Best "Mistake" Ever!

Yeah! I guess I used hot (really HOT!) water when developing this B/W film back at the college, and yeah, when I saw the film after I was done, something looked, you know, a wee-bit odd.

But it wasn't until I got it into the darkroom to print some shots, yeah! Then I KNEW I goofed up!

But then, while printing some of the shots, it "hit me"!

Oh yeah, like, I then knew I "GOOFED UP BIG TIME"! The film was really "messed up"!

I had never seen this before ... Or since.

And yeah, hello? I actually worked as a photographer, and had developed 35mm B/W film for years! Heck, I even taught BLACK and WHITE film developing classes at the college, again, for YEARS!

Like, what the heck happened? I read up on it ...

HOT WATER.

My bad.

Or, as I like to remember it, and as it turned out ...

Yeah! Hello?

PURE GENIUS, on my part!

Well, for this ONE frame, or, "part of a frame" anyways!

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you ...

And I'm having trouble remembering just WHEN and WHERE I was when I "posed for this shot" ...

Yeah, really!

And no, THESE are NOT my feet! Come on!

But yeah, see this is just 1/3 of the "full frame"! Oh yeah! Like I said, I BLEW IT UP!

BIG TIME, baby! Like, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, you know, REALLY, big time!

Oh yeah, like I mentioned, there were actually THREE of us standing there, together, in the original image ...

Yeah, two "real" dancers, and then, yeah, me!

BALLET, TAP-DANCER, and, ahh, ME, in my NIKES!

Really.

Taken after, you know, my "REAL" photo of the dancers ... At practice, before the BIG NIGHT.

Yeah, I got a couple of them to "Line Up", like, right next to me, with just our feet showing in the frame!

I just wish I knew where it was taken!

Germany, I think!

Or, maybe up-stairs at the college ... Our floors weren't like that over in Germany, you know, in the studio, up on our little "stage thing", or whatever you want to call it ... And even if it was, we ALWAYS had that "white paper" down as a background ... Or maybe that was just at the college!

I think.

Been awhile.

But anywho ...

Ahh! Got it! Of course!

THE AUGUSTA BALLET.

Duh? How could I forget THAT?

So yeah, like, BEFORE ever getting over to Germany!

Back in 1984, when I worked at N&W CAMERA, like, right downtown in Augusta, Georgia, when my "wife at that time", was going through her Army training, back in the day.

That's it!

It's all coming back to me now ...

Plus, yeah, see, the woman I was married to, for TWENTY years, yeah, she was a "Dancer" back in the day ... And I'm trying to think if these are her feet. I never thought of that until right now.

Been awhile ... But I don't think so, in fact, no! Like I said, they were part of the Augusta Dance Company! Duh?

Funny how that all worked out ..

I just remember three of us ... And since I was in the picture, yeah? Who took the photo?

Self-timer?

Yeah, that was a thing ... I mean, come on! I had my running shoes on! So yeah, that must have been it!

But yes, I was in the image (I promise!), I just can't remember where! To the LEFT of these feet, I'm pretty sure! Yeah, I was on the one of the "ends", there on the right, I believe!

But, that said, my feet are not in this image, so yeah, who cares?

I cropped them out when I went Big! Like really, really, BIG!

There you go!

And yes, by "BLOWING UP" this image, you can really see where that HOT water messed up the film big time! And yeah, at that time, I had no idea what it was called! Trust me, it only happened this ONE TIME!

And yeah, YEARS ago!

Years and years ago as it turns out ...

Wow!

Maybe this is one time I'm actually GLAD I couldn't really remember when, and where, I was went I "took this shot"!

Until now.

Or, if I even "took it" ... I mean, I did have the self-timer, right there, just saying ...

But I do KNOW this!

Yeah, I am the one that really messed-up when developing the film in the first place, and, yeah, I am also the person that blew it up afterwards, and yeah, even "added the color" after all that, as well!

So, yeah, THAT I do remember!

I am also the person that found out what this "MESS" is actually called!

Yeah, "RETICULATION".

And no, I didn't just "make it up" either! I promise.

"GOOGLE IT", I promise, it's a "real thing"!

Anywho ...

I LIKE IT, and that is what it's really all about, when it comes right down to it!

And it's been up-stairs, in my "PHOTOGRAPHY ROOM", ever since I moved into this apartment, like what? Over TWENTY ONE years ago now, but who's counting?

Welcome to MY WORLD.

But see? I do know ART!

Come on! I started out shooting my motorcycle trips at eighteen, then got into my travels over in Japan as a Marine, and on a Navy ship, for a month all over the WEST-PAC, which is "NAVY" for, ahh, "Western Pacific" ... But you probably guessed that one already!

And then, after college, more travel, and actually working as a photographer, for the Department of the Army, and then, yeah, more TRAVEL photography, before I retired (and why I'm single), and then I REALLY began to travel more, and more, and more, until, well, yeah ... COVID shut down everything, and then, yeah ...

That was that.

But yeah, things are sort of "getting back to normal" once again, whatever that means!

We'll see ...

Good luck with that.

Keep at it, and yeah, don't worry about making a "mistake", it just might turn out to be your, ahh, you know ...

Your BEST "MISTAKE" EVER"!

Worked for me!

Once.

Enjoy.

See ya OUT THERE!