If you shoot with a manual advance film camera you’ve experienced that the first frame of the roll is usually a partial image. This happens when you take photos prior to your camera hitting zero on the frame counter. These photos are often looked over or forgotten when loading the film. If you advance the film completely to zero before taking a photo, you never get these “first of the roll” images, but they can be fun to play around with and plan for—like the photos below! If you’re trying to get this effect we recommend taking the same photo twice, so you have one partial image and one full image!
User submissions [via Facebook]
This was shot on Kodak 2238. I just love this shot. No deeper meaning, just love it.
-Mario Piper
Love this because the transition looks burned, and the subject is a little campfire my son built.
– Mario Piper
Central Park, October 2017. Nikkormat FT -Marcos Espinosa
I love when vertical ones turn out, I’m always super excited to see if I get a good one! Ig: @35mmichael -Michael Kiel
-Katherine Rucker
Ocean Beach, CA. -Kelly Richards
It’s hard to tell in this pic, I think it makes it look cool. -Sigrid Drennen
-Megan Cooper
-Matt Conover
-Mike Caputo
Processed with you guys. Location: Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama, Time: April 2013, Camera: Olympus Trip 35, Film: Polypan F 50
-Austin Beeman
one of my very favorites of my little sister, on her first trip to europe. canon af35m, january 2017. -Sola Muno
[…] your first shot since loading can be a little tricky with some cameras, thus the well know “first of the roll” phenomenon, when the first shot is a partial exposure. This usually isn’t a problem in […]
[…] your first shot since loading can be a little tricky with some cameras, thus the well know “first of the roll” phenomenon, when the first shot is a partial exposure. This usually isn’t a problem in […]