'Frame Gate', as I prefer to call it, references the events of a particularly dark day in 2013 ... a day that shall live in infamy. Up there with the greatest mysteries of the world; the Bermuda Triangle, the assassination of JFK, Bigfoot, the Lock Ness monster, Stonehenge, the Lost City of Atlantis, UFO's, and dingo's eating babies.
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| Nessie |
The day had started out like any other day. No one could have predicted what that cool spring day had in store. Arising early, I prepared for work, as I had done many times before. A sense of anticipation filled the air. The cat had a spring in her step, the garden flowers seems to bloom a touch brighter, and birds were frolicking in the cool breeze. For a roll of Fujifilm Superia 200 has been recently completed, and today was D (development) day.
The local Camera House near where I worked offered a 1-hour processing service for a reasonable fee. I'd always used another lab, but they're a bus/bike ride out of the city center. "Its good to spread the love, support multiple labs", I thought heading into work. Whats the worst that could happen?
It was the first roll through the Olympus 35SP, and I thought there may be a couple of corkers in there. I'd been busier than a one legged bloke in an arse kicking contest, so the film had sat in the camera longer than I had wanted, but I polished off the last few frames and was good to go.
One particular frame that I thought was the ants pants was taken early one morning in a Melbourne park. There was a long line of trees bordering a walking path, and the sun was beaming through creating a really nice light. I took one exposure looking down the center of the trees, and another from the side, but I was sure the first was the better composition.
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| Frame 23, Taken just after the Missing Frame Olympus 35SP, Fuji Superia 200 |
I dropped the film in as soon as the lab opened, requested it be developed and sleeved only. Being a new camera (to me) I didn't want to pay for prints. I'd scan the negatives at home and see if everything was ok. I returned precisely 60 minutes later, where my film was still hung up drying. The 'operator', and I use that term lightly, said he'd sleeve it up for me. I could see that he was fumbling around somewhat with the film splicer thing-a-me-bob. I thought about stopping him and just taking the full roll, but I thought "She'll be right, I'm sure he knows what he's doing".
Eventually the film was sleeved and I paid for the developing. He gave me a discount, which I thought was a bit strange, but who was I to complain. I dashed back to the office, and held the negative sleeve up to the light. Everything looked pretty good. No light leaks, most frames were well exposed. This camera's the bee's knees I thought; beautiful to look at, great to operate, and shoots the goods. In admiring my handiwork I searched for the frame that I thought was a cracker.
Mmm that's strange I can see the image I took after it, and the one before ... but where is that award winning shot? I looked closer at the film numbers, frame 20, 21, 23, and realised that frame 22 was MISSING! So I lobbed back into the store and queried the doofus who served me, as to the whereabouts of frame 22. He claimed to have cut it off as it was blank. I asked to see the frame anyway, but he said it was gone. "Gone where?" I asked. "I threw it in the bin" he replied, but I persisted that I wanted to see it anyway. Apparently the bin had been emptied in the 5 mins since I had left, so apparently it was now gone-gone.
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| Frame 21 Olympus 35SP, Fuji Superia 200 |
Smelling a rat, I asked him to find it. So he dug around the film splicer for a bit and then gave me a piece of film that he claimed was it. I asked if he was sure, and why it wasn't in the bin as he claimed. "Yes, that's it. I trimmed it off the end of one of the strips. See it was blank. All good?". NO! it wasn't all good.
I compared it to my film and it was completely different. This plonker was either crooked as a dog's hind leg, or a few stubbies short of a six pack. Rather than chuck a wobbly at this point, I calmly pointed out that the piece of film was from a Kodak roll not Fuji. Realising that this guy couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery or run a chook raffle in a country pub, I asked to see the manager. I knew he was lying and had probably cut that frame by accident when trying to cut the film into strips.
The manager was out, so I returned the following day to express my displeasure at what had transpired. She was shocked to hear what had happened and stated that they never ever trim frames from a roll, even in they are blank. I explained that I believe it was cut in error, and then removed completely to hide the mistake, and asked that the doofus own up to what happened (and return my missing frame).
People make mistakes, that's ok, but lying to cover it up is not acceptable. I wanted to see the frame even if was cut in half. I just wanted an apology and to get my frame back, but the manager refunded my money and provided a replacement roll of film. I returned the next day, but the doofus was sticking to his version of events. The manager asked me to please give them another go. So I thought I'd shoot the roll she gave me and give them another burl.
Anyone who says lighting never strikes in the same place twice hasn't worked with film processing. I've had probably 30+ rolls developed at another lab in Adelaide, with not a single issue. Developed and sleeved...all good. So the chances of two screw-ups in two rolls ... unheard-of! Of course Murphy's law intervened, lightning struck twice, and the second film got jammed in the C41 processing machine and got ripped all up! I thought 'fair suck of the sav' man, this is crazy. Rather than rip the guy a new one (it wasn't the guy who served me last time) I accepted his apology, and thought I's just move on. He didn't charge me for the developing and offered to scan the roll and fix up some of the frames in photoshop, but I didn't bother. Needless to say I've never been back!
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