Samantha and I have discovered a major drawback of sharing our film cameras. Often we can’t remember who actually took a particular photo on a roll of film especially when we shoot the same subject with the same camera. For example, we both shot photos of an old car in a snowstorm. Sam used Beep, her Holga (and she has the pictures to prove it) but she also used Linny the Linhof to compose some photos (the evidence for that fact will be presented below). I had my Canon G11 digital camera (and I have photos to prove it) and I also used Linny to make a panoramic photo of the old car (or at least I think I did).
Anyway when we got the film developed from the Linhof, there was one photo of the old car – just one. I quickly claimed the image. Here it is:
©Darwin Wiggett (well I think)...
And so, I filed the image (shot on Fujichrome Velvia 50 slide film) into my film binder. Done.
But wait… when processing my G11 images later, I found this little video that I made. Guess who is shooting the car with the Linhof?
Well… when Samantha saw this video, the conversation went something like this:
Samantha: Hey, where is my photo from the Linhof?
Darwin: (silence…his brain is working hard to understand the question.)
Samantha: Well?
Darwin: Whoops… I must have it in my film binder. I thought it was my shot. I guess I accidentally stole your photo. I’ll go get it for you.
Samantha: Good, I’ll post it on Fabulous Film Fridays as a warning to others to guard their film. And by the way, you always get the title of our project wrong, it is Fabulous Film Fridays, not Fantastic Film Fridays like you say in the video.
(sidebar): Sam goes to post the January 31st Fabulous Film Fridays blog using the old car photo and the video as evidence that Darwin is a stealer of images. She re-watches the video and notices that the angle of her composition of the old car is very different from the developed photo above. She concludes she probably did not make the image.
Samantha: Hey Darwin, this keeps getting weirder. I think that was your image after all! But then where is my photo from the angle we see in the video?
Darwin: Well there were some blank slides, maybe you forgot to pull the dark slide and so had unexposed frames.
(At this point Samantha gave Darwin a pointed look. She’s never forgotten to pull out the dark slide, whereas Darwin admits to taking rolls of film without taking out the dark slide. Darwin thinks: Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say.)
Darwin: (silence)… Well maybe we lost a roll of film?
Samantha: No, the stuff we shot before and immediately after the car is on the same roll.
Darwin: Right. Maybe you composed the photo and because the angle was so tight, you did not like the comp and so you didn’t make a photo?
Samantha: Maybe….
Darwin: Well… so we think the old car photo is now mine? (he asks hopefully). If so, then I will make a B+W version from the scan just for fun.
Samantha: Yes, you can have it. It’s pretty good, but you may want to take a closer look at my Composition and Design eBook for a few tips!
©Darwin Wiggett (by default and reluctant agreement)
Darwin Wiggett 