past.html

Robert Hughes
23-Feb-2010, 23:17
I have a reel of 16mm film in my refrigerator. I'd gotten an Auricon news camera, the takeup reel had 400' of film exposed: in processing the last 10 feet of it I discovered a "dark town" street parade, with billboard ads for the upcoming 1968 Democratic Party Convention. The film section I pulled processed just fine.

dsim
23-Feb-2010, 23:32
Some interesting info here (http://www.peaklandscapes.com/blog.php?entry=14).

JRFrench
24-Feb-2010, 00:32
Though NOT what I would recommend --- I once purchased an antique 5X7 camera which came with some plate holders and other accessories. I noticed that some of the holders were heavy ( glass inside) and one had the black side of the dark-slide facing out ( indicating "exposed". So I took it into the darkroom and plunked it into a tray of print developer -- under a red safelight. I now have a somewhat nice (minor fog and some emulsion eaten away by fungus) photograph of someones Christmas tree. Based on room decor and orniments on the tree, we are guessing the photo was exposed around 1910 -- I did the developing in the mid 1980's. Still, store the film well ( cool and dry) and get it developed as soon as you can.;)

Wow thats awesome, got a copy of the picture online?

Chiron
24-Feb-2010, 00:46
I think it was either Winogrand or Friedlander, but he had a back log of thousands of unexposed roles of film stuffed in his freezer. I guess he really liked to shoot and develop later.
P.

Bruce Watson
24-Feb-2010, 06:41
So, sitting on my shelf for a month or two at room temperature after being exposed isn't going to affect the exposure?

No. How could it? The exposure is the exposure you made when you fired the shutter.

But if it makes you feel any better, I made a run of 5x4 Tri-X sheets where I ran out of developer and couldn't process the last eight or so sheets. Didn't have anything pressing coming up for a while, so I put them in a drawer in my darkroom (room temp.) and forgot all about them. Long story short, I finished the run two years later. Couldn't tell any difference between the sheets that were processed "on time" and the ones that were processed two years later.

I'm not saying that there wasn't some deterioration. The laws of physics say that the latent image has to deteriorate at least a little over time. But after that two year delay I couldn't find any visible signs of problems -- either on a light table with a 10x loupe, or on a final print. Zip. Nada. Nothing.

Steve Hamley
24-Feb-2010, 06:50
Try this:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/pressroom/article.asp?n=122

Cheers, Steve

pocketfulladoubles
24-Feb-2010, 19:12
No. How could it? The exposure is the exposure you made when you fired the shutter.

But if it makes you feel any better, I made a run of 5x4 Tri-X sheets where I ran out of developer and couldn't process the last eight or so sheets. Didn't have anything pressing coming up for a while, so I put them in a drawer in my darkroom (room temp.) and forgot all about them. Long story short, I finished the run two years later. Couldn't tell any difference between the sheets that were processed "on time" and the ones that were processed two years later.

I'm not saying that there wasn't some deterioration. The laws of physics say that the latent image has to deteriorate at least a little over time. But after that two year delay I couldn't find any visible signs of problems -- either on a light table with a 10x loupe, or on a final print. Zip. Nada. Nothing.

I don't know, just figured it could fog like any other film. Thank you all for the responses. I fell better now...