Really red Velvia photos

[swmcl]

I have just got six 4x5 Velvia sheets back from the lab that are very, very red. The whole sheet has a distinctly red tone evenly distributed across it. I've seen it before too in other sheets but not in this batch.

These six were shot in the same session using a Kodak Portrait and a Heliar lens.

Other 4x5 sheets from a recent holiday are more normal. So the processors may not be at fault.

Has anyone seen this before? Is it because these sheets were left out of the fridge after shooting? Was it the lenses?

Is it possible that older uncoated lenses let through a bunch more IR or something?

Is it because the processors happened to get these exact six sheets and processed them in a bath at the wrong temp??

Thoughts appreciated.

[Denis Pleic]

You have loaded the film backwards into the film holders, and exposed them through the back film layer

I've had a case exactly like that with a colleague recently (whose 4x5 slides were exactly like yours), and it took me about 5 minutes leafing through JOBO documentation and troubleshooting list to come up with the explanation.

My colleague claimed he's loaded the film properly, but after some double-checking it turned out the he didn't

This is the only possible explanaion for slide (E6) film in sheets which turn out red throughout (as if shot through strong red filter, and also somewhat underexposed...).

HTH,

Denis

[Lachlan 717]

This is the only possible explanaion for slide (E6) film in sheets which turn out red throughout (as if shot through strong red filter, and also somewhat underexposed...).

Isn't another explanation if the film had, in fact, been shot through a strong red filter?

Seriously, though, if loaded back to front, wouldn't a simple check be that the image is back to front when viewed?

[Denis Pleic]

Isn't another explanation if the film had, in fact, been shot through a strong red filter?

Seriously, though, if loaded back to front, wouldn't a simple check be that the image is back to front when viewed?

Lachlan, I presumed the original poster would have known that he shot Velvia through a red filter on the lens

OTOH, regarding the simple check for inverted (mirrored) image, it's not always that obvious at first glance, particularly if you don't have e.g. signs or any kind of text in the image... However, a closer look should prove that indeed the film has been loaded backwards...

[swmcl]

Hi Denis,

Your theory sounds plausible! They are photos of me and my family and another family. No text visible. I wonder how to determine whether the film was loaded incorrectly ...

I do struggle with how this might have happened but I have made lots of mistakes so this one would just be another on the list!!

And 'No' there wasn't a red filter on the lens!!!

Rgds,

[DKirk]

Hi Denis,

Your theory sounds plausible! They are photos of me and my family and another family. No text visible. I wonder how to determine whether the film was loaded incorrectly ...

Does any one wear a watch that is visible in the images?

[rdenney]

Does any one wear a watch that is visible in the images?

There are lots of ways. Check anyone who parts their hair on one side, or whose do is otherwise asymmetrical. Check the buttons on shirts.

But it's easy to look through the processed transparency backwards to correct what looks wrong without realizing it.

Rick "who hasn't made this mistake, but has made all the rest" Denney

[Denis Pleic]

Hi Steve,

No text visible. I wonder how to determine whether the film was loaded incorrectly ...

You have to look at the slides so that the edge markings (the yellow "Fuji" text and those numbers on the edge) appear in correct orientation (not inverted - that means you're looking at the slides from the back).
Then try to remember the arrangement of the people when the photos were taken,e.g. if you have 2-3 people in the photo, try to remember who was on the left or right... Or, if the photo has any landmark or identifiable surroundings, try to see if the orientation is "mirrored" - e.g. a road that should be on the left is on the right, stuff like that.

If the photos were e.g. taken in the backyard, see if the orientation is mirrored (e.g. a shed which in reality is to the left of the fence now appears on the right....). There must be some identifiable fixed object in the photo, if you can't remember the left-to-right order of the people you photographed.

[Harold_4074]

Women's clothing usually buttons right-over-left, while men's clothing is (in my experience) always left-over-right.

Now, whether or not you want anyone to know that you are looking that closely at the women's clothes is another matter...

[dave_whatever]

Surely if the film had been shot the wrong way round, through the anti-halation layer, wouldn't you also expect them to me massively underexposed?