Second Trip to South Korea with FILM ONLY

This was my 2nd trip to South Korea (first trip documented in previous post). I took film only on this trip, as I did on my first trip, leaving all of my digital equipment at home. I changed it up quite a bit with the color films with some films being shot at box speed, some overexposed, and some pushed in development at the lab. I did this to experiment and to compare the different effects.

Film, much unlike digital, can be WAY overexposed without blowing out highlights. This is where the mantra comes from “shoot for the shadow and develop for the highlights.” Shooting for the shadows means “get those shadows exposed even if you push the highs quite far.” When you overexpose film, the emulsion becomes denser, with colors being more saturated. This means that the lab, when scanning, will have to use more light to push through (to “see through”) the emulsion. But don’t worry about all the details right now, let’s take a look at some photos.

ROLL 1 - KODAK EKTAR IN AE-1 - OVEREXPOSED BY 1 STOP

Overexposing with color film causes deeper saturation, as seen in these photos. The reds are very strong, and I love the teal blue that this film gives to the skies.

ROLL 2 - KODAK PORTRA 400 IN QL-17 - OVEREXPOSED 1 STOP

As in the Ektar, these colors are also more saturated compared to exposing at box speed. Portra has characteristic creamy whites and warm tone, often appreciated in portrait photography.

ROLL 3 - KODAK PORTRA 400 IN AE-1 - OVEREXPOSED BY 2 STOPS

These colors are even more saturated than the previous roll. Note the very red car in image 7.

ROLL 4 - KODAK PORTRA 400 IN QL-17 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

I really appreciate how different kinds of light have different “color” in the photos. The white balance of film is achieved in the emulsion, in the different kinds of chemicals that make up the film’s emulsion. Most film is daylight balanced. Note the characteristic green fluorescent light in image 5. This would most likely have been changed in a digital camera’s white balance.

ROLL 5 - KODAK EKTAR IN QL-17 - OVEREXPOSED BY 1 STOP

These are some of my favorite images. I was actually surprised at how creamy the whites came out in the second image. That was a white bedspread, not off-white as it appears in the photo. But I do love the warm cast. And again the teal skies, so good.

ROLL 6 - KODAK EKTAR IN AE-1 - PUSHED ONE STOP AT DEVELOPMENT

This is how you push film at development: First you underexpose when shooting in camera (one stop underexposed, for example). This would normally result in a darker image. But then during development you leave it in the chemicals for a longer duration of time (specified by a development chart). This makes the resulting negative’s exposure “normal,” or about equal to the exposure you would have achieved without stopping down. Who do all of this? Well, when you underexpose you don’t get much detail in the shadows. Then when you push it in development the darkest parts of the image are brought up and are more like a charcoal or a dark gray. This can be likened to bringing up the blacks in Lightroom.

With all of this said, pushing Ektar is not a look that I prefer, but I can see why someone might. It’s different and in my opinion has that “filmic look” partially due to the blacks not being true black. That’s just my opinion.

ROLL 7 - KODAK PORTRA 400 IN QL-17 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

Classic Kodak Portra. Love it. Not a whole lot else to say.

ROLL 8 - FUJI ACROS 100 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

Fuji Acros. My absolute favorite black and white film. When Fuji announced they were not going to make any more Acros film, I immediately went online and bought 100 rolls. Maybe a little bit of an impulse buy, but I may be happy about it years from now.

I absolutely love this film. This trip is when I fell in love with Fuji Acros. Its tones are so buttery. I have played with the Acros film simulation quite a bit on the Fuji X-Pro2. I do love it on the X-Pro2, but it’s just not the same as the film.

I had a really great time in Seoul on this second trip, not the least of which because we brought home our son, but also because we got some really great photos to document it.

First Trip EVER with Film Only (NO DIGITAL)

I've been documenting my life through photography for a long time now. It all started with my first trip overseas to Ukraine in 2004. I've primarily been shooting digital ever since that time, but have been implementing more and more film into my kit over the last 3 or 4 years. Right now my kit consists of a Fujifilm Xpro-2 with 35mm f2.0 lens, Canon AE-1 Program with 50mm 1.8 lens, Canon QL17, and occasionally a holga. I pack all of this up into one of my many bags (I have a real bag problem, which my wife, Jessi, says is an understatement, but that's another blog post for another time). 

 My wife and I are currently in the process of adopting our son from South Korea (also another post for another time). This involves two trips to Korea (yes!). I've never taken a trip in which I completely left my digital kit at home and went full-on film. However, after encouragement from a good friend I thought it might be good to get out of my comfort zone and do a whole trip with 35mm film only. I bought 5 rolls of Fujicolor Pro 400H, and 5 rolls of Kodak Ektar 100. My goal was to have one camera always loaded with 100 speed film, and another always loaded with 400 so that I would be ready for most lighting situations. 

I'd also like to say that I am not a professional photographer by any means. The AE-1 was given to me from my mom, and I bought the QL17 on ebay for $50 (and it works!). I use the in-camera meter on both cameras. I have shot a couple of weddings, and I've had one photo in a magazine, but I'm not a professional who gets paid for this kind of thing. This was purely an experimental trip, dabbling in the old art form of film photography. 

All I have to say is: wow. This really pushed me to evaluate the scene, the light, the subject, and work with limited resources. I also experimented with overexposing the films, underexposing, and pushing the film in development. I shot a total of 6 rolls. Let's walk through them one roll at a time. 

ROLL 1 - FUJI PRO 400H IN AE-1 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

In general this is a true to life film with fine grain. I've heard so many good things about it but, honestly, I'm not a huge fan. I've heard that you overexpose this film, and you can get a really great "light and airy" look for weddings and such, but that's just not my thing. Seems like a good all around film for most uses. 

ROLL 2 - KODAK EKTAR IN THE QL-17 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

I love this film! It's contrasty, colors are more saturated, just more my style. Wish it came in more speeds other than just 100. I've heard Ektar "really likes light," and it does, however I got some good shots indoors as well. 

ROLL 3 - FUJI PRO 400H IN AE-1 - OVEREXPOSED BY 2 STOPS

I definitely like the look of Pro 400H overexposed. That's the only way I'm going to be able to tolerate it. But again definitely a good all around film. I especially like the way it brought out the red in the hanbok (traditional korean clothing). 

ROLL 4 - FUJI PRO 400H IN THE AE-1 - UNDEREXPOSED BY 1 STOP

Full disclaimer: I meant to push this film at development. But after I was done with the roll I popped it out and put it in the bag... with the other rolls of 400H! I immediately realized this but couldn't identify which was which! Note to self: label rolls that you plan to push before you put them in the camera. Most of the photos were surprisingly usable!

 Also, Seoul has one of the biggest fish markets in the world! They sell everything there! There is a tradition of eating a live baby octopus. I didn't do it. However, I did see a video of it on youtube. I think the pic of the one below is for sure not a baby octopus. But hey, I'm no octopus expert. 

ROLL 5 - KODAK EKTAR IN THE QL-17 - SHOT AT BOX SPEED

Still digging the Ektar. Not much else to say. This is good stuff. 

ROLL 6 - KODAK EKTAR IN THE QL-17 - PUSHED 1 STOP

So if you like film, have thought about trying something new, just do it. It'll push you to work a little harder, but it's very rewarding. I don't know if the next trip will be all film again, or if I'll take the xpro-2 and try to replicate the same look with film simulations... I just haven't decided yet. Hope you enjoyed these photo comparisons of different films in different cameras.