Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Fark)   Can 40 yr old 35mm film still be developed?   (fark.com) divider line
44
    More: Vintage, Dimebag Darrell, LeBron James, Pantera, National Basketball Association, State of the Union, Golden Retriever, Entertainment, Politics  
•       •       •

270 clicks; posted to Discussion » on 08 Feb 2023 at 1:53 AM (7 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



44 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
eurotrader [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 9:03:35 PM  
Storage condition really matters.
 
bingethinker [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 9:10:16 PM  
Worth a shot. The colors might be a little off, if it's color film.
 
Creepy Lurker Guy [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:11:36 PM  
Black and white: Definitely.
Color: Yes, but it will look weird.
 
robertus [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:17:36 PM  
media.tenor.comView Full Size
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:19:56 PM  
A few years ago I had a roll of 35mm Kodacolor II from the late '70's developed.
The negative came out a bit faded and the colors were washed out on the prints but otherwise they looked pretty good.
 
Sawdust and Mildew [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:20:22 PM  
I developed rolls of my own baby pictures (~40 years) and they turned out 98% washed in white and pink. But with photoshop I've been able to mine some shapes and faces, so there's that. As stated above, storage condition is everything.
 
octopossum [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:23:46 PM  
B&W film yes, depending on how it's been stored. I Have some 4x5 Ansco Safety film from the 50s that i developed in D76. There's no documentation on recommended development times so i had to guess.Not much shadow detail and it came out contrasty but there's still an image there
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
markie_farkie [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 9:25:57 PM  

RolandTGunner: A few years ago I had a roll of 35mm Kodacolor II from the late '70's developed.
The negative came out a bit faded and the colors were washed out on the prints but otherwise they looked pretty good.


Scan and photoshop to fix the off tint.
 
433 [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:46:32 PM  
I developed a roll of Kodak? color film from the 1960's some time in the aughts.  It had likely been in its canister at the back of the drawer where I found it the entire time.  The prints came out well, though they had a definite "old Polaroid" look or appeared a little pink and overexposed.

I'd call that a success, especially if you can touch up with PS or just appreciate the old film aesthetic or must know what's on the roll.
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:48:04 PM  

markie_farkie: RolandTGunner: A few years ago I had a roll of 35mm Kodacolor II from the late '70's developed.
The negative came out a bit faded and the colors were washed out on the prints but otherwise they looked pretty good.

Scan and photoshop to fix the off tint.


Exactly.
 
Naido [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:48:48 PM  
I don't know, but I bet 20 year old film of a 15 year old will still get you 10 years.
 
Avatox [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 9:58:09 PM  
Back in the early 90's my neighbor found 2 rolls of old film in a plastic bag in a metal can buried in a 30 year old chest freezer that had stopped working.  One roll was from the early 40's of his grandparents that 80% of the pics developed slightly overexposed, the other was a color roll from the 60's that only had 2 salvageable prints (out of 12?) that had a lot of extra pink.  So, there is a chance...
 
aerojockey [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 10:10:44 PM  
Yes, they don't sag that fast.

The intensity of the colors, I mean.
 
physt [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 10:15:25 PM  
Your best bet is to use a lab that specializes in old film.

I have a 50' roll of 16MM film from 1981 that hadn't been stored properly. There were still able to get imaged from it. The quality is quite ethereal and it's wonderful see those people again.
 
physt [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 10:15:59 PM  
https://www.filmrescue.com/
 
fmcgalaxie500
2023-02-07 10:21:09 PM  
Try and find a professional lab not a Walgreens or CVS.
 
bluorangefyre [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 10:44:00 PM  

fmcgalaxie500: Try and find a professional lab not a Walgreens or CVS.


I used to work in a photo lab when Winn-Dixie still had those.  The negatives were fed through a scanner for the prints.  Sometimes auto mode on our machine would screw up and put half of one picture with half of the other.  But the other thing was it had different presets and enhancements.  I knew when to hit the auto enhancements, when to do it manually, and when to leave well enough alone.

All that may have helped me get out of a major ticket.  I went flying around a curve since I was running late.  The Georgia State Trooper saw this, flipped his lights on, and turned around.  Oh, I also had an expired tag and no insurance.  He let me go with a warning.  About a mile later, I realized that I'd developed his pictures months earlier.  Must've done an awesome job.
 
vudukungfu [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 10:45:36 PM  
I kept the negatives from the 70s of my girlfriend. From 14 to 22 when we first drifted apart.
She lost all her original pictures.
2 husbands who couldn't keep a basement dry.
She is in for a surprise for her 70th birthday.
I'm restoring lost albums.
I have pics of her family she thought were gone forever.

When the get redeveloped, they will all be nicely blown up to 8x10 for a book.

This is a woman who never we are her heart on her sleeve.
You wouldn't think she's sentimental.

