Lost a whole roll of film because my camera's light seals turned to goo

I shot a roll of Portra 400 last month on a trip to Portland. Walked around the Pearl District for like 4 hours, got some real nice shots of the old brick buildings and a weird rusty bridge. Dropped the roll off at the lab and when I got the scans back everything had these crazy orange streaks across the top third. Turns out the foam light seals inside my old AE-1 had turned into sticky black tar over the years and they were letting light leak in. Never even thought to check them before shooting. Has anyone else had a light leak ruin a whole day of work like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper1mo ago

Nah, light leaks are just free vintage vibes, you’re overthinking it.

olivia4781mo ago

Actually light leaks come from physical damage to the camera body or back, not from how you shoot. They happen when the foam light seals break down over time, so it's less about vibes and more about needing new seals. Its fixable for cheap if you want to keep shooting without surprise streaks.