Cursed image - Pyrocat-M salvage

[esearing]

I saw a great shot of a Covered bridge in square format which felt very constrained and wanted to go shoot it in 5x12. So I pick a cloudy day and head out. I get lost on the way there and of course it is in the middle of nowhere so no GPS/Phone reception. I finally found it and went to the spot where I am sure the other photographer likely stood on another bridge about 50 yards away. However since the first image was made several trees had grown out over the creek blocking the view of the covered bridge. So I found a spot a little closer and one side of the creek and leaned out a bit to get a more centered view. But I really need to be standing mid creek to get the best image but its cold out now and the water looks 3-4 feet deep near the bank. I take my time composing the shot and get everything just the way I think it should work and set the shutter time to 1 sec and Fire. Then I packed everything up so I could go to the next location, but when I got about 1/2 way I realized I did not stop down the shutter so its exposed at f5.6-f8 instead of f45. I pulled the lens out to confirm and headed back to retake the shot. I was careful to set everything back up the same way and triple checked my shutter settings before re-taking the shot and packing up again.

When I decided to process the image a few days later I started with the good one. Set up all the chemistry and had everything ready to go and went to pour in my pre-wash. I opened the top of the tank to do so. About 3 seconds later realized I had removed the entire top of the tank, not just the funnel cover. Processed it anyway and of course it came out fully fogged with no image whatsoever.

So it was time to see if I could salvage the overexposed image. Fortunately I had stopped it down a little to check focus at f8 . So its somewhere in the 5-6 stops over exposed range and the scene was about 5 stops with the dark details planned for around zone 4. I did a rough calculation in my head for my normal 12:30 time minus 40% to 7:30. Then I diluted my trusty Pyrocat-M down to 15:12:1800 (0.83A :0.67B: 100) At 70*. I agitated for the first two minutes as usual, then on the 4 and 2 minute points (counting down from 7:30). Stop and fixed as usual then washed for a good 10 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to see a developed image that was near normal density and color but probably a bit more flat than I would usually get. I am letting it dry and won't know if I truly salvaged it until I print it. Part of the foreground is not in focus due to the shallow depth of field but it is good to know I can recover some images when things go wrong. It may get cropped to 5x8 or maybe even 4x5 in the key area of the image until I can reshoot it.

Then as I was reloading my holders, I pulled the dark slide and noticed that the holder had another sheet already in the holder so I likely loaded two sheets on the same side, so now that piece of film is dead and set aside to use as Fixer tester strips.

My second shot of that day had no issues other than me nearly falling in the creek.

[nolindan]

... since the first image was made several trees had grown out over the creek blocking the view of the covered bridge...

I carry a few lengths of parachute cord with me for tying back offending vegetation while I take the photo.

Was it Fred Picker who got crucified for taking a pair of pruning shears to some twigs? Me, would I ever carry a chain saw? Have I ever wished I had one with me ...

[esearing]

Me, would I ever carry a chain saw? Have I ever wished I had one with me ...

I'll admit I had to "trim" a few bits of brush near the camera by whacking the leaves off. A machete would have been handy.

[Maris Rusis]

I carry a few lengths of parachute cord with me for tying back offending vegetation while I take the photo.

Was it Fred Picker who got crucified for taking a pair of pruning shears to some twigs? Me, would I ever carry a chain saw? Have I ever wished I had one with me ...

Chain saw? Some advice I got years ago was to chainsaw the obstructing trees but make sure the fresh cut surfaces face away from the camera. This saves a lot of spotting later to make things look natural.

[Peter Lewin]

It is reassuring to realize that other photographers also make mistakes! With my 4x5 I have run the gamut. But Mr. Searing's development tank experience reminded me of my most recent with my medium format Rollei6006. I had shot maybe half a roll of Halloween decorations before the camera died, and the repair person suggested I send him the camera body minus the lens and film magazine. There are two sets of releases on the Rollei, one to remove the entire magazine (i.e. you can switch magazines say for B&W and color, mid roll) and another set to open the back to load/unload film. So I "removed" the back, and found myself staring at what sure looked like a partly spooled roll of 120 film. A few curses, closed the back, used the correct release to take off the back (rather than open it), and sent off the camera. If I am really lucky a few exposures already wound on the spool may have something on them other than fog. In reality I will have to wait a year until next Halloween to do it over.

[esearing]

As suspected it is really flat with almost no separation in midtones. I scanned the negative and ran it through photoshop to see what I was up against and had to boost contrast significantly to get a somewhat normal image. I also did not like the angled view from the bank.
Guess I will be reshooting in the spring when I can get into the creek. Overall it was a good learning experience.

Peter - I have pulled the film back out of the camera before I put the dark slide back Or left the shutter open after focusing. I make many mistakes especially when rushed.

[Fred L]

I sometimes open the preview lever vs the shutter cocking lever. wasted 7x17 film gets expensive when I do this haha

[Willie]

As suspected it is really flat with almost no separation in midtones. I scanned the negative and ran it through photoshop to see what I was up against and had to boost contrast significantly to get a somewhat normal image. I also did not like the angled view from the bank.
Guess I will be reshooting in the spring when I can get into the creek. Overall it was a good learning experience.

Peter - I have pulled the film back out of the camera before I put the dark slide back Or left the shutter open after focusing. I make many mistakes especially when rushed.

If you were in the Northern States you would just wait a few more weeks and walk out on the ice for your image. ;-)

As for Fred Picker - the story I heard was he actually cut down or 'topped" the offending trees.

[Vaughn]

I would like to re-make this image, using two 4x10 negatives instead of two 4x5 negatives...though two 5.5"x14" negs would also be sweet. Some limbs have grown across in the last 3 decades or so, but they are 40 feet or so above the slope and difficult to reach. The use of chain saws in State Parks is highly discouraged, also. Although some good heavy rope, a grapple hook, and a come-along might do the trick. Getting down to the base of the tree is rough enough!

Or I'll just work with them...I'll visit the spot this winter.

[esearing]

If you were in the Northern States you would just wait a few more weeks and walk out on the ice for your image. ;-)

Precisely why I do not live in the North.