Oops! - learning photography by making mistakes

[Smiffy2]

If it goes wrong, change it to grainy black and white and call it art.

[wagonman]

........ Then there's that awful moment when you realised that you are up to frame 48 on a 36 roll.

 

I learnt the hard way to always check the film is transporting normally. When loading a new film tighten the rewind knob then make sure it is rotating when film is wound on. Doesn't cope with stripped sprocket holes of course, but that normally only happens when you're trying to get 37 frames out of a 36 exposure film!

[alfsboy]

I used to shoot motorsport for a Japanese magazine  group and do a bit of writing ,interviews etc .In last days before pro digital was finally  semi affordable  I was asked to be a Japanese test drivers photographer at a  special closed Bentley shoot at Snetterton .It was all thrown  in ,food ,etc and getting paid a lot of money .yum yum ..The initial shoot was at the RTN works where Bentley racers were built   ,then a slap up meal and the next morning of to a glorious sunny day at Snetters.....Sigh . A great day was spent following the  race car doing those overtaking shots from the rear hatch of a Ford Fiesta etc,trips in original Lemans winner car from the 20's, and finally a sunset set up with the cars and a new road car and the  original Le mans winner .......,sigh...all back to the hotel for a great meal .What a day  and getting paid as well .

  During the meal  the Japanese owner of Bentley Japan (nasty bit of work) wanted all my reels of film .I was a bit shocked as I was going to get them processed at an overnight film processors. He just insisted and took about 25 cans of film  very rudely too  .I tried to get the test driver to intervene but to no avail .The last words I said to  the Bentley Japan  guy was care taking them through the airports ,they are not shielded.Dont put them in hand luggage .......:-(

.The dumb ###### lost every shot .They didnt  acknowledge it because thats the Japanese way .They also paid me a lot of money .I was furious because I didnt know .The EOS 3 and my old EOS 650  as back up  and Canon L lenses all worked fine straight afterwards but no photographic memories  a great day .I did make a life long friend  with the racing driver who still wont  say what happened  .He sent me a huge box of RC 1/24  F1 cars .I had managed to get him in Classic Team Lotus just as it was shutting for the night  and he saw a Lotus 76 being rebuilt which is his favorite car .He also sent a digital shot of  me with my camera and the Bentley  racer behind me .My only  momento of a fantastic day .I didnt get creditation in the magazine Racing On either which was potentially  a real loss work wise.Still have no idea  if it was my mistake ,Probably not

Sorry to drone on .

Edited February 12, 2016 by alfsboy

[eastwestdivide]

So is there a digital memory card equivalent of too much X-ray exposure? 

SanDisk's FAQs says they are immune to airport X-rays and immune to magnetic field damage. And also able to withstand drops up to 5 meters and being run over by a 5 ton delivery truck.

(http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4687/~/sandisk-cards-environmental-tolerance-(waterproof,-temperature,-magnetic-and)

[jonny777]

It would have helped, when trying out my new telephoto lens in 1974, if I had studied the relationship between exposure and shutter speed.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the error only became apparent after the slides came back from Agfa. 

Edited February 23, 2016 by jonny777

[The Stationmaster]

It would have helped, when trying out my new telephoto lens in 1974, if I had studied the relationship between exposure and shutter speed.

 

 

100100 D1059 SLO 5:4:74.jpg

 

 

Unfortunately, the error only became apparent after the slides came back from Agfa. 

 

But for its various 'learning faults' it's still a record of the east end of Slough station as it then was so it has some value.

[Ohmisterporter]

I took this from a passing train but was so intent on watching the end of the loco come into the frame that I forgot about the front.

 

 

 

[lakeview770]

Not me but a couple of former colleagues , Use the neck strap/ I had a colleague who dropped a 500 c/m Blad from a Sea King and another drop a Nikon F3 from a Wessex both had one way conversations with the boss. These offenses weren't repeated

[Kiwi]

I took this from a passing train but was so intent on watching the end of the loco come into the frame that I forgot about the

But I'd say that came out very well given the challenge of shooting on the move. Just crop out the left side, and some of the bottom (up to the feet of the man on the platform) to retain the rectangle format and you've got a great shot.

[lakeview770]

If it goes wrong, change it to grainy black and white and call it art.

 

It does work, I often want a shot at a wedding and to get it I have to think Ill have to use B&W as you said .

[jbqfc]

even after 30 years taking photos i can still make a mess of it

it was taken in a hurry as 66532 and 70006 where approaching fast from the opposite direction

66098 by john brace, on Flickr

[raymw]

These days, such mistakes are more common, but are easily rectified. Literally 5seconds in photoshop (context aware brush) good enough for web. Maybe a bit longer to do the job properly for a print. Half the camera is in the computer.....

[jetmorgan]

even after 30 years taking photos i can still make a mess of it

it was taken in a hurry as 66532 and 70006 where approaching fast from the opposite direction

66098 by john brace, on Flickr

I think you should send a strongly worded letter of complaint to Network Rail asking who was the tit head who put that lampost there in the first place and he should be sacked and made to sweep gravel drives for the rest of his life!!!

[phil_sutters]

Waiting on Gatwick Airport Station for the Ore & Littlehampton train, I spotted an up train formed of a 442 Gatwick Express set hauled by an unidentified diesel. I was travelling with two smallish grandchildren, so didn't have my DSLR readily available, so I fumbled out my new and unfamiliar compact and these two shots were my feeble efforts. Mind you Gatwick is a concrete jungle and it used to have very anti-camera station staff. Now they have to relent, as everyone else has their mobiles out and may or may not be taking photos.

Was this a redundant 442 off to pastures new, I wonder.

[Guest CLARENCE]

Trying to get a photograph of Tornado crossing the Royal Border Bridge, October, 2010.

 

 

Tho' I did get a couple of reasonable shots!

 

[eastwestdivide]

Resurrecting this thread from the depths, what's the opposite of a stealth train?

7029 Clun Castle (honestly!) at Moorthorpe today. Most of the people on the platform will have missed any decent photo of the loco. Luckily, I was on the bridge and managed to dash to the other side to actually see the loco as some of the steam cleared.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

One second more and I was covered in steam......

 

Final train of the day from Swanage last Sunday.

[adb968008]

Did anybody else see that red laser beam from the sky, just as 5690 went past at Rainhill ?

[eastwestdivide]

Resurrecting this thread… if you’re early at the station for your train, don’t go wandering aimlessly into the stygian gloom of the worst spot for a photo without checking to see if the only freight train of the day could be running early, resulting in a blurry mobile phone shot:

Edited May 31, 2022 by eastwestdivide

[4630]

On 31/05/2022 at 19:27, eastwestdivide said:

Resurrecting this thread… if you’re early at the station for your train, don’t go wandering aimlessly into the stygian gloom of the worst spot for a photo without checking to see if the only freight train of the day could be running early, resulting in a blurry mobile phone shot:

 

 

In a similar vein, always give yourself enough time to get to your chosen spot so that you can be prepared and get your camera settings right before the train arrives!  Especially the focus point - perfectly sharp foreground vegetation; blurred train.

 

In fairness, I do leave my camera set up with my usual preferred settings 'ready to go', but on this occasion the Network Rail monitoring train arrived earlier than I was anticipating.  I barely reached the spot in time and didn't have the opportunity to confirm that all had been set up correctly.

 

43257 1Q67 Brighouse, 2nd June 2022.