Too embarrassed to ask...

[Twigs]

...but I really wanted to know, so here goes 😱

I got some pictures back from the lab and noticed some of them looked really different than the rest, for example, look at these two frames taken one after the other:

What could I have done to make the first shot so "glowy"?

Here's another from the same roll shot on the same day:

The effect is less obvious on these (from another roll shot on another day):

I shot all of these with a GSN on Fujicolor Superia 200 film. The color prints were scanned, and in PS I adjusted level and brightness/contrast, resized and saved. The negatives look normal but I can't scan them to be certain (my DIY flatbed adaptor failed miserably 😀).

Cheers,
Charleston

 

[Nick R.]

My guess is that your GSN needs to have its "pad of death" replaced.

 

[Twigs]

But it was recently fixed by G'man tho, so I think the POD is working. Any other thoughts?

 

[Duncan Ross]

I got exactly the same effect with a Praktica SLR once; got up early in the morning for the magic hour, put the wide angle on and the first shot came out odd, the second being fine. My guess was condensation inside the camera settling on the film surface which was taken away as the next frame of film was brought into position but to this day I have no real idea what happened!

 

[pvdhaar]

I understand that these are scans from prints, and that you've adjusted levels/contrast/brightness. Still, the pictures that you wonder about have extreme contrast with very bright areas at the edge of the frame and a large dark center. I think the combination of metering the light (apparently exposing for the highlights) and the auto-machine print (apparently aiming to get some definition in the center) is to blame..

 

[jcline]

Could this be as simple as breathing on the lens on accident? A little early morning diffuser?

 

[pshinkaw]

I think you have an exposure consistency problem, caused either by an electrical problem in the metering (possibly a battery) or a a sticky set of shutter blades. Moisture in the camera could be a cause, but there could be others as well such as dust, thick lubricant, or even a cold solder joint.

-Paul

 

[Twigs]

Thanks a lot for the input guys! I'll keep a close eyes on how this happens should it happen again.

(I actually like that effect 🙂)

 

[jaapv]

Some of them, especially the third, look VERY underexposed. You say the negatives look fine. If that negative is not very thin, the fault must be in the printing. Some of the other ones, the last one in particular, look- as far as I can make out from the scan- rather overexposed. Again, your negatives should tell you more.