crop fogger

So I went through the motions of trying to print 4×5 negatives, The only option I had was to use a negative carrier that severely cropped the negative. These images especially on the edges are flawed by light leaks and some of the film probably has moisture damage from being in the refrigerator for seven years, The expiration date was 2020, so you can imagine what the film has been through. Up until now I have’t a clue as to what is really going on, It might be the camera but I doubt it, there’s a uniform distortion of blob like over exposure on the image plane. Now if someone were smooth with photoshop, a scanned negative could be normalized and perhaps electronically impressed on a negative for further darkroom printing. It’s not really a big deal, In some ways, bad negatives are hounding me due to photographic neglect. The last 50 foot roll of tri x has been sitting for five years. There’s an inherent fog on the film which leads to flat negatives, At to the negative a 1939 leica summar 50mm lens and this only exacerbates the condition. The soft glow and lack of contrast and or sharpness gives an ethereal quality un fathomed in this digital day and age. Cinematographers add filtration to emulate these effects while employing costly hand polished glass that cost in rent, multiple times over what the antiquated glass from yesteryears screw mount systems command on the used market. It’s have yet to see if another recently opened 50 foot trip x roll of out dated film is less foggy. I have also for consideration a bilk loader I found in a thrift store probably 20 years ago, a roll of panatomic x. There’s an out of date bottle of HC110 in the fridge, I know, I know everyone is calling out in unison, What are you waiting for? Bust out the panatomic x and make some tests. I’d love to, it’s just so much more of an immediate thrill to write words on a screen for all the lovely people on the internet. Patience is the #1 rule in photography. Digital has to be instant.