I Need to Ventilate

[Peter]

Today I went to my neighbourhood Kodak shop to get my processed XP2 negatives, only to reach there to be called aside by the boss so that he could apologise to me that his staff has ruined all of it due to wrong settings to the machine! I went back home with 3 rolls of ruined smudged sticky negatives and when I reviewed them under the light-box, there are a dozen gems! My agonised scream brought my wife to the study, only to walk after she saw that I was reviewing negatives! I need to share this with you guys as this is just too terrible to bear alone! :bang:

 

[Gordon Coale]

I had a friend that wrote a regular feature for a local newspaper. On the morning of his deadline he couldn't find the article that he needed to turn in. He searched in vain for two hours. Then he had an epiphany: he could have written another piece in that same time.

Don't sweat the lost ones. You can always make more pictures. Unless, of course, it's a wedding.

 

[Terence T]

Sorry to hear about the episode Peter, hope they weren't the Vesak Day shots. I just had an episode with my regular lab too. Lab assistant decided to cut my panoramic negatives in regular sized frames. She snipped the first 2 strips before realising her mistake. I got the strips back, all taped back together... talk about fixing the problem. I can only laugh about it.

 

[Peter]

Thanks guys for the consolations! Those were not the Vesak Day shots but the ones from Lim Chu Kang end, the farms and Botanic Garden. Really difficult places to go and not to mention the light was perfect! Talk about rotten luck!

 

[Peter]

The only consolations I have at the moment is that I have another week of leave, which I could go out to shoot daily and the 28mm Book that features 4 of my work is going to be published soon!

http://www.28mm.org/thebook/preview/

 

[peter_n]

Peter I know how you feel. I came back from vacation in Europe recently and with much trepidation gave about 15 rolls of film to a local pro lab. Fortunately everything was OK but I spent the whole day worrying. Some of these trips you just can't replicate... My commiserations to you. 🙁

 

[ray_g]

Sorry about the bad luck, Peter. I hope they gave you new rolls of XP2. Now you know how Capa felt about his D-day photos...

 

[Terence T]

Sorry about the bad luck, Peter. I hope they gave you new rolls of XP2. Now you know how Capa felt about his D-day photos...

Yeah, our snapshots are really as important as shots from the first wave to hit Omaha Beach. 🙂

 

[Honu-Hugger]

Terribly sorry, Peter. It happened here a couple years back with some 220 film of a Lunar Eclipse (next one is in ~80 years)...processor gave me some free film and said "at least it wasn't a wedding." A wedding would have been easier to reenact than the eclipse!😀 Sorry for your loss and good luck with future shots.

 

[Peter]

At least the lab did not charge me anything for spoiling the negatives! But they could not compensate me with 3 rolls of XP2 as they do not have it in stock! I guess I know how Capa felt, he must be on the verge of administering physical discomfort on the hapless technician! That was how I felt!

 

[doubs43]

I understand your frustrations and I hope the "Boss" of the shop did more than apologize. At the very LEAST he should have given you three - or more - rolls of the same film..... or better. They should have been 36 exposures AND with free processing too!

Gordon has given good advice too; put the loss behind you and go make more images that are true gems.

Walker

 

[Peter]

Yeah, our snapshots are really as important as shots from the first wave to hit Omaha Beach. 🙂

Very important indeed! 😛

 

[nwcanonman]

Congrats on the upcoming book!
The film lab though; as long as we are human, mistakes will happen. And life goes on ~ ; - )

 

[taffer]

In fact... Capa specified that the responsible of the disaster with his negatives shouldn't be punished in any way... or he would quit working for them.

Or that's what his biography/legend says...

But Gordon has given you probably the best advice you could hear, so, keep shootin' my friend 🙂

 

[Peter]

I will keep shooting alright! I am on a week's leave and I could shoot everyday!

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

That's what I fear: the dreaded "death of film" won't be due to the "digital revolution", but due to the incompetent lab managers trying to save a buck by hiring incapable fast-food fodder to handle developing and printing machines.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Picture opportunities most often come only once in a lifetime. I've been there. Ah feel yoh pain. 🙁

 

[Pherdinand]

Well, that sucks! However the 28mm book looks very nice.

 

[rover]

The worst I ever got was that my processor couldn't get a roll to print without a magenta cast. They gave me the prints for free and I went home and scanned the negs without a problem.

Sorry about your bad luck Peter. We all have lost something by not being able to see this work of yours.

 

[nickchew]

Peter

Me thinks it's a conspiracy. The evil empire of the Digital Side wants to recruit all lab assistants to secretly ruin all negatives of good photos taken with an RF. (They won't bother with lousy photographers or SLRs cos they'll die a natural death anyway) Looks like they got to your Kodak shop already... better scout for another uncompromised shop.

Nick

 

[Peter]

Thanks guys for listening! It is good to share one's pain with his peers (group therapy) but it is bad to develop paranoid delusion! 😛