Expired Film

Expired film is something which I have been interested in using for a while. I acquired two rolls of expired film yesterday from The Real Camera Company in Manchester, one from 2008 and one from 1981. Expired film can produce a variety of results depending on how it has been stored. From THIS website, I found that undeveloped film changes over time. The results of different storage methods are as followed:

•  High storage temperatures accelerate change;
•  Low temperatures slow it.
•  Freezing stops it;
•  Humidity accelerates it.
•  Dry storage helps minimize it
  
  

Expired polaroid film from this blog about polaroids and analogue photography
(which is extremely interesting)

 The "use by" date is, typically, two years from the month in which the film was packaged, although the factories must assume that a lot of the film is going to be stored on a shelf in a warm shop (when it should be stored in a fridge) and so the "process before" date is actually many months before any deterioration is likely to be visible.

This website suggests that film stored at room temperature is still likely to produce excellent quality images long after its expiry date, and that film only stored in conditions which are higher than room temperature will give a deteriorated image. However, exposed film will deteriorate much more rapidly, as exposure causes a physical change to the silver halide in the light sensitive layer, which slowly spreads to the near by crystals in "a kind of chain reaction". If you cannot process your film promptly, it is suggested that you store your exposed film in a fridge or freezer as it can show loss of colour quality as soon as six to ten weeks after exposure.

So what are the benefits of using expired film?

Well, as expired film can change the colour quality and contrast, you can produce some pretty weird-looking images with an antique feel.

These images are from this Hemmings Car Collectors blog

The photographer used a Holga and some expired Fuji Pro film. He "yanked the mask" from the camera to create the unpredictable light leaks, less defined boarders on the frame, as well as the blurring and vignetting. As you can see, the colours are slightly off, which is the result of using the expired film.

I love the look it creates, as well as the unpredictability. I'm very excited to try out my expired film!