Hi anybody that has comments, or suggestions or similar stories PLEASE respond I am so heart-broken and upset over this!
Well here is what happened I took 4 disposable cameras to be sent out for developing to wal-mart in Saginaw, Michigan on Saturday a week and a half ago and was supposed to get them back by Wednesday. 2 of the cameras were old pictures one from 5 years ago and the other from 2 years ago and the other 2 were only bought and used 7 months ago one at the birth of my son and a few misc. pictures and the other the first month of his life, the 2 newest cameras were Kodak brand, well I got 3 of the 4 cameras back on Wednesday, the 2 oldest cameras which were off brands came back okay with most of the pictures in okay condition, the newer camera with my sons first month of life came back horrible, only 5 pictures of 27 turned out ok, and it took 2 more days for the last camera to come in, well when it did only 4 pictures of the 27 pictures came back okay and I only got 25 of the 27 negatives back first off, NONE of his birth, I could see something on one of the negatives that hadn't gotten printed so I had the 1 hour lab run the negatives and I was able to get 1 picture of my sons birth, the one of my boyfriend giving him a bath with the nurse right after he was born, and it looks horrible you cant hardly see anything! Well I was standing there in Wal-mart balling my eyes out, I am so sad and hurt, there are no pictures of all three of us just after he was born nothing, and I cant get these back, I have the memories, but I WANT MY PICTURES!! I am so upset over this Ive been crying about this every day for the past week, I don't know what to do? You guys and gals are always so helpful, what would you do in my position? did any of you have an experience like this, whose fault is it? wal-mart? Kodak? can I take the negatives some where can anything be done? HELP PLEASE! I know how to use a disposable camera, so did the nurses and my boyfriend, why me ? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks for listening.. Angelique

I'd call Kodak if I were you..i dunno if they will be of any help but you can express to them that the pictures came back horrible and you want to know if there is any sort of "fixing" they can do to the pictures. If you have the negatives and the negatives dont show the pictures you've took..i dunno about that. But usually if i ever have a problem with something I call the company first. I would ASSUME that if the negatives look okay then maybe it was walmarts fault for how they developed them. Sorry to hear about your loss! I can imagine how you feel. I lost the pictures of my daughters baptism but luckily I found the negatives. Until I found the negatives I was heartbroken cuz you cant go back in time. Hope I was of some sort of help to you. Keep me posted of what happens. Good Luck!

Most likely some of the fault is yours. The cameras, thus the film, were older. Had they been stored in a cool dry enviroment or had they been left in a car? Exposed to any extremes in heat and/or humidity?

Oh and who knows how long the cameras had been on the shelf before you bought them?

I'm sorry, but I really think you are out of luck.

You might take the negatives to somewhere that strictly does photo developing (a local camera shop could probably give the best advice on this one), but I wouldn't hold my breath.

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If I read this right...the older cameras pictures came out better then the 2 Kodak cameras which were newer.

That is correct, the two older cameras: one was 5 years old and the other was 2 years old came out okay, it was the other 2 newer cameras both from the same pack, it was a 2 pack I bought from walgreens a week before my son was born 7 months ago that didnt turn out. hope the extra info cleares up any confusion. Thanks again..

When my DD was born my hubby was taking all the pics(36exp) when he went to change the film guess what? NO FILM. You should of seen his face. The firsts were missed. Oh well 15 years later we laugh about it. We still got pics in the hospital but a couple hours after the birth. Not that this helps you but things happen.

after dozens of awful pictures hubby bought me a digital camera, i think even the $30 digitals would be better than the 35mm then after that he bought me an all in one printer with the card slots heheh. I doubt you'll get much out of it, you could have stored them wrong, the store or somewhere along the route could have messed the film up, theres really not a way you can place blame on a certain party.

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How were the cameras stored before you developed them? Where they stored in a hot, humid place or a cool dry place? Did they go through any airport xrays? Film is very tempermental. I would take a look at the negatives of the film that didn't turn out. If you can see images on them, take them in and get them reprinted. They may not be great, but they would be something. If you see nothing but black, the film could've possibly been exposed to light prior to development. If it looks "clear" it means that either no pictures were taken on it or the pictures were taken and there was not enough light for the camera to capture an image. How did the pictures look that actually turned out from the roll of film that only had 4 images printed? Were they very dark and grainy, or blurry? Once the film has been removed from a disposable camera, the cameras are recycled. If they are in decent condition, new film is put in the camera and something like electrical tape used on the camera to hold the plastic part of the camera that covers the film, then the camera gets a paper or cardboard packaging and the camera is repackaged and resold. The battery in the camera may go through multiple recyclings and not get checked, so you may have purchased a camera with a battery that was dead, therefore the flash may not have been working. Or you may have not turned on the flash before you took pictures, or you may have used an outdoor camera (that does not have a flash).

WalMart 2 day photos are serviced by Fuji and the film is all run through machines automatically and the orders aren't necessarily quality checked. The printer could've just had a hiccup and skipped past the pictures on your film. I'm hoping that is the case for you. Regardless, I wish you the best and hope you are able to recover some of your pictures.

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I think OP got lucky with the older cameras, and 7 months is too long to leave disposables sit, in unknown conditions. There is a limit of liability with both the film and the developer, read the box or the flap on the film envelope, they are only liable to replace the cost of the film, thats it. I dont even think that would be valid after letting them sit for 7 months

As sad as it is they really only have to replace the camera/film. I feel so sorry for you.

