Very, very old photographic film

[Jeff Layman]

Perfect timing...

[Nick Odell]

Yes, FP3.

The route that I researched followed another link which said the film was introduced in 1942 and the reason I suggested it was no younger than 1945 was because of a logo change on the Ilford boxes in that year.

That thought had crossed my mind too. I may enquire further in Bradford at whatever the current name is for the National Media Museum. But I knew I'd find the expertise I was looking for in good old uk.d-i-y!

Thanks,

Nick

[NY]

Handy tip: if you scan any glass negatives on a flat-bed scanner, always put a sheet of (disposable) transparent plastic between the neg and the scanner glass. I got a nasty scratch on my scanner glass when I forgot to do that. And be *very* careful of the emulsion which has a tendency to flake off. My mum was loaned some glass negatives which date from the early 1900s (probably before WWI) and one of them was very dodgy: I decided to photograph that one with a camera, looking at a plain white background, because I didn't trust it on the scanner.

[michael adams]

At one time around 1870 it was thought a good idea to make billiard balls out of nitro-cellulose, branded as celluloid, what with an expanding market for billiard tables and a looming shortage elephants. And while they didn't exactly go up in flames they sometimes generated mild explosions and made a loud crack on contact. From most sources it seems they remained in use at least until after the invention of Bakelite in

1907.

michael adams

...

[Martin Brown]

Ouch - what a shame to lose so much archive material in one go.

[michael adams]

Only if the employee in question is suitably compensated which I very much doubt applies in this case.

Not everybody in life is fortunate enough to work for companies which provide exemplary service to all their customers at all times, with cost being no object. The reason the assistant was unable to explain what had happened or thus apologise was because she was a lowly paid untrained store assistant - as a matter of a company policy, as a result of which doubtless higher management got larger bonuses.

Its the higher management who decided to hire lowly paid untrained assistants who should be doing the apologising, if anyone should.

Why should she have been ? If you want to deal with highly trained staff then you go to a specialist shop and pay the appropriate price. Although obviously in this case there's always a chance they might adopt an even less welcome, condescending air. "With respect, of course your prints are unsatisfactory Sir, as the film was out of date - didn't you realise this Sir ? Here let me show you". Said in as loud a voice as possible for the benefit of any other customer in the shop and his mates out the back.

There's just no pleasing some people is there ?

michael adams

...

[whisky-dave]

Did she ask you whether it was kept at the correct temperature both before exposing and after exposing ? Did you keep it in a warm place perhaps in a car, or on a window ledge or somewhere else. You do know that both exposed and non-exposed film should be kept cool preferable in a fridge.

Corporate responsibility ends when you don't follow manufactures guides.

[newshound]

My late father trained people to blow up tank traps etc. for D-Day. He had some lovely anecdotes about gun-cotton. (He never did say where he learned the trade).

[Cursitor Doom]

GC was one of my more outstandingly successful forays into the world of explosives making way back when I was 13 or 14 and obsessed, along with other boys my age, with such things. It certainly did burn fast: WOOOOOFFF!! - and gone. Easy to see why it was manufactured in vast quantities as a propellant for munitions 100+ years ago. Happy times. :)

[Martin Brown]

You submitted material for processing that had time expired. Colour processing is rather tetchy about that sort of thing. Its not her fault.

She's a sales droid in Boots for heavens sake!

If you wanted it processed to work despite being dodgy you needed to take it to the sort of specialist laboratory that knows how to work around such ageing faults. TBH I can't think of any photo labs that wouldn't just laugh at you using 110 film. Minimum size was 35mm with

6cm or half plate being the norm for most commercial photographic work.

If you still have those negatives digitising them and colour correcting will probably get them back to something like right.

[whisky-dave]

Has the film been stored correctly as in the temerature range (under 15C) some people especially non photogrphers using a cheap cameras might have stored the camera and film on the back shelf of a car in sunlight for a few hours or in any warm envioment, both before exposing and after wxposing, this can easily result in a colour cast or other damage such as contrast. Film should always be kept in a cool dark place bith before and after exposure if possible.

Did she buy it from one of the local chemist or tobaconists that have it on show in the shop window brightly lit and kept warm for weeks on end until it was sold ? I used to keep mine in a metal filling cabinet under the stairs which never went much about 16C even in summer, if I had my way I'd have kept my film stock in the fridge, but my mum thought the fridge was meant to store things like food and drink NOT film :-(

I did store some IR film in the freezer for a couple of months.

Even