8x10 Negatives? Not so good

How are the 8x10 negatives turning out? Not so good. I developed two more on Saturday, and they came out with major problems. I have to narrow it down, and I think it is a combination of my technique/method and my equipment. I really think some of the film holders I am using have major issues.

This is the Riverwalk Parkway. What happened? I think the negative was flashed somehow by the sun, maybe when I took out the slide. What I have to do from now on with all my holders is not remove the slide all the way out, so that the slide will serve to block any light leaking in. I know, I know, we are supposed to remove it, leaving a slide hanging out will present a big surface for breezes to blow against and, thus, introduce camera movement. I will have to figure out a way, because I cannot trust all my film holders. 

This is what I obtain when I try to invert the negative crudely, using the simple software I have on my Mac. No, I do not have copies of Photoshop or Lightroom, I do not want to subscribe to them (yet).

This one is really a disaster on all levels. I don't know what possessed me to take this photo, the composition was terrible to begin with. I saw these shapes, and I was thinking of Ben Horne again, the Youtube landscape photographer (and philosopher) who at times takes closeups. Of course, he has an amazing 8x10 camera, plus over a decade of experience, and he makes it seem easy, but what he publishes in his videos are only his successes, not his failures. So, he leads one to overestimate what we can expect, and I thought, why not stand right in front of this plant and see if I can fill up the composition? The flowers were unusual, like little lanterns pointing up, and they looked like decorations in Chinatown. So, since I was in a hurry to take more photos before proceeding to my next destination that Sunday (a week ago), and nothing makes waste like haste, this turned out to be waste. Look at that camera and tripod shadow! You would think I would have learned by now that the Schneider 121 lens is extremely wide angle, and almost seems to include a view that reaches back and always includes me and the camera. I took the photo and I am pretty sure there was a massive light leak when I removed the slide. As mentioned before, no more removing the slide completely. My best recommendation, however, is to not be in a hurry. If the shot is not there, it is not there. I am not Ben Horne, I am not carrying boxes and boxes of film when he goes to places like Death Valley or Zion National Park. I am just starting out, this is, perhaps, my second month of practicing with this 3D camera, and I am making all the mistakes possible. Mistakes are good, they imprint lessons the hard way, but they are also demoralizing. But I am not giving up.

This is what I obtain when I try to invert the image. Pure disaster, or else, I could take a positive (get it, positive? Wince) view and say it is a ghostly image with its own chic esthetic. But I will call it what it is, a disaster.