I'm heartbroken. Is my exposed film ruined for good?

krawn

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Hey guys.

I'm really new to film and was handed down an old Nikon FG.
I took maybe 15 pictures on a roll a few months ago. One of the pictures I wanted to give a Christmas present this year so I went to go get it developed. When I was taking out the film, I thought I had rewound it, but I had actually wound it to the beginning again, so when I opened the camera the film was still in place. I freaked out, closed it up and wound it the other way. I didn't want to make it worse (if I still had a chance at that point) so I took it to a local lab to get them processed.

I explained what happened to the guy there and he took it back to the darkroom to remove it.
They developed them and I only got 2 photos out of it. One of them was half washed in white, I assume from me opening the back of the camera. Of course, neither picture was the one I was hoping for.

I'm devastated for sure. It was a really special picture I was hoping to salvage out of this.
I know there's probably nothing I can do, but I thought I'd ask people who know what they're talking about.
Is there any worth in getting the roll processed somewhere else? Like a second opinion on how many could have been saved? Or do I trust that there's nothing to be done?

Thanks for your time.
 
Not sure I understand how you wound up your film. If you spooled it back to the beginning, that would have been the correct way to go. All your film is suppose to end up inside the hard case where it would be sealed from light. From your wording or my mis understanding it sounds like you rolled correctly then opened it and then proceeded to roll it the opposite way. Just a little confused.

But if its already developed, thats it. Sorry you lost your photos :(

Thats always a hard thing to accept when it comes to film.
 
Once the roll is processed, there is nothing more to do. It sounds to me as if the roll didn't actually go through the camera as you thought. If the leader is not firmly started on the take-up spool, then it will snap out and not advance to each succeeding frame (i.e.: 24 or 36 frames).

So now; is there any way you can re-create the photograph you want to give for a present?
 
Not sure I understand how you wound up your film. If you spooled it back to the beginning, that would have been the correct way to go. All your film is suppose to end up inside the hard case where it would be sealed from light. From your wording or my mis understanding it sounds like you rolled correctly then opened it and then proceeded to roll it the opposite way. Just a little confused.

But if its already developed, thats it. Sorry you lost your photos :(

Thats always a hard thing to accept when it comes to film.


Thanks for your reply. What I meant was basically, I wound it the wrong way. It looked like what I would assume it would look like if you were one of your last pictures for the roll and opened the back of the camera. Since the entire roll had not been used, there was room for me to roll it the wrong way and not realize that's what I was doing, only to open it and find out. It was all wound around the spool.

Anyway, I thank you again. It was really painful.. Mostly just because I know how sensitive this stuff is and I can't believe I made such a silly mistake. I felt like I'd never want to shoot with film again. I'm starting to come to terms now though. Live and learn, right? :)
 
Ok thats makes much more sense. Its a learning process and we all make silly mistakes even after years of shooting. It happens but you have to just learn from it and push forward. Think about re-creating your shot if you can and you may even be able to make it better by re-shooting. I hate to re-shoot but every time I have, its always been better than the first go around.
 
Once the roll is processed, there is nothing more to do. It sounds to me as if the roll didn't actually go through the camera as you thought. If the leader is not firmly started on the take-up spool, then it will snap out and not advance to each succeeding frame (i.e.: 24 or 36 frames).

So now; is there any way you can re-create the photograph you want to give for a present?


Hi, thanks so much for your response. Like I mentioned in my above reply, since I hadn't used up the whole roll, I suppose there was room for me to be winding it the wrong way and not realizing anything was wrong - until I opened it up.
This has been quite a learning experience. I was very mad with myself. There isn't a way to recreate it, as we were on a trip :( But, I might get an opportunity before the holidays to shoot and get another picture to use as a gift. So, on I go. Thanks for your support. I GUESS there's something a bit beautiful about the fragility of film and the fact that something lost is gone forever. It's just been a hard pill to swallow coming over here from the digital world.
 
Ok thats makes much more sense. Its a learning process and we all make silly mistakes even after years of shooting. It happens but you have to just learn from it and push forward. Think about re-creating your shot if you can and you may even be able to make it better by re-shooting. I hate to re-shoot but every time I have, its always been better than the first go around.

Super encouraging. I will now. Thank you.
 
O.K., so you're kind of new to film, and there is a learning curve. Here is what you need to do EVERY TIME. start the roll on the take-up spool - make sure it is well hooked in. Carefully close the back till it latches. Carefully wind the rewind handle until you feel some slight resistance.

THEN and only then, advance the film to the first shot using the film advance lever. shoot at nothing, as this first frame is already overexposed, and you will not get a picture. Advance the film again, while watching the rewind handle go around. If the handle goes around, then that means you have the film attached to the take-up spool, and you can shoot one more frame on the leader. It probably will not make a picture on that one either, so just shoot at nothing in particular.

NOW you are ready to go shooting. When the last of the film is on the take-up spool, you will feel some resistance and it will not advance any more film. THEN you press the rewind release and wind all of the film back into the canister. This will take several cranks of the handle, but keep on cranking until you feel the film pull off the take-up spool, and you will feel all resistance disappear. That means all of the film is now inside the canister and you can safely open the back.
 
O.K., so you're kind of new to film, and there is a learning curve. Here is what you need to do EVERY TIME. start the roll on the take-up spool - make sure it is well hooked in. Carefully close the back till it latches. Carefully wind the rewind handle until you feel some slight resistance. ............

I prefer to turn the rewind knob back tight before I close the back. If you close the back and turn the rewind knob, you may end up rewinding the film back into the cassette before you realize you haven't felt any resistance.
 
The 2 shots you go were they your first shots ?
Thinking about it now, the one that came out fine was just before the ones I wanted. And the ones I wanted were some of the last ones I took. The guy at the store said it looks like I exposed the exact part I had taken pictures on. Sigh. It's not my day.
 

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