While going through my boxes of photography gear I came by not one, but two rolls of undeveloped T-Max 400. I had no idea what those rolls contained, or when they had been shot. They had been waiting for me to get around purchasing black and white chemistry. As it was just these two films, I decided that it was time to visit the local photo store.
The clerk at the store was a bit unsure whether there would be any usable frames as I explained that the films could have been shot as long as a decade ago. Fortunately there were good news when I went to pick up the films the next day. Sure, the negatives came out a bit dark, but as I quickly reviewed them on the light table, I could see some good stuff from when I was studying arts some 12 years ago. The other roll was a bit fresher, it had been sitting undeveloped for only five years. The films were shot using my dad’s old Pentax P30.
At home it was time to fire up my trusted Epson ja re-learn how to scan negatives. Recently I had relied on the photo store to scan my negs, but as I was not sure what the photos were exactly about, I wanted some privacy.
Well, there was just one nude and I was the subject. Many frames depicting student life, i.e. partying. I have fond memories of the Halloween party shown in the photos.
The newer roll also had photos of memorable moments from the time my wife and I lived in Suomenlinna sea fortress in front of Helsinki, Finland. There we hosted an independece day celebration for our friends. The party took place a day after my wife and I learned that we were expecting our first child. She drank virgin whiskey colas that night.
As I mentioned before, it’d been a long time since I had scanned negatives myself. The first trial yielded poor results, so I turned to YouTube for tips and tricks. The second round of scanning resulted in much better images with crisper look and better tonal gradation. Sure, the time spent undeveloped was somewhat visible in the frames, but I’d say the results are quite okay. With careful gradation during the scanning progress, I had to do only minimal edits in Lightroom. Most photos I only cropped to taste and removed the most glaring specs of dust.
Share this post:
Comments
Steve Kotajarvi on Mystery Films – Found, Developed and Scanned
Comment posted: 05/12/2024
Geoff Chaplin on Mystery Films – Found, Developed and Scanned
Comment posted: 06/12/2024
Russ Rosener on Mystery Films – Found, Developed and Scanned
Comment posted: 06/12/2024
However these images, particularly the ones of your wife have a much different place. Now they are a document of a very important time in your lives. I hope you will make some prints and keep them in a drawer for your child to see some day.
Jeffery Luhn on Mystery Films – Found, Developed and Scanned
Comment posted: 07/12/2024
What an interesting story about a time capsule! The photo I liked the best was the one of your wife with the antlers. That's a great portrait.
Did it occur to you that your earlier photos show a wilder life that the later ones?
Jeffery