Hot Rods and the Bumpy Start to the Season

Routine is a dangerous thing. While automatically executing well known tasks, one can easily skip some essential steps, set wrong parameters or grab the wrong tool. Sometimes, it’s actually good to get a “cold shower” — a wake-up call that reminds us that we’re not perfect. If this reminder comes during a small, unimportant moment, that’s even better. It might save us from making a painful mistake in a situation where the consequences would be much more painful.

After a long winter break, I wanted to start the season slowly. Nothing serious — just taking some photos at an event that isn’t exactly my thing. It felt like a low-pressure way to ease back into the flow and warm up a bit.

Stockholm Hot Rod Kustom Show, which took place at the end of March, seemed like the perfect event to get back into shooting and exercise the shutter on my Nikon F4, which was gathering dust for the last two years. With the cars boringly lined up in rows inside a hall, I didn’t expect much in terms of photo results. I was hoping the event would be brought to life by people dressed in outfits that matched its vibe, but my expectations were not fulfilled here. Still, I hoped to get some decent results and ensure myself that I can deal with any photographic challenge.

Unfortunately, those hopes were only alive up to the point when I removed the developed negatives from the tank. At first glance, it was clear that there was something seriously wrong with them. The film was transparent with almost no signs of any image. What did I do wrong? At first, I thought that the old developer was to blame. Only a few moments later I realized how seriously I neglected keeping the temperature of the developer right.

Photos included in this short story are the only ones I managed to save from two rolls of film. Fortunately, initial disappointment quickly turned into more positive thinking. I’m planning a few more ambitious analog projects this year. So maybe it’s actually a good thing that I messed things up now, at such a low-stakes event. It reminded me how important it is to pay attention to the small details — and hopefully, that little wake-up call will help me avoid making painful mistakes during the more serious shoots coming up.