Chalk up one more roll for the ACP book project! Yesterday, I picked up a roll of Kodak's Ektar 100 film from A&I that I had dropped off to be developed earlier in the week. I was REALLY nervous and anxious as to what kind of results I would get. Sometimes, I would go onto Flickr and do a bit of research on any particular type of film I plan on shooting. During my time researching on Flickr, I noticed that there was absolutely NO examples of Kodak Ektar 100 that had been cross processed AND pulled 1 stop. So as far as what I would expect, I was shooting in the dark so to speak. Of the examples of Kodak Ektar 100 that had been xpro'd at speed on Flickr, the color shifts tended to be muted and some came out with pretty good results so I was looking forward to getting similar results. To my surprise, my results were FAR from what I saw on Flickr...
I'm not quite sure if pulling the film was the main reason why the shift on Ektar tended to be a really dull blue all around, or whether if it was the fact that the film was scanned by A&I or both but I really didn't expect that much of a color shift to be honest with you.
Most of the images that came from the roll looked as if I had shot using some sort of a hybrid ND and blue filter on the lens and I could only use just a few photos from the roll to put into the book because as I went through each photograph, I just kept saying to myself "bah this is just awful". I want the photos within the book to pop! Although high contrast and color shifts are a part of what cross processing film will get you, when the color shift shifts towards a dull shade, it puts a dent into my original vision.
There is a bright side however as far as implementing this film when you're crossing it while pulling it one stop. If you wanted to convey a really dark and gloomy setting in a photo, crossing and pulling this film one stop would probably yield a great result as you will see below. I don't know. Maybe near sunset but just before the golden hour so that you get the right amount of light, while you're in a cemetery or in a forest or wood setting. Maybe in the desert? You'll get that dark look that you're looking for which is probably what I'll do in the future should the need and idea for a photo arise...
Even though the results wasn't what I expected with this film (or crossing color negative film with E6 chemicals), it won't stop me from experimenting with these methods. I do plan on shooting Ektar and crossing it again in the very near future for this ACP project. The next time/s will be different though. I'll be shooting it at rated speed AND I'll probably push it one stop. The next roll I have in my camera is Kodak Portra 160VC which is going to be crossed as well. I forget if I have it pushed, pulled or at speed. Yet another C41 film to be crossed with E6 chems. Should I expect dull color shifts as well? We soon shall see!
If you'd like to see more of my photographic works, become a fan of 17thletter Photography on Facebook!
I'm not quite sure if pulling the film was the main reason why the shift on Ektar tended to be a really dull blue all around, or whether if it was the fact that the film was scanned by A&I or both but I really didn't expect that much of a color shift to be honest with you.Most of the images that came from the roll looked as if I had shot using some sort of a hybrid ND and blue filter on the lens and I could only use just a few photos from the roll to put into the book because as I went through each photograph, I just kept saying to myself "bah this is just awful". I want the photos within the book to pop! Although high contrast and color shifts are a part of what cross processing film will get you, when the color shift shifts towards a dull shade, it puts a dent into my original vision.
There is a bright side however as far as implementing this film when you're crossing it while pulling it one stop. If you wanted to convey a really dark and gloomy setting in a photo, crossing and pulling this film one stop would probably yield a great result as you will see below. I don't know. Maybe near sunset but just before the golden hour so that you get the right amount of light, while you're in a cemetery or in a forest or wood setting. Maybe in the desert? You'll get that dark look that you're looking for which is probably what I'll do in the future should the need and idea for a photo arise...
Even though the results wasn't what I expected with this film (or crossing color negative film with E6 chemicals), it won't stop me from experimenting with these methods. I do plan on shooting Ektar and crossing it again in the very near future for this ACP project. The next time/s will be different though. I'll be shooting it at rated speed AND I'll probably push it one stop. The next roll I have in my camera is Kodak Portra 160VC which is going to be crossed as well. I forget if I have it pushed, pulled or at speed. Yet another C41 film to be crossed with E6 chems. Should I expect dull color shifts as well? We soon shall see!
If you'd like to see more of my photographic works, become a fan of 17thletter Photography on Facebook!