What went wrong here? and here... and here... and here... and here....

[bomzi]

Hello everyone.

I recently returned from a 10 day trip to Tokyo where I took my new Chamonix 045N-1 along with a large box of Ilford Delta 100. The experience of walking around Tokyo with a 4x5 for 10 hours a day was fantastic but the negatives, unfortunately, have tons of problems and I'm hoping that photographers with more experience will be able to provide some guidance.

I'm going to post the images up with my own guesses on what seems to have happened.

Thank you all for your help!

Randhir

The two images below have tree branches visible in the sky areas. There were definitely no trees up there! My guess is that the trees are reflecting off my grad ND filter. At both locations, there were trees behind me. Is this even possible?

scan110.jpg - tree branches plu some strange dark spots on the right side of the image. Any thoughts on what would cause the spots?
scan111.jpg - tree branches and obviously I used too much rise.

[bomzi]

scan124.jpg: This image has cloudy spots all across the sky area along with some dark spots.
scan128.jpg: too much shift and rise along with weird tree branches in the sky.
scan129.jpg: more trees and too much rise plus what appears to be a light leak.
scan130.jpg: this might just be the worst negative i have ever made... is the dark smudge across the bottom of the neg caused by too much rise?

[bomzi]

scan122.jpg: strange white spots across the top. I'm not sure what is going on in the top right hand corner of the frame. plus there appear to be light leaks on both sides...
scan 137.jpg: there are streaks across the sky area. is this a developer issue?
scan138.jpg: more uneven-ness across the top. can i do anything to get rid of the spots?
scan131.jpg: WTF!! Is this light leak appear to be in the bellows? perhaps the film holder is not sitting correctly when inserted into the camera?

any help in diagnosing or fixing these problems would be greatly appreciated!!

in the meanwhile, i will drink my sorrows away....

randhir

[djdister]

Please describe the lens(es) used (make, model and focal length), and how you used the grad ND filter. Are all your film holders in good condition? You clearly seem to have overused front rise based on the heavy vignetting at the top of many of your shots. The unexposed areas along the bottom of several shots could be from bellows sag or from it being stretched too much from the front rise use. Really would help to know what lens was used though.

[bomzi]

The ND Grad ia rectangular (can't remember the manufacturer) was used on a Cokin P series filter holder. The film holders look fine to me. I have not had any such issues using these holders on my Sinar F2. They are a combination of Fidelity and Lisco holders purchased off Ebay.

I've used two different lens for these shots. One is a 90mm Grandagon and a 150mm Apo Sironar. The breakdown per shot is below in sequence to the images above.
scan110 : 90mm
scan111: 90mm
scan124: 150mm
scan128: 90mm (my notes indicate "lots of shift)
scan129: 90mm
scan130: 90mm
scan122: 90mm
scan137: 90mm
scan138: 90mm
scan131: 150mm

One thing is apparent, I need to get a wide angle bag bellows for this camera. I thought the regular one would work fine but clearly it does not for the wider lens.

[Bill_1856]

Well, my dear, you've got a mess.
My guess is that you've got a BAAAD box of film. Perhaps too old, stored in too much heat, zapped with high intensity X-rays..?
I'd start by taking a fresh sheet of film in your best holder and process it in new, freshly mixed developer.

[djdister]

Well, my dear, you've got a mess.
My guess is that you've got a BAAAD box of film. Perhaps too old, stored in too much heat, zapped with high intensity X-rays..?
I'd start by taking a fresh sheet of film in your best holder and process it in new, freshly mixed developer.

Bad film? I don't think so. If so, there would be consistent, repeated issues on every sheet, in the same place, which is not the case here. I'd chalk it up to a series of errors in the shooting process, although the bubbles in the upper left corner of scan124 looks like a processing/washing/drying problem.

[DannL]

I suppose it is possible to have an in-focus reflection bouncing off the back of the filter into the lens. Protecting the sides, top, and bottom of the filter and it's holder from external light might help.

I thought about pinholes making an exposure on the film, but now have discounted that theory.

[djdister]

Something to consider. You might be getting a pinhole exposure and then a normal exposure from your lens. Look for pinholes in the bellows and near the lens board. Some of these look like double exposures to some degree. Multiple exposures on the film.

This is a good call - especially for those "ghost trees" in the sky...

[Tobias Key]

The first thing I would do is take the camera into a dimly lit room and shine a torch inside the bellows to check for light leaks. It's not the only issue but the easiest one to diagnose.