🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/analog-photo-stories

14

kellymurphy•14d ago

Stop loading film in direct sunlight like I saw three people do at a park last Saturday

I watched a guy ruin a whole roll of Portra 400 because he thought the shade from a tree was enough, and the other two were loading bulk film in broad daylight like it was a disposable camera. Have you ever watched someone unspool film in full sun and felt your soul leave your body?

8

brians27•14d ago

Hit 200 rolls of film through my old Pentax this month

Didn't even realize I'd burned through that much. Two hundred rolls just from a beat up Spotmatic I got for 20 bucks at a thrift store. Anybody else lose count of how much film they've actually shot?

14

the_joel•14d ago

Debate: Do you let strangers shoot your camera at shows or street events?

I was shooting a punk show at this dive bar in Austin last month. Some kid walks up, probably 19, asks if he can take a shot with my Nikon FM2. I hesitated because it's my only body and film is 12 bucks a roll now. I handed it over and watched him nail the focus on the singer mid-jump. He got one frame and handed it back. Turned out fine but my gut said no. The other side is a buddy of mine lets anyone shoot his gear and he says it builds trust. I've also had a guy drop my lens cap into a sewer grate. What's your rule on handing your camera to a stranger?

25

coleman.christopher•15d ago

I was dead wrong about the cheap 35mm point and shoot

Picked up a beat up Canon Sure Shot from a thrift store for $8 about 2 months ago. Thought it would be a waste of money compared to my SLR gear. Ran a test roll of Fuji 400 through it and the focus was sharp on every shot. The flash exposure was way better than I expected for something made in 1992. Now I bring it everywhere instead of worrying about my bigger camera. Has anyone else been surprised by a cheap thrift store find?

13

eric_price•17d ago

Lost $40 on a bulk pack of expired film from a random seller on eBay

I saw a deal for 10 rolls of Portra 160 for $40 and thought I'd struck gold for my street photography in Portland. Every single roll came out with this awful cyan color shift and grain like sandpaper, even at box speed. Has anyone else had luck saving expired film with special development tricks, or am I just out the cash?

29

paul330•18d ago

Spent $80 on a 'like new' Argus C3 from eBay and got a brick with a lens

I bought this Argus C3 off eBay listed as 'tested and working' for $80 last month. Got it in the mail, everything looked clean, but when I loaded a roll of Kodak Gold and tried shooting at a park downtown, the shutter stuck on every frame past 1/50. Lost the whole roll plus $15 in dev and scan fees. Anyone else get burned by a 'fully functional' vintage camera that was actually junk?

3

parkerrodriguez•20d ago

My Yashica shutter jammed mid-roll at a wedding last Saturday

I was shooting my friend's wedding as a favor, second camera just for candid stuff. Everything was going fine until I wound the film and the shutter just locked up solid. No click, no nothing. I had maybe 15 shots left on that roll of Portra 400. I tried switching batteries, flipping the mirror lock-up, all the usual tricks. Nothing worked. I ended up swapping to my backup Canon body and finished the day with that. When I got home and pried the Yashica open in a changing bag, the shutter curtain had literally come off one of its rails. I know some people swear by old mechanical cameras for reliability, but has anyone else had a similar failure on a shoot where a repair wasn't an option?

2

ivan873•22d ago

Heads up - fixing a light leak on a Pentax K1000 took me 4 weekends to solve

I had this faint streak on my negatives for months and kept thinking it was a lab issue. Finally tore the camera apart and found the foam light seal around the film door had crumbled to dust. Replaced it in 20 minutes with a $3 kit from the hardware store, but I wasted like 30 hours before that swapping lenses and cleaning stuff. Anyone else ran into a stupid simple fix that took forever to catch?

11

lily574•23d ago

Chat with a lab tech about my underexposed rolls changed how I shoot

Been shooting film for about 2 years now and always thought I had the exposure thing down. Last week I dropped off some rolls at a local lab in Portland and the tech said 'you know you could push these a stop and they'd look way better.' Made me realize I was just trusting my built-in meter way too much. Tried pushing a roll of HP5 by one stop last weekend and the contrast was so much nicer. Has anyone else had a lab person give them advice that totally changed their approach?

3

spencerw72•23d ago

Picked a beat-up old Kodak Duaflex over a clean Argus C3 at a garage sale

So last weekend I found two old film cameras at a garage sale for $10 each. One was this pristine Argus C3 that looked barely used, and the other was a grimy Kodak Duaflex with scratches and a stuck shutter button. For some reason I grabbed the Duaflex, maybe because it looked weirder and more fun. Got home, cleaned it up, unstuck the shutter with a drop of oil, and ran a roll of 120 through it. First three shots came out with these wild double exposures from the shutter sticking halfway, but honestly that gave me the best accidental photos I've taken all year. Has anyone else had a junk camera surprise you like that?

1

gray_gibson•23d ago

Bought a bulk lot of expired film on eBay. Big mistake.

Saw a deal for 30 rolls of Portra 160 for $40. Thought I was being smart. Got them in the mail and half the canisters were rusty. Developed 3 rolls and every single one came back blank or with weird color shifts. That's $12 in development down the drain plus the $40. Anyone else get burned by cheap expired film?

24

brians27•27d ago

Spent 3 hours chasing a light leak that was just a loose lens cap

I was shooting a roll of Portra 400 around the park near my place last month, and every single frame had this weird fog on the left side. After pulling my hair out cleaning the camera back, checking the seals, and googling for hours, turns out my lens cap wasn't fully clicked off and it was just flapping in the wind. Has anyone else done something this dumb with a simple fix?