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Very sad.

I work at a photo lab and it is really hard to destroy film when you are developing it in a professional lab. Chances are better that something happened to the cameras before they were taken in to be developed. There's really no way to tell if the camera was stored improperly before you bought it, after you bought it, after the pics were taken, etc.

I've had film that I would develop and they would look horrible or be totally blank only to find out that they'd had it for years or had left it in a freezing car or in the sun.

Once the negatives go thru the processor they are scanned and previewed. If the pics are horrible I won't print the picture so that's why the one print wasn't made.

If the chemicals in the processor are bad then no pictures on the roll will turn out and be printable.
There is nothing that can be done to the negatives to make them printable. Sorry.

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Using disposable cameras for the birth of your baby was probably a bad thing to do. I really don't think there's anyone to blame. It's just something that happens.

I know you're upset about it now but you'll have plenty more pictures to take of your baby. When my twins were born, DH took pictures right after they were born and they all turned out so dark you couldn't even see them. It didn't really upset me. I was disappointed but it wasn't the end of the world. Now 24 years later, we have tons of pictures.

Like another poster said, there's not much you can do about it now except maybe Kodak may give you your money back.

I think I'd invest in a good digital camera and quit using disposables.

I had a boyfriend who worked in a photo lab at an actual camera store and they could do amazing things with film. Do you have a real camera shop near you, not a photo developing place? Maybe bring your negatives there and see what they say? There's probably nothing you can do, but it's worth a try.

Sorry your pictures are ruined, that really stinks.

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I am so sorry that this happened to you guys. I learned how to develop my own film and use a professional camera outfit in a class I took in college yrs. ago, so I know that you probably have some options here. First, get all the negatives you can from the roll of film. See if Wal-Mart can track down the negatives that were not included in the pictures returned to you (we are home office associates so I know that this will more than likely be possible--they use the same facility for photoprocessing so if your local store can't seem to help you, call the 1-800 number to the Wal-Mart home office in Bentonville, Arkansas and talk to someone in the photo dept. & see what they can do for you). Next, take your pictures and negatives to a very good, independant photographer or camera/photo shop. You will be amazed at how much better the photos will look (I'm not saying they will be able to save all of them, but that is probably your best shot). A professional will be able to do a lot with the negatives that Wal-Mart can't do.

Now, did anyone else take any photos of your child? Relatives, hospital nursery, etc? Get in touch with them all and see what pictures you can get. Wonder if the hospital security has you 3 on film & would make you a copy if they knew the situation? (A longshot, but I know you are 'there'). That would at least be 'something' but of course will never replace the pictures you took of course. Did anyone video the baby in any of these days? A good photo shop can take the video and make stills. Try to keep it all in perspective though; most of us probably only have a few pictures of ourselves when we were infants, etc. Just the way things were done back then. Take extra special care of all of his/her newborn 'things', or splurge on something such as a shadow box for the coming home outfit and have a few of the pictures you do have blown up and framed, etc. I so feel your pain and am just heartbroken for you as my MIL ruined our wedding video 15 yrs. ago and we do not have one to this day (yep I still hold a special ugg for her to this day because of her error). Long story, and I still feel the pain to this day.

I would go out asap and get myself a good camera and start taking 'now pictures' (to this day, for 'important' happenings like b'days, births, etc., I ALWAYS back up my pictures--I use a good digital, an SLR print camera, and we video with a camera that also takes stills--I'm paranoid about it; sometimes I will back-up with a disposable but I don't rely on those for my most important pictures). It will be worth every single penny. You might even back up a digital on the computer. If you can afford it, I'd probably get a good digital SLR and download them to the computer every time. Again, I'm so sorry this happened. Let us know what happens.

Just wanted to add that there are also a lot of photo or negative restoring places popping up; they mostly work on 'old' photos and negatives, but they can do amazing things too. I'm sure there are a lot of places that can work wonders with all of the digital capabilities available now too. Don't give up hope!

I know this has upset you, but in the larger scheme of things, it's small potatoes. You have a beautiful baby and you know that most of us do not have pictures of our births. In fact had anyone been within a mile of me when I was giving birth, there would have been an unbelievable case of mayhem. My two kids have survived for over 30 years now without them. And so have their parents. Just take your pictures now and give that baby hugs and kisses and no one will know the difference and in a few years you might have a few pangs of regret, but that will fade with time.

Blaming everyone or someone is not going to get your pictures taken care of. I would complain to the camera company and to the photo lab the best you can expect is a refund and maybe a free something the next time around.

I am sorry this happened but it's the chance we take. Getting a digital camera is the best prevention of a future repeat.

Other than that no matter how sad it is you can't cry over spilled milk. See if the hospital has pictures available to buy and take as many as you can now.

Why buy 5 disposable cameras when you can get a digital camera for not much more? Just curious.

I am sorry this happened to you. Believe it or not someday you will be laughing about it. Right now you have a beautiful healthy baby and a loving family that is way more than some people have.

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I have accidentally deleted photos on my digital camera...

if you have deleted photos on your digital camera, there are recovery disc you can buy. We accidently deleted some pics and we sent it to my cousin who's husband has a program. He even got back pics that were deleted some time ago. It was amazing what he could recover.

To the OP sorry about your ds birth pics being ruined, I would be upset like you are.

steph

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