What's Gone Wrong

mata.morrison

mata.morrison

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Matthew
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Hi guys, I'm not in here that often as I hardly shoot film. Infact this is only my second roll in 3 years, I just got it developed locally last week and just scanned the negatives and this is what i have (just a few from the roll) What are all these artefacts and anything I can do to get rid?

Shot on Kodak 200 and Canon AV-1, the first film I got done 2 years ago did not have any of the artefacts at all.

Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
Film Shots by M+M Morrison, on Flickr

I love the shots but the artefacts just ruin them :(
 
How do the negatives look? Put them against your monitor and use a lens as as loupe and see if you can see the artefacts on the emulsion.
 
Looks like watermarks/drying marks to me... someone who knows will be along in a minute, and tell you if so, and how to rewash them etc...
 
It looks like fungus to me I'm afraid, especially the tendrils on the last one.
Very, very difficult to get rid of. Leaving the camera on a sunny window shelf can sometimes help, but no guarantees.
Not familiar with the camera, so cant say if you can dismantle to clean.
 
Just had a look at the camera, try another lens to see if it is the same.
If not, then fungus is in the lens.

EDIT-
Just downloaded the image and magnified it.
Definately fungus!
 
Last edited:
Fungus in the lens wouldn't resolve as a image like this, fungus on the film might.
 
It might be fungus on the film itself (unlikely, since you've just devved it by the sound of things). Fungus on a lens would not show up like this - it would be utterly out of focus and normally just reduces contrast a little. No idea what it is, but it's not fungus in the lens or camera.

EDIT: great minds and all that eh Steven!
 
The whitish ones do look like water marks to me. I agree that the tendrils do look like fungus but fungus on the lens wouldn't be in focus on the film. The yellowish specks look like some crud on the negative. I think you have strong grounds for complaint against the processor if it's on the film. I see that you have scanned them yourself - is it perhaps dust in your scanner, I wonder?
 
TheGreatSoprendo said:
It might be fungus on the film itself (unlikely, since you've just devved it by the sound of things). Fungus on a lens would not show up like this - it would be utterly out of focus and normally just reduces contrast a little. No idea what it is, but it's not fungus in the lens or camera.

EDIT: great minds and all that eh Steven!
Click to expand...

Never thought of that, you could be right!
 
OK well will try and check them out later on. I can't try another lens as I only have one to fit at the moment. Also the film was loaded into the camera over a year ago and was then a photo taken just every so often until I finished it last week. Will have to check the scanner for bit but it is literally brand new out of the box (Canonscan 8800f)

As you can imagine I really don't want to spend any more money into this at the moment until I can nail down what's caused this as it's more of a hobby and I have my Fuji X-E1 takign care of my digital stuff.

Many thanks!
 
Wash the neg and hang to dry in the bathroom and scan again.
 
Well I just gave the scanner a wipe (with my sleeve haha) and tried again. I noticed that I was scanning at 2400dpi and reduce to 1200dpi (should this make a difference?) these are the before at 2400 and after at 1200

IMG_0024 by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
IMG_0035 by M+M Morrison, on Flickr

So big difference... so when I get time tomorrow I will try re-scanning the others and see if the results follow suit (that would be amazing!)
 
Scanning at 1200 rather than 2400 wouldn't affect the marks. If I've understood the sequence correctly, you only wiped the scanner before making the 1200 dpi scan? On that basis, my best guess is that it's a dirty scanner that's the problem, and it would be best if you used an anti static cloth to wipe it, rather than risk giving it an electrostatic charge from your sleeve to make the glass more atractive to any dust in the air. Some marks seem unaffected, and I'd guess that they are dust on the negative.
 
Great will try that when I get hold of one tomorrow. I did notice a few marks have passed through both pictures so will look at the negatives too.

Regarding DPI any benefits at scanning at 2400? What would you recommend (I just chose that as it was 'in the middle' of my range)

Many thanks again
 
If the film has been in the camera for a year, and if there are fungal spores inside the camera or lens (which is a given....they are everywhere), and the conditions were right for growth (dark, damp) I suppose it is possible that there has been some fungal growth on the film - those strands in the final shot at the seaside certainly do look a bit like fungal growth. You'd see it on the negative though, if you can put it against a light source or window and magnify somehow.

I'm not sure how that explains the other marks though - they could be something different (eg from poor processing).

Having re-read what you're saying, the scanner is brand new out of the box, so it's not likely to be crud on the scanner glass.
 
Thanks guys yous have been great! Will update yous tomorrow when I get a bit more time to spend scanning through/ checking again.

Cheers
 
Morning guys a wee update, all sorted (except a few minor dust spots on the negs, but I can live with that)

IMG_0030 by M+M Morrison, on Flickr
IMG_0010 by M+M Morrison, on Flickr

Many thanks for all your help on this :) So I will keep shooting away now confidently that it was me that screwed up and not the gear/local developer! :runaway:
 
Oops! I knew I had forgotten to write something! It was just a good clean of the scanner with a proper cloth. Also I didn't upload but the weird fungus looking stuff from the blue beach shot disappeared too. Goes to show just because a scanner comes out of a box new doesn't mean its clean!
 
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