Appreciation post: my trusty old roll of Portra that survived a washing machine

I accidentally left a roll of Portra 400 in my jeans pocket and it went through a full hot water cycle with detergent last Tuesday. The negatives came out with this weird, muted color shift that actually looks kind of cool for street shots, like a permanent instagram filter. Has anyone else had surprise results from a dunked roll, or is my machine just gentle on film?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_coleman173h ago

Oh man, I've definitely done that before. I'd say rinse the roll in distilled water after it dries to stop any leftover soap from messing with the colors over time. But honestly, if the muted look works for your street stuff, maybe just run with it and call it a happy accident.

leo60356m ago

Wait, you actually rinsed the roll after it dried? I tried that once and ended up with little soap crystal dots all over the negatives. @christopher_coleman17 might be onto something with the distilled water trick though. A buddy of mine just soaks his rolls for ten minutes in warm tap water and it works fine. But hey, if those muted colors fit your vibe, maybe overthinking the fix is the real mistake here.