What to do (creatively) with fogged film?

[maclaine]

Yesterday I went out and shot my first 4x5 images. I was really nervous about loading the film holders, so I was ultra careful about it. As I got to the last one, I got really excited and opened the door to the closet (yes, closet) I was working in. Then, suddenly, it hit me. I hadn't put the unloaded film back in the box yet! D'OH! I shut the door as quickly as I could, and the total exposure was probably no more than a second with only very dim light coming in. Still, the film is no doubt fogged, but probably not ruined. It's Fuji Velvia 100, and there were 6 sheets left from a 10 sheet box. The were still in the cardboard covering that they sit in inside the paper envelope, so they were at least partially covered.

I have two questions related to this, as I can't be the first person this has happened to.

1. How likely is it that only the edge of the sheets on the bottom of the pile are fogged and the majority of the film surface is fine?

2. Any tips or hints on creative ways to use the film? I was thinking about just cross processing it, since it's already going to be a bit messed up. However, from doing it with 35mm film in the past, I know that Velvia 100 is not my favorite film to cross process because things come out really purplish. Would a green or yellow filter during exposure tame this a bit?

[Robert Hughes]

Develop one sheet and see how bad it is. If only the edges are fogged, use the film with the intention of cropping the outer 1/4" or whatever is lost.

[Jack Dahlgren]

If the sheets were covered with another sheet - for example if they were still stacked neatly it is unlikely that they are fogged to any real extent. The film with emulsion and anti-halation layer is pretty close to opaque and unless they were getting direct light on the edge it is not likely that they fogged.

I don't think it is going to be messed up at all except for the top sheet.

[maclaine]

If the sheets were covered with another sheet - for example if they were still stacked neatly it is unlikely that they are fogged to any real extent. The film with emulsion and anti-halation layer is pretty close to opaque and unless they were getting direct light on the edge it is not likely that they fogged.

I don't think it is going to be messed up at all except for the top sheet.

They were all stacked neatly, fortunately. I'll shoot the top two sheets and see what the results are. If it's fine, then I'll just shoot the remaining four sheets normally or maybe plan to do some cropping if necessary.

Thanks for your input, guys.

[Mike Anderson]

Claim you did it on purpose and are pioneering large format lomography.:)

...Mike

[maclaine]

Claim you did it on purpose and are pioneering large format lomography.:)

...Mike

That's my plan in case the whole batch is ruined. I know most people don't get into large format photography to intentionally shoot and process film the "wrong" way, but it's amazing how little cross processing of 4x5 stuff you see. With the right film, I think it can do really great things to the image. I happen to really like what it does to the Ektachrome line. The colors don't shift all THAT much, but they block up nicely and the contrast gets jacked up, which I like for some things.

[jnantz]

hi maclaine

sorry to hijack the thread, but ...
where do bostonians get your c41 / e6 processed these days ?
zona, spectrum and colortek are all "86'd" and now ep levines is moving further south to waltham ... is dorian ( in arlington ) the only place left ?

im outside of providence now ( lived in /near boston for about 15years ) and near me,
very few people can process anything bigger than 120 ... i think there is only 1 lab left ..
john

[maclaine]

hi maclaine

sorry to hijack the thread, but ...
where do bostonians get your c41 / e6 processed these days ?
zona, spectrum and colortek are all "86'd" and now ep levines is moving further south to waltham ... is dorian ( in arlington ) the only place left ?

im outside of providence now ( lived in /near boston for about 15years ) and near me,
very few people can process anything bigger than 120 ... i think there is only 1 lab left ..
john

Hi John. Once I found it, I've only used Colortek for all my 35mm and 120 processing (except for Kodachrome, of course). I was under the impression that they also did 4x5, but perhaps I'm wrong. I hope not. I was planning on going down there this week to drop off the sheets of Velvia I just shot. I'll update this thread when I find out for sure.

[tmbg]

I did something similar... loaded some film holders and then flipped on the light with the film box still open... with one full sealed envelope, and 18 sheets of an open envelope stacked and in the cardboard. Full bright room light was on for several seconds before I realized. I've shot some of that film and processed it (TMAX 400), and it's fine, but the edges are burned in. The rebate is all black, and a little bit of burn further in than that, but other than that it's quite usable, maybe even a neat effect :)