Throwing away your negs?

[Rayt]

I have so many negs I am beginning to throw stuff out. Back in the days when I shot Kodachrome I only kept the keepers and recycled the rest so storage space was never an issue. But when I started shooting b/w I had the compulsion to keep the entire roll in a Printfile in binders often with the contact sheet somewhere. After so many years I have too much binders. Why save every frame? Why not just keep the the good shots or at least a 5 frame strip? I actually had the idea of mounting on a slide mount that one shot for storage since I only scan now anyway and the chances of ever printing them in the darkroom is zilch. I would like to reduce all my key negs to just one binder so if my house burns down I can just grab that one thing.

 

[Godfrey]

I scan everything I shoot on film now and then shred the negatives. The scans are my originals. No point to saving the film any more.

G

 

[V-12]

I hang on to mine on the basis of 'never say never'. One day I may have space for a new wet darkroom, or one day the ultimate (affordable) film scanner may be manufactured. And throwing negatives away also throws away experience and learning. If a negative is scanned it may be the perfect scan, but it doesn't really show what the negative was like, if it could have done with more or less development and such like. So you don't have reference point's any more, they are all in the bin.

And for the people who throw their negs away but keep only a few, or just scan a few, I can't help but think you haven't been making photographs long enough the experience the process of re-evaluation. What you didn't like then may be exactly what you like now, but you just threw away all your latent work, waiting to be re-discovered, perhaps to make you famous, rich, or just satisfied in your old age.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I wouldn't even consider throwing out my films. Ever. And I have a huge file cabinet full of them.

 

[eliev]

I keep all my negatives. Easier than scanning them and having to transfer all my files to a new hard drive every three years.

 

[Photo_Smith]

I keep al my films in sleeves in ring binders. I can with my index system lay my hands on negs in less than 30 seconds

Throwing away negatives is just plain daft; they are your original/Raw files. However well you think you've scanned them you can do better later as new technologies emerge. Without negs I can't get wet prints in the future either so why paint yourself in an unnecessary corner?

To the person who says his scans are 'originals' he's wrong. Even if drum scanned they are limited quality copies they are not originals of any kind.
Just shoot digital, don't throw the baby out with the bath water!

 

[igore]

My disc crashed some year a go, with no backup (i have huge back up today), but was left only with films, no digital files. They were gone, since then I protect my films even more.

 

[kiemchacsu]

I NEVER trash the negatives. One of the reasons I like film is the tangibility.

 

[Fraser]

Sometimes I just process have a quick look then store my negs away for future use. Just roll them up stick them in a box up the attic. I always hope that my great grandchildren find them and they will be more interested in the everyday pics.

 

[Ezzie]

No, I do not throw out negatives. Will never do so either. In Printfile binders they do not occupy that much space to be of a nuisance.

 

[charjohncarter]

No, I do not throw out negatives. Will never do so either. In Printfile binders they do not occupy that much space to be of a nuisance.

I have negatives from the fifties, and even some from my father from the thirties in PrintFiles. I started in the sixties and the negatives are still perfect: no damage. And you are right they take up very little room. Besides I'm always misplacing digital files and can never find them when I want.

 

[ath]

Why not just keep the the good shots [...]

Because my standard for "good" changes. Some pictures need time - or is it me who needs time? Anyway, I keep them all.

 

[kshapero]

I scan everything I shoot on film now and then shred the negatives. The scans are my originals. No point to saving the film any more.

G

Sounds smart but you are scaring me.😱

 

[Sparrow]

I've always liked the idea the kids will have to make more than one trip to the tip, when I kick the preverbal ... so I keep all the buggers

 

[Calzone]

Decades ago I went to art school and shot lots of B&W. When I was married my wife objected to having all these shots of other women from my past and I more or less was forced to throw away all my negatives.

Next purge happened after I got divorced...

Now that I'm old I wish I had kept all my old negatives from the college years, but I'm o.k. with getting rid of the wife.

Cal

 

[newsgrunt]

would NEVER throw away my negs. Not least of all after scanning them unless one has access to an Imacon and plenty of redundant off site storage. nah, will just stick to never...

 

[Vics]

I have four four-drawer file cabinets nearly full of negs I've made since 1967. I wouldn't think of tossing them, although I suppose that when I'm gone my kids will.

 

[jsrockit]

I wouldn't throw these away. You never know what you may find in your old images once your eyes have matured over time.

Even a year after taking some photos I return to them and see something I couldn't before. We are constantly learning /sharpening the way we see...

 

[Particular]

I don't keep a diary, so my negative file is the best record of what I have been up to over the years. I recently found among my parents papers some envelopes of negs that I took before I considered myself a 'Photographer', and though there is nothing special there, I am very happy to have them. Having the keepers as prints is nice, but being able to see the other shots you took before and after sometimes helps to put things into context.

I also keep a small collection of found negatives, so if anyone is eager to dispose of their originals, you can send them to me!

 

[Pirate]

I wouldn't even consider throwing out my films. Ever.

I totally agree with this. The reason I enjoy shooting so much is to capture a moment in time, not just for me to look at, but for the future generations to see. Who knows how long a digital file will really last? And maybe, somewhere down the line, there will be a child like myself who enjoys holding an actual piece of history in his hands and examining it. Maybe.