lily89•11d ago

I accidentally used fixer before developer and my photos vanished

I was so proud to set up my first home development station. Followed a blog post step by step, or so I thought. Grabbed the bottles, mixed the chems, and started the process. Only after I poured the fixer in did I realize my mistake. The whole roll came out completely clear, like I never shot anything. I just sat there in the dim light, staring at blank negatives. Lmao, all those shots from my vacation, gone in a flash. Now I label everything with big bright tape so I don't mix them up again.

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_perry11d ago

Yeah the bright tape thing is key. I started putting a big black X with permanent marker on my fixer bottle cap too. It sounds dumb but when you're tired in the darkroom, your brain just goes on autopilot. I also keep them on totally different shelves now, like developer on the left, fixer way on the right. You only nuke one important roll like that before it gets drilled into your head forever.

emery_clark11d agoMost Upvoted

That muscle memory autopilot thing happens everywhere. You see it in kitchens when someone reaches for salt and grabs sugar instead, or in a workshop grabbing the wrong spray can.

craig.rose4d ago

Oh man, that's the worst feeling. Something I started doing is putting the bottles in order of use before I even turn the safelight on. Like, I line them up on the counter: developer, stop, fixer. If the fixer is already in my hand at the start, I know I've jumped the gun. It forces a little pause in the routine.