Rolls shot, but never processed ...

[dmr]

The Vivian Maier thread(s) got me thinking (yes, dangerous, I know ...) about rolls of film which are shot but never processed, and how many of us do this, or rather don't do it ...

How many rolls, over the duration of your photographic lifetime, have you shot but never (had) processed?

 

[ruby.monkey]

At last count (looks over shoulder) - about twenty rolls of 35mm, and ten rolls of 120 - all colour, and all waiting to be sent off for development (as they have been for almost the last six months 😱).

Sad to think that I went to all the trouble of exposing them, and then just forgot about them. Time to clear the backlog, methinks.

 

[nikon_sam]

In my lifetime ???
I would venture to guess that that is a very small number compared to the rolls shot and developed...
Knowingly not developed maybe 30 to 40 rolls...lost rolls(???) maybe 10 to 15...

Now how many rolls developed over the last 30+ years...I don't think I want to know...

 

[ibcrewin]

I have 3 rolls of 120 astia on my desk here at work. 1 neopan 1600, 2 tmax 100, and 4 tmax 400's in various cans. I need to get some fresh fixer..

 

[sevo]

It will run up to the odd percent or so - often a project sheds some unprocessed roll of extra shots that does not get finished until I determine that I have all I need and will not alter the portfolio or presentation any more. Usually I don't waste time and money on their processing, so that these left-overs end up in some drawer in case I alter my mind, and only get processed when I need material to test some developer on.

 

[jan normandale]

Right now I've got about 15 rolls of BW, C41 and a couple of E6. They've been waiting for about 6 months. The pile started at about 60 rolls. So I've chipped away at a lot of it. Eventually all film is developed, it just takes time.

I wonder if Vivian Maier would have developed her film given the money and time. I think she would have. Just my opinion based on the fact it was clearly her normal practice to get her negs developed. I suspect she just needed some of those two resources to undertake the outstanding developing.

I know my images won't go bad so I'm never rushed to develop them. I do it when it's convenient to me or ship them out when I have funds available for the C41 and E6

How big is your stash DMR? ;D

FWIW: I started with 75 rolls of 120 and 135 plus 50 sheets of 4x5

 

[xwhatsit]

Maybe 10, 12 rolls of C41 sitting around for the last 6 or 9 months. Just about to spend three weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia, going to take some more colour with me, in 120 format too. When I get back I'm going to get a C41 kit and develop the lot in one hit.

I'm very prompt developing my own B&W, it's just the thought of having to ride out somewhere, take my rolls in, pay good money for somebody else to do it (who probably hasn't much of a care), when I could do it myself very cheaply and probably better.

 

[DabCan10]

I've got 10 rolls of BW to be processed. Most of them were from last October/November while I was in Europe. I've been home for some time now but lack of funds meant no money for chemicals. Got some the other day with some Christmas money so will be working on the backlog over the next few weeks.

 

[sleepyhead]

In 1995 I shot a roll on my old Rolleiflex that sat in the fridge for 10 years before I was emotionally ready to process it.
It had some "saying goodbye" pictures with someone I loved and was leaving.
I still have never scanned or printed any of those negs.
As Leonard Cohen said:
"I've loved a lot of people,
Some too much,
But most too little."

 

[sc_rufctr]

I had a roll of exposed colour film in my fridge for 3 years.
I put it in there a few days before my ex wife and I separated... There is sat through the divorce and lengthy property settlement.

So the house was sold and I bought another near the beach. The film stayed in the fridge during the move.
Some time passed and every time I opened the fridge I could see that roll sitting in the door shelf.

Somehow it didn't seem right to develop it... Weird I know.

Anyways... I finally got it done. The pics were of my ex and our children at a family get together at my ex in-laws house.
Except for my kids I felt like I was looking at strangers. Life always goes on. 🙂

 

[dmr]

How big is your stash DMR? ;D

My stash of exposed undeveloped rolls? None, zip, nada.

 

[jan normandale]

@ DMR.. glad to know you're on top of the game. I may make you my film role model ;D
BTW & OT... still scanning with the KM IV?

 

[dmr]

@ DMR.. glad to know you're on top of the game. I may make you my film role model ;D

Well, from the answers which have come in, it appears, as I expected, that the hoarding of exposed undeveloped film is the exception and not the rule. 🙂

BTW & OT... still scanning with the KM IV?

Uh-huh, it's 5 years old and still running strong. {knocking on wood}

Fortunately my "media PC" is still running, and I'm not sure what I'll do when I have to "upgrade" to the newer Windows. I understand that the SD IV software will not run on those. I may have to go with Silverfast or something.

 

[NickTrop]

This is a big downside of film - as much as I like it, if you shoot a lot. Rolls begin to amass, then processing for color becomes a real money hit, or black and white development a time-consuming real chore. The alternative is not to process, which is a waste of money and a real shame. It's one of the reasons I switched to mostly digital now.

 

[GSNfan]

^Had it been easy, everyone would be an artist-photographer.

 

[anitasanger]

I have about 30 rolls of tri-x. Some are as old as 6 years, some of the others I don't know how old they are. I also have about 20 rolls of advantix from about 10-14 years back. Do they even still process advantix? I also have a few disposable cameras that I have no clue what they were used for. Welcome to the world of an extreme case ADHD adult. On the bright side, I broke out the gear and processed about 12 rolls last week!