Negative Film Issue or Ghost on a Tombstone ?

[greg_heath3]

<h2 >Light Leak or Ghost/Apparition</h2>

 

 

<blockquote >I developed some film tonight I shot back in March. The camera was an Agfa Isolette II. It has a leaf shutter. I completely rebuilt this camera from scratch including a new bellows. I have rebuilt 6 of these cameras. <br /><br />I shot this photo of a WWII P-47 Pilot's grave. I can't figure out what the deep dark black orb X-Files looking thing is at the left bottom of the tombstone. Anybody have any ideas ?<br /><br />Feel free to download the image and import it into whatever you use and give me your ideas of what it could possibly be... Shadow, light leak...ghost <img src="http://www.apug.org/forums/images/smilies/newones/blink.png" alt="" border="0" /> ??<br /><br /><a href=" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/kb2qqm...n/photostream/</a><br /><br />I scanned in two photos. One the way I normally scan stuff in...balanced, and the other is the highest or lightest scan to pull some of the info out of the black orb image. <br /><br />I will also upload a shot I took of the negative with my iPhone on my light table through a 10x loupe. I have not touched up the photos except for a bit of sharpening on the normal photo. Feel free to give me your thoughts...<br /><br />Greg. </blockquote>

 

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[larrydressler]

<p>Check the top right center of your back for a leak. Do Do Do Dooo. ;)</p>

[greg_heath3]

<p>I will check the back for a leak, but also know it is a brand new bellows. None of the other photos before or since have this "light leak". And in this photo, the sun is at my 10 to 11 o'clock position on my front left. <br /><br />There were no emulsion problems on any of the other frames. I am going back to the gravesite to figure it out... I gots to know. lol. <br /><br />Greg</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Second thought now that I am awake. Maybe it just got kinked on the reel and that area did not develop properly but it did get fixer. On the other hand I have had some weird stuff in Cemeteries.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Let's try this.</p>

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[mpo]

<p>Gentlemen, a camera light leak on a positive image would look whitish, not dark.<br>

Interesting, no clue about its cause. Film issue? Foma perhaps?</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Marcelo, that is why I corrected myself. I was not awake.</p>

 

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>No ghost, gremlin perhaps. Possible trapped air bubble in the development stage.</p>

[vrankin]

<p>I agree with Louis. A light leak would've been black on the negative, but white in the print or scan. I once had a little corner of the tape from a 120 roll film get left in a camera body, and its shadow ended up looking a bit like your dark spot. Might there have been any leftover pieces of debris somewhere in the light path, from the re-construction of the bellows?</p>

[lwg]

<p>It was a dark leak.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

Are you referring to the object on the white

stake next to the grave stone? That appears to be

a standard military medallion. The Veterans

Administration supplies those. They're often used

as temporary or interim markers while waiting for

the stone, or to designate a particular unit

affiliation.

 

It may have darkened from oxidation, or the

unusually dark appearance might be a trick of the

light.

[lex_jenkins]

Link to the VA regarding those cemetery

medallions.

http://www.cem.va.gov/hmm/types.asp

[lex_jenkins]

And that particular WWII medallion is illustrated

on this page. It's no longer issued. You might need to copy and fix this link - my mobile device sometimes breaks long links.

 

 

http://www.girlinthejitterbugdress.com/memorial-day-flags-girl-scouts-and-wwii/

[larrydressler]

<p>On what shot Lex? As for the OP I have seen dark shadows in cemetery shots and bright flashes. I for one don't discount any answer but I have found at times that the most logical answer is wrong. I have gone back and reshot graves and used different cameras.film and lenses. and still gotten strange results on different days and weather. See my FB post on this today. Do Do Do Doooo. ;)</p>

 

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>Greg, post a picture of the negative either on a light box or hanging in front of a sunny window.<br>

Otherwise you had one of your fingers in the light path ever so slightly and it blocked the light reaching the film.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Also tell the film.development lens and all details.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

Oh, I see, the irregular blob on the base of the

stone marker.

 

Dunno, but I'd agree with the suggestion to check

for an obstruction in the light path. It's

indistinct, so not right on the film gate.

[larrydressler]

<p> Lex are you slowing? </p>

[lex_jenkins]

It appears so. Or I'm easily distracted by shiny

things.

[Uhooru]

<p>Whats also weird is in a couple of other places the blacks totally block up, but seem inconsistent with the areas around them like the bottom of the foliage on the tall tree/s behind and to the left, the trunk of the tree behind and to the right, the "medallion" the door on the building on the left.I haven't a clue of what's causing that but it seems to be consistently blocky in some of the dark areas. I don't think its a camera issue.</p>

[stephen t]

<p>I kinda liked the idea of the "dark leak!"</p>

<p>However, like Larry, I have experienced some "interesting" things in cemeteries as well. My current choice is cremation, AFTER a thorough investigation and satisfactory evidence of "no continuing life signs remain within that body!"</p>

[deanmeeks]

<p>That could've been a shadow falling at the base of the headstone. If you have software like Lightroom or PS I would pull the blacks all the way up to check for detail in that darkest areas of the image. If there is detail within that dark glob at the base of the headstone then it's probably a developing issue since all the surrounding shadow areas in this image also have a strong loss of detail. If there is no detail at all then it could be an emulsion defect straight from the box, which does happen, just unlikely.</p>