But I know her tells
 
Diagonal [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 10:54:56 PM  

robertus: [media.tenor.com image 640x436] [View Full Size image _x_]


So, uhm, that would be  yif?


pa1.narvii.comView Full Size
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 10:55:20 PM  

octopossum: B&W film yes, depending on how it's been stored. I Have some 4x5 Ansco Safety film from the 50s that i developed in D76. There's no documentation on recommended development times so i had to guess.Not much shadow detail and it came out contrasty but there's still an image there[Fark user image 850x535]


That's pretty much exposure though.Could have pulled maybe 30 seconds but it's not bad. It would look good on a high contrast paper.
 
Sub Human [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 12:55:32 AM  
I developed some color film from 1994 a few years back, last 35 mm I had. It had stayed in an old suitcase on the top shelf of my closet for that entire time. Pictures were a bit faded but they were decent. I am not a photography buff or anything. I used the local photo place and they did a great job.
 
ecmoRandomNumbers [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 1:40:46 AM  
I have a bunch of color rolls from college in the 90s. It's not worth finding a lab.
 
JohnnyBoy69
2023-02-08 3:23:33 AM  
My great grandparents passed in their 90's 20+ years ago. When cleaning out their stuff, Mom found an old camera with film in it and a couple of rolls of undeveloped film. She decided to try and have it developed. Turns out it was full of pictures of Mom and here brother and sister playing in my great grandparents yard when they were toddlers about 40 years prior. So it is posssible. The pictures were black and white, the film had been in a cool dark basement the entire time, and they mostly came out fine. A couple ended up pretty washed out though.
 
kittyhas1000legs [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 7:20:07 AM  
40 years is pushing it. I've had some from the early 80's come out fine, some faded, one blank (shooting 40 years after it expired).

Color will have color shifts. BW may have less contrast but is easily photoshoppable. Kodachrome chemicals don't exist any more, so you can attempt it in BW chemicals.
 
kittyhas1000legs [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 7:21:21 AM  
Oh yeah, and as mentioned above, storage is key. Dark, cool, and dry is best.
 
baka-san [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 7:59:27 AM  
Just be ready for alll the bush
 
Bukharin
2023-02-08 8:14:25 AM  

bluorangefyre: fmcgalaxie500: Try and find a professional lab not a Walgreens or CVS.

I used to work in a photo lab when Winn-Dixie still had those.  The negatives were fed through a scanner for the prints.  Sometimes auto mode on our machine would screw up and put half of one picture with half of the other.  But the other thing was it had different presets and enhancements.  I knew when to hit the auto enhancements, when to do it manually, and when to leave well enough alone.

All that may have helped me get out of a major ticket.  I went flying around a curve since I was running late.  The Georgia State Trooper saw this, flipped his lights on, and turned around.  Oh, I also had an expired tag and no insurance.  He let me go with a warning.  About a mile later, I realized that I'd developed his pictures months earlier.  Must've done an awesome job.


this you?

external-content.duckduckgo.comView Full Size
 
bluorangefyre [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 8:27:45 AM  

Bukharin: bluorangefyre: fmcgalaxie500: Try and find a professional lab not a Walgreens or CVS.

I used to work in a photo lab when Winn-Dixie still had those.  The negatives were fed through a scanner for the prints.  Sometimes auto mode on our machine would screw up and put half of one picture with half of the other.  But the other thing was it had different presets and enhancements.  I knew when to hit the auto enhancements, when to do it manually, and when to leave well enough alone.

All that may have helped me get out of a major ticket.  I went flying around a curve since I was running late.  The Georgia State Trooper saw this, flipped his lights on, and turned around.  Oh, I also had an expired tag and no insurance.  He let me go with a warning.  About a mile later, I realized that I'd developed his pictures months earlier.  Must've done an awesome job.

this you?

[external-content.duckduckgo.com image 220x327]


Oh Hell no!  Yes, I watched that movie, and no way could I be that creepy and obsessive.
 
kittyhas1000legs [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 8:43:04 AM  

Bukharin: external-content.duckduckgo.com


I'd forgotten about that movie.   Worth a watch?
 
Bukharin
2023-02-08 8:56:03 AM  

kittyhas1000legs: Bukharin: external-content.duckduckgo.com

I'd forgotten about that movie.   Worth a watch?


Just watched it a few weeks ago. It was good. I sometimes forget how much I love Robin Williams drama because I really dont like his comedy.
 
octopossum [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 9:41:37 AM  

cretinbob: octopossum: B&W film yes, depending on how it's been stored. I Have some 4x5 Ansco Safety film from the 50s that i developed in D76. There's no documentation on recommended development times so i had to guess.Not much shadow detail and it came out contrasty but there's still an image there[Fark user image 850x535]

That's pretty much exposure though.Could have pulled maybe 30 seconds but it's not bad. It would look good on a high contrast paper.


Pulling is a good idea, Someone also suggested stand development so i may give that a try also
 
Billy Bathsalt
2023-02-08 10:45:59 AM  
Slightly off-topic: what's the most affordable place to send the 10-20 rolls of film hanging around the shelf?  I have no idea what, if anything, is on the film.
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 10:46:33 AM  

octopossum: cretinbob: octopossum: B&W film yes, depending on how it's been stored. I Have some 4x5 Ansco Safety film from the 50s that i developed in D76. There's no documentation on recommended development times so i had to guess.Not much shadow detail and it came out contrasty but there's still an image there[Fark user image 850x535]

That's pretty much exposure though.Could have pulled maybe 30 seconds but it's not bad. It would look good on a high contrast paper.

