Fogged Images
Probably the most common fog on film is caused
by light, but it is certainly not the only cause. Film fog can come from extreme
temperature, age, x-ray, chemicals and even stress on the film. It may appear as almost
any color.
Common light fog may appear as splotches in the image
area, in the edge mark area, or covering the entire film. Common causes of light fog
include (but are not limited to):
- opening your camera with film loaded within
- loading or unloading your camera in extremely bright light
- light leaking into your camera, most commonly through the
light trap around the film door, or through a pin hole in the shutter.
Fog from extreme temperature, age, and chemicals
usually appears as a fairly even colored hue, over the entire image and film, edge
to edge. Often, the images have less than normal contrast. If your film was left
to cook in a car, the extremely high temperature may have caused fogging. If
your film has been sitting around the house unprocessed for months, you will probably
experience age fogging. If you carried your film unprotected in your purse, along with
make-up and perfume, you may have chemically fogged your film.
Although not technically a fog, over stressing your film
will create stress marks that look like a fog. The most common cause of stress marks on
film is forced, hard film rewinding. This commonly occurs when the film is rewound into
the cassette backwards. If your film doesn't rewind easily and normally, don't
force it. Take your camera to a professional for assistance, and save your film
and photos.