Why do my first developed film photos have white fog, dark frames, and colored streaks?
Asked 6/22/2020
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I shot my first roll of Fujicolor C200 in an Olympus OM-10. After development, several frames are very dark, some are blurry, many have a white fog along the bottom, and one frame has orange/colored streaks. I also lost some shots: the advance lever stopped and the frame counter showed “S,” even though I thought there were exposures left. I refrigerated the exposed film, let it warm up, then put it back in the fridge before processing. Could that have caused the fog, or is this more likely a camera problem? How can I prevent it next time?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
15
The orange veil to the right of the last image is a common effect of light fogging. In fact, I've seen that many times on the first frame of 35mm when I started exposing without winding enough frames first.
The white fog might be a different sort of light leak, perhaps due to the shutter not being completely closed when you advance film and cock the camera.s The very dark frames might be due to a metering problem, or could be operator error. Overall, however, I think it's pretty safe to say that your camera needs service.
Originally by user89902. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user89902
6y ago
0
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The refrigerator is unlikely to be the cause. What you describe points more to camera/handling issues, especially light leaks or a camera that needs service.
From the examples described:
- The orange/colored streaking is consistent with light fogging.
- White fog along one edge/bottom can also be a light leak, possibly while advancing film if the shutter isn’t fully closed.
- Very dark frames could be exposure/metering problems or user error.
If the frame counter returned to “S” and the advance stopped unexpectedly, the film may not have been loaded or transported correctly for part of the roll, which can also explain missing frames.
How to prevent it:
- Have the OM-10 checked/serviced, especially for shutter and light-seal issues.
- Make sure film is loaded correctly and fully advances before shooting.
- Wind on enough at the start so the first exposed frame isn’t partially fogged.
- Keep unprocessed film away from strong X-ray/airport scanners when possible and request hand inspection.
So: cooling/refrigerating the exposed film probably wasn’t the main issue; the camera likely needs attention.
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