9

rosek73•27d ago

Took my Pentax K1000 to the farmer's market last Sunday and something clicked

I was at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan around 9 AM, trying to get a shot of those huge bushels of apples. A lady selling honey told me to stop worrying about perfect focus and just shoot from the hip more... so I aimed low and caught a kid petting a sheepdog. That one frame came out better than the 20 I'd carefully lined up before. Has anyone else had a stranger's advice totally change how you shoot on the fly?

18

brians27•28d ago

A buddy in my photo club told me my prints were flat and he was right

I was shooting Tri-X 400 for months and developing it the same way every time. Then this older guy named Mike looked at my prints during critique night and said 'your highlights are muddy, you need to push that film one stop.' I tried it with a roll I shot down at Pike Place Market last week and the difference was huge. Has anyone else had to completely re-learn their developing times after getting some honest feedback?

10

eric_carr•1mo ago

The day I figured out why my negatives kept coming out hazy was a game changer

I've been shooting film for about 4 years now, mostly old Canon FTbs from garage sales. For the longest time my black and white negatives had this weird foggy look, especially in the highlights. I blamed the film, blamed the camera, even blamed the lab once. Then last month I was cleaning out my developing tank and noticed this thin layer of gunk stuck on the inside of the reel. Turns out I hadn't been rinsing the stabilizer off properly after development. That sticky residue was trapping chemicals against the film. I spent 3 hours scrubbing everything with distilled water and a soft brush. First roll after that came out crystal clear. Has anyone else dealt with weird residue issues in their tanks?

21

ross.william•1mo ago

Tried shooting expired Fuji Superia 400 and hated the results at first

Picked up a 10 roll pack of expired Superia 400 from a guy on Craigslist for $20. Developed the first roll and everything came out this weird greenish tint with heavy grain. Honestly I was about to toss the rest but my friend said to bracket my shots and overexpose by one stop. Tried that with the next roll at a park in Portland and the colors shifted into this soft pastel look I actually loved. Has anyone else salvaged bad expired film by tweaking exposure?

25

gracecarr•1mo ago

That old film camera I bought at an estate sale finally made sense

Picked up a Canon AE-1 Program for $30 at an estate sale outside Portland three years ago. Shoved it in a drawer until last week when I dusted it off, ran a roll of Portra 400 through it, and actually got the shots back looking like real photographs instead of digital copies. Anyone else have a camera sit around for years before you finally clicked with it?

7

beth_hunt•1mo ago

Finally got a roll back that showed the progress I've been missing

I shot the same alley behind my shop in Cleveland every week for about two months, trying to nail a specific shadow and light combo. Comparing the first roll to the latest one, the difference in exposure and framing is night and day. Has anyone else seen a big jump after sticking with a single subject for a while?

7

eric_carr•1mo ago

Rant: My neighborhood squirrels changed their whole routine after we got a new neighbor with a dog

For like 3 years, the squirrels in my backyard would start raiding the bird feeder at 7am sharp every single day. Then this guy Mike moved in next door last August with a black lab that sits in the window for hours. Now the squirrels wait until like 11am when he takes the dog for a walk, then they go nuts on the feeder for exactly 30 minutes before the dog comes back. I watched this unfold for a full week before I realized the pattern, and I swear they're communicating about his schedule somehow. Has anyone else noticed local wildlife adapting to a new pet's routine this fast?

6

eric_carr•1mo ago

Can we talk about people who call every vintage camera a 'rare collectible' just because it's dusty

I saw a guy on FB marketplace yesterday trying to sell a beat up Kodak Brownie from the 50s for $200 and when I told him there's like a million of them out there he got all defensive and said 'well it's antique isn't it' like that justifies the price, has anyone else run into this weird pricing logic at flea markets or online?

24

pat360•1mo ago

The week my Olympus OM-1 got soaked in a sudden Portland rainstorm

Was walking downtown last Tuesday when the sky just opened up. My camera bag wasn't waterproof. Got the body and my roll of Portra 400 completely drenched. Took it apart at home, dried everything with a hairdryer for like an hour. Thought the roll was ruined. Developed it anyway. The shots came out with these wild, streaky watermarks. One photo of a neon sign looks like it's melting. Has anyone else salvaged pictures from a waterlogged camera? What did you do?

3

thomas862•1mo ago

Bought a 'mint' Canon AE-1 from a flea market for $80. The shutter is completely stuck.

Guy swore it was film tested, but the advance lever won't budge. I'm out the cash and now have a paperweight. Anyone know a decent repair shop in the Cleveland area that won't charge another fortune?

5

rivera.susan•1mo ago

I still think my old point and shoot from 1998 takes better photos than my new SLR

Last week, I took my dad's old Olympus Stylus Zoom to the city park instead of my newer Nikon. Everyone says you need a big camera for good shots. I got a roll of Portra 400 back yesterday, and the photos of the old bandstand have a soft, real look the Nikon can't match. The colors just feel right, not too sharp or perfect. Has anyone else stuck with a simple camera and been surprised by the results?

27

derekp70•1mo ago

My uncle told me to always bracket my shots with my old Pentax, and I finally saw why when I got a perfect shot of a foggy bridge in Portland after three rolls of misses.

He said to shoot the same scene at f/8, f/11, and f/16, and the middle one gave me the depth and mood I was after for weeks.

15

mia_fox98•1mo ago

Finally caved and bought a proper light meter after years of winging it

Spent about $150 on a used Sekonic L-308X last month, convinced it was a waste for my old Pentax K1000. Shot a roll of Portra 400 at golden hour in my local park and every single frame was perfectly exposed, no more guessing shadows. Anyone have a favorite film stock for tricky light situations now that I can actually trust my readings?