Rangefinder Magazine
June 2002

Problems and Solution

Please accompany your questions with a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish an immediate reply. Alternatively, you can e-mail me at: bhurter@rfpublishing.com.

From: Anonymous
One of my services other than weddings is portraits and models comp cards. While being listed on a few models sites, I noticed that models just blocks away from my location were having their work done by one of three photographers located over 35 miles away from me. Not once did one of these models contact me for a price or quote.

My work is equal to and in some cases better than the three other west side photographers and my pricing is competitive. I decided to e-mail one of the three to get an idea as to what might be going on. I pretended to be a female model looking for a photographer. The fellow that I e-mailed has a studio and rents studio time to the other three photographers in question.

In his e-mail he used bogus scare tactics to lure this model to use his services or one of his three friends who rent studio time from him.

He also warned with serious scare threats for the model not to use me as a photographer. We both know this is unprofessional unethical. I need to know if you can help put a stop to this by posing as a model on a site or two and seeing for yourself on what scare tactics are used or contact them if I supply the names and warn them of the consequences.

As far as I can see none of these photographers are members of any sort of photographers organizations, otherwise I would have written to them.

Thanks for your time and help on this.

Wow. What a mess. There are a couple of things you can do. I would probably first contact the Better Business Bureau and file a detailed complaint. That way, anybody wanting to check out these photographers with the BBB will find out that there is a current complaint on file. If you want to get more aggressive, look into retaining an attorney. At the very least the inquiries of an attorney may cause an abrupt change in these photographers’ business practices. If you find out that your name and reputation have been damaged, then there is always the possibility of a civil suit. In any event, good luck with this and let us know what happens.

We received a note from Peter Kotsinadelis, who wrote the article “Are Digital SLRs Ready for Prime Time?” in the April, 2002 issue. Unfortunately, we transposed the t and the s in his last name, although we somehow managed to get it right in the bio at the end of the article. Peter is a well respected author in the photographic community. Out apologies for the typo.

From: Carol l. Weigelt
E-mail: cweigelt@juno.com
Regarding the storage of 35mm film, can can you put it in a freezer to increase shelf life? What are advantages and/or disadvantages? If you store 35mm in the refrigerator how long can you safely extend the shelf life of the film past the expiration date?

You can extend the shelf life of your unopened film for several years by refrigerating it. Note, this is not the same thing as freezing your film, which is not recommended. “Amateur films,” speaking generally, released for sale are still “curing” while on the shelf. The expiration date signifies the date when the film has matured to its specified aim point, meaning that the color is optimum. Beyond that date, there are no guarantees by the manufacturer and in fact, color will begin to become less than optimum after that date. Professional versions of films on the other hand are usually kept refrigerated until sale and should be kept refrigerated by the purchaser until use.

Refrigerating your film will retard the curing process, extending the expiration date almost indefinitely, although that is subject to storage conditions and humidity. Film should be stored in its original packaging to prevent moisture from coming in contact with the film.

Further, it is always advisable to test the film that is beyond its expiration date to make sure that the film is still optimal. I have safely used film many times that had previously “expired,” but had been kept refrigerated.

J.J. Allen, one of our long-time contributors, recently underwent bypass surgery and is at home recuperating and working on his new book and web site. Feel free to drop him a line via his web site. The address is http://jjaflair.home.att.net.