My whole roll from the state fair was blank because of a stupid mistake

I was at the Ohio State Fair last month, loaded up my old Pentax K1000 with a fresh roll of Portra 400. I shot the whole thing, all 36 frames, from the giant slide to the butter cow. When I got the scans back, the lab said the film never advanced. I must have missed the sprocket holes when I loaded it in the noisy crowd. Now I have zero photos from my kid's first fair. How do you guys double check your load in a busy place without a dark bag?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliotbell9d ago

Man, that's the absolute worst feeling. I've done that exact thing with my K1000 before, shot a whole wedding for a friend and got nothing but blank film back. In a loud place now, I always close my eyes and feel the rewind knob turn when I advance the first two shots. If it spins, you're good. Sorry about your kid's first fair, that's a real gut punch.

owens.matthew9d ago

But isn't that feeling part of the deal? For me, the risk of a blank roll is tied to the reward of a real surprise. Getting those scans back is the whole point, good or bad. I'd rather have the fair memory live in my head than on a screen.