12 frames of expired Kodak TMAX 400 B&W film shot through a Mamiya C330 back in May 2021.
As I’ve noted here before, buying and shooting expired film is a crapshoot. If you’re not the original owner of the film then you have zero idea where it’s been before and how it was taken care of. Sometimes it’s in great shape, sometimes it’ll shift colors or become more grainy, even cloudy. With medium format film you’ve got an extra problem: the backing paper.
This film was several years old when I bought 10 rolls of TMAX100, 10 rolls of TMAX400 and 5 rolls of TRI-X400 from the shop at $2/ea. I knew it was going to be rough shooting with it because each box was labeled in large block letters “TEST ONLY” – but at $2 a roll, I figured I’d just have some fun with it.
The film had definitely been mistreated – you can see how the words and numbers on the backing paper bled into the film. This is particularly noticeable on the 7th frame – they show up in different spots on each frame due to the purpose of those words/numbers acting as guides on older cameras that didn’t have an automatic stopping mechanism for the winder. On those cameras the photographer takes the shot, then looks through this tiny tinted window on the back of the camera – as they wind the film to the next frame they have to look for the number of that frame to show up in the window, then stop winding. Newer (or more expensive) medium format cameras stop winding when they get to the next frame without the need for the numbers on the backing paper.
They were obviously not stored properly – maybe in a room with inconsistent temperature control, maybe left in a car in the heat, maybe they took a trip through an x-ray scanner at the airport. At any rate, they weren’t old enough to have just degraded this much naturally.
Shooting it was still fun.
Photos are still beautiful.
The model is still beautiful.
She asks to remain anonymous and mysterious.
Paul Sammak says
Beautiful work!
rustypants says
Thanks, Paul! She is always fun to shoot with and very versatile in front of the camera. I decided not to edit these at all since the bleed-through is so profound and I didn’t see the sense in printing them. But they are still gorgeous pics!
Blake Dieters says
Love the profile shadow in the first frame.
rustypants says
Agreed – having the light in just the right spot made for a great profile, not to mention deeper shadows on the rest of her body, too!
Ash says
Each shot is brilliant and the model is an absolute rockstar for her poise is perfect for this kind of shooting .