Pulling is a good idea, Someone also suggested stand development so i may give that a try also


I was taught to overexpose and under develop for a broader tonal range and it works.

I could do better with a good color scan. The image and a dark room and it would be best, but I don't see that happening.
The urge is to make his face visible, and that blows out the highlights. So print for where the best exposure in the frame is.
But I don't know nothing.
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 10:48:06 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size


Sure as hell don't know how to include and image in a post

oh wait..
 
Rob4127
2023-02-08 1:46:34 PM  
https://lostrollsamerica.com/about/
 
cyberspacedout
2023-02-08 2:07:19 PM  

Sawdust and Mildew: I developed rolls of my own baby pictures (~40 years) and they turned out 98% washed in white and pink. But with photoshop I've been able to mine some shapes and faces, so there's that. As stated above, storage condition is everything.


Could that just have been bad film? My parents put some old photos from 1979 in my baby album, and I remember seeing the same pink colors when they showed it to me a few times in the 80s. I remember that my mother mentioned something about the film, or the way they were taken, but that was long ago.

I still have it, and just took a look. The tonal contrast came out fine, and still looks ok after 40 years. One of these I'll have to scan them and fix them in Photoshop.
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-08 2:16:22 PM  
madnit. Now I want a negative scan of that.
 
Sawdust and Mildew [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 2:35:32 PM  

cyberspacedout: Sawdust and Mildew: I developed rolls of my own baby pictures (~40 years) and they turned out 98% washed in white and pink. But with photoshop I've been able to mine some shapes and faces, so there's that. As stated above, storage condition is everything.

Could that just have been bad film? My parents put some old photos from 1979 in my baby album, and I remember seeing the same pink colors when they showed it to me a few times in the 80s. I remember that my mother mentioned something about the film, or the way they were taken, but that was long ago.

I still have it, and just took a look. The tonal contrast came out fine, and still looks ok after 40 years. One of these I'll have to scan them and fix them in Photoshop.


In my family's case it was multiple rolls, and they spent literally decades boxed away in attics and garages, exposed to cold, heat and humidity. I'm guessing that did it. Actually kind of amazed I was able to salvage what I did.
 
Mikey1969 [OhFark]
2023-02-08 2:55:40 PM  
Yeah, it's iffy, but it still might be good. I would take it to a real lab though, and mention it to them, because they will make any adjustments needed. Places like Costco just use the machine. This would probably be something to hand develop. That doesn't really take that long, so we're not talking astronomical prices or anything.
 
Mikey1969 [OhFark]
2023-02-08 3:12:16 PM  

octopossum: B&W film yes, depending on how it's been stored. I Have some 4x5 Ansco Safety film from the 50s that i developed in D76. There's no documentation on recommended development times so i had to guess.Not much shadow detail and it came out contrasty but there's still an image there[Fark user image image 850x535]


It looks good that way, though. I like it!
 
Stavr0
2023-02-08 3:34:24 PM  
That's easy, just drive up to one of these

Have some coupons on me :)
i.pinimg.comView Full Size
 
kittyhas1000legs [TotalFark]
2023-02-08 3:40:57 PM  

Billy Bathsalt: Slightly off-topic: what's the most affordable place to send the 10-20 rolls of film hanging around the shelf?  I have no idea what, if anything, is on the film.


I use The Dark Room in California. One flat shipping fee, they'll upload scans that you can download, and you get your negatives back. Not super cheap, but cheaper than Walgreens (and the company they use destroys the negatives). The Dark Room will charge extra for slide film, $2-3 per roll. I'm not sure if they charge for blank rolls, though most labs charge $1-2.
 
cyberspacedout
2023-02-08 3:52:46 PM  

Stavr0: That's easy, just drive up to one of these

Have some coupons on me :)
[i.pinimg.com image 334x438]


When I was a small kid in the 80s, I always wondered where they kept the developing equipment. My imagination took me to the conclusion that there must have been a basement on the property, complete with the nonexistent restrooms.

Now I can imagine working in those things must've been unexciting.
 
Only You Can See This
2023-02-09 5:50:49 AM  

cyberspacedout: Stavr0: That's easy, just drive up to one of these

Have some coupons on me :)
[i.pinimg.com image 334x438]

When I was a small kid in the 80s, I always wondered where they kept the developing equipment. My imagination took me to the conclusion that there must have been a basement on the property, complete with the nonexistent restrooms.

Now I can imagine working in those things must've been unexciting.


Did it one summer for extra cash as a second job.  It was only exciting twice.  Once was when a woman misjudged things and clipped the booth with her car.  The other was when my girlfriend joined me in the booth and gave me a bj while I was serving people who drove up - I'll never forget them looking at me, wondering why I looked so deliriously happy.
 
Displayed 44 of 44 comments

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

If you like these links, you'll love

TotalFark

Come on, it's $10 a month, just do it.

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.