Film Stories: Forgotten and Found again Film
Josh Harmon
This is a new series that I am keen to start where I share stories about my journey with film photography. Things that would normally be fun little tangents about lost film, failed attempts at techniques, or even stupid mistakes I’ve made that I think deserve to be shared.
Grafton Natatorium at Principia College, Spring 2014
It’s been a long minute since I’ve sent film to the lab to be processed. Honestly it’s been a while since I’ve even developed any film for myself. This year and the recent odd times have certainly skewed my perception of time and creativity. So it was a great surprise when I was gathering together a batch to send to the lab that I found a mystery roll deep in my freezer.
Path to Crafton, Spring 2014
The main portion of the batch was two rolls I had shot while visiting Missouri for a close friend’s wedding. Normally I prefer waiting until I have at least 5+ rolls before mailing off to the lab for processing however I have found a great local lab that is only a 15 minute casual bike ride away (shoutout to Oscar’s Photo Lab in San Francisco!).
With the two rolls ready I felt that I must have at least another roll floating somewhere around my apartment that I had neglected. After hunting through old camera bags, dresser drawers, and under my bed I came up empty. Going a step further I opened up one of my stashes of film in the freezer and found a lone exposed 35mm roll of 80s era Kodacolor Gold II. Three is a company so I rode over and dropped off the film to be processed.
Much to my surprise when I picked up the processed rolls that old mystery roll had images on it! (Also Oscar’s had a one day turnaround since I timed their processing cycle perfectly!). The film was very fogged with the normally orange base closer to a deep muddy brown. My basic light table wasn’t even bright enough to see what the images were of but holding up to the sun I could make them out.
Radford Art Studio, Spring 2014
Fortunately I was able to scan them in quite easily with my usual Epson v500 setup in my apartment. After seeing a few of the images come in I realized the roll was from around early 2014 - so about six years old. The photos were from around my college campus which helped me date things a bit. If I remember correctly I was testing out a Canon AE-1 (not mine) that was donated to my school’s camera club. This would explain why I was using such an expired roll. The grain is quite pronounced and the colors muted and green-is skewed. Nothing that I terribly mind or can’t be corrected in Lightroom.
The whole idea of discovering these forgotten rolls is actually one of joys of working with film. This isn’t the first such rolls I’ve “forgotten” and later rediscovered, nor is it the first I’ve dug out of the deep freeze. I can think of four other instances (probably more) where I’ve been scrounging up rolls to only find a spare floating in a camera bag or in the back of my sock drawer (I used to keep exposed 120 rolls there for some reason).
Christmas day 2015 - My dad unwrapping gifts
The most important of these forgotten rolls was one I discovered last year. In a similar context as above I was hunting for lone exposed rolls to fill up a batch to be sent to the lab. This time I was looking for exposed rolls of slide film and came across the last of my Fuji Provia 400x 35mm rolls. Having no idea what was on it (if anything), when it was shot, or even with which camera I tossed it into the mailer and waited to get it back from the lab. When I received my processed film back, and much to my surprise, it was from Christmas day 2015.
Christmas day 2015 - My grandmother enjoying her gifts she’s unwrapping
Ordinarily such family occasions are nice to look at and use for creating photo albums or dresser top framed photos - however that Christmas was very special and dear to me. It was the last full family occasion with my late Father and Grandmother who passed the following year. It was a window into a normal family gathering that I had thought to be long lost.
The moment I saw the slides it brought me back - I was using my Mom’s old Canon AE-1 and experimenting shooting slides on long expired Fuji Provia 400x. I was sitting in the corner of our old family room and catching reaction shots of everyone as they unwrapped their gifts. I can remember the taste of coffee and cinnamon rolls on my breath and the joy of seeing the excitement of my family open the gifts I had gotten them. At the time I had just moved out and was working my first real job - meaning I was able to get everyone proper gifts without having to ask my parents for money. It was a special day.
The tangibility of film adds another dimension to connecting an image to an emotion or memory. Much like combining a hand signal and verbal command while training a dog (I know weird analogy) the physical nature of film lends an extra connection to a moment in time.
Unintentional multiple exposure - Not sure exactly how this happened but it does have a not unpleasant look to it.
While I don’t plan on leaving spare exposed rolls lying around they sometimes just disappear. And I look forward to finding them as a time capsule or even machine to a moment that once happened but can now be replayed. Nostalgia is tricky and easy to fall into but it is a comfortable window to occasionally peer through and enjoy from a distance. I look forward to rediscovering these forgotten rolls and enjoying one of the more unique aspects of shooting film.