There are a ton of films you can go out and buy today. There used to be even more years ago but we all know the benefits of digital. As well we all know that film has it's place in the modern age. From lomography fans with toy cameras to hobbyist with slr-s to professional fashion photographers with medium format workhorses, everyone has a different reasons for shooting. Sometimes they are even more than one.
I've talked here about film before but not about the reasons i do it. And thinking of it they are quite a few.
The precision it requires when shooting (36 shots instead of 300 compared to digital) is one of my favourites. That has definitely pushed my shooting forward. Also i love the feel of old analog cameras and the diversity there is. And talking about diversity we are ariving to the reason for this post. Film diversity.
Film comes in many shapes even to day. Black and white, Low contrast, high contrast, infrared, grainy, super fine grain, colour, slide, vivid and desaturated, realistic and changed.... the list goes on.
So naturally you would want to try every option and put in in the best use. And when you get a film you haven't shot its a new endeavour that brings excitement.
The last production i worked i met a guy that used to work as a loader (charging cinema camera cartridges with film on set) and when shooting a movie you always get a lot o excess film that is meters long but would only lead to a few seconds of shot which is insufficient so those pieces get left out. That guy gave me 60 meter of old expired cinema film :O
I was so happy to receive that gift and couldn't wait to shoot it. However there are a few setbacks in shooting actual cine film. Its a standard c41 process (like modern day colour films you see in photo stores but it has a little trick up it's sleeve. It's called RemJet. REM-JET (or RemJet) is a removable jet black layer. The black coating, made of carbon particles, is located at the bottom of the film. It works as anti-halation and anti-static, it also offers lubrication and scratch protection. It's easily removed with baking soda and water but that ultimately means you have to develop the film by hand witch for colour film is a bit more difficult compared to black and white.
So i conglomerated with a few buddies. One of them has a lab and they provided chemistry and professional equipment that would make it possible for us to shoot it.
It was a really fun evening ( as we stayed till 1 a.m )that ended with some good results so I'm sharing some of them with you :)
That's a 15sec long exposure and it behaved really good for 10 years of expiration
And here it is in the daylight.
(this is one of the guys that we developed the films with
STREET photography :D
Some landmarks here in Sofia Bulgaria.
And some forest abstractions :D
These are just from a test roll so now that I know that the film does and how it works Ill be sharing some more of the 60 metres (200 feet for the non metric rebels here) we have right now
Sharing is caring so i hope you all share films and know how with your buddies and i wish you a wonderful day :)
Stay sharp and keep shooting !