A single comment about my light leaks changed how I load film

Someone on a forum pointed out that my light leaks were all in the same spot on the frame, and it took me six months to realize I was pinching the film canister wrong. I now check the foam seal on my camera back before every roll. Anyone else have a silly mistake they didn't catch for ages?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkernelson18h ago

I had a buddy back in college who shot medium format. He kept getting these weird crescent shaped marks on his film. For like eight months he thought it was a light leak or a shutter problem. Sent his camera to a repair shop twice, spent like 200 bucks. Turned out he was just popping the film slide out too fast and it was scratching the emulsion before exposure. The guy at the shop finally showed him by doing it slow and smooth. After that he even started breathing on the slide to make it come out easier. Did your film loading habit change overnight once you figured it out?

rodriguez.cora2d ago

That foam seal thing is a good habit to get into. For me, it was a whole different kind of mistake. I spent a year blaming my camera's shutter for these weird soft spots on my negatives. Turned out I was just touching the film with my sweaty fingers when I was loading it into the tank. The oils from my skin were blocking the developer from reaching the emulsion. What a dummy move. Now I wear those cheap white cotton gloves for everything, even just opening a new roll.