First Roll: Ilford FP4+

In the fall I messaged Jennifer if she would be interested in creating some work and she agreed. I was super excited about this because I needed a mental health day from work. So we both had a Friday off and I met her at her awesome studio apartments in downtown Boise. We shot a ton this day, however I told her I had a roll of film that required a ton of sun. So we did one last outfit change and headed outside her apartment into the sun to feed the FP4+ extreme hunger for light. I rated this roll at box speed (ISO 125) and went through the roll pretty quick and it sort of saddens me there is no 220 of this in current production. As much as I love the 6x7 negative size, it really cuts short a roll at 10 exposures and if you only have one roll you become quite stingy on pushing the shutter.

Usually I am a Kodak fan boy at heart and I LOVE shooting Kodak Tri-X 400 but I was looking to explore other black and white films and when I ordered my Fomapan rolls forever ago I thought why not FP4 too? This roll was a joy to shoot and I honestly will be investing in more to keep stock in my fridge. The contest is perfect for my taste, nice rich blacks, solid middle gray and great highlights. It was easy and quick for scanning, I barely spent anytime on adjustments, in fact I spent more time on removing dust. Kodak Tri-X is great but for more mid day shooting and harsh sunlight, FP4 will be an easy go to without hesitation.

First Roll: Fomapan 200

At the end of October, early November I really needed a day off from school other than the weekend. Now a “taking care of myself” day means I’m not sitting on my butt, it means I’m waking up and taking photographs and thats exactly what I did! I met up with Jerusha in downtown Boise with my Bronica ETRSi and a roll of Fomapan 200. I’ve been very interested in shooting this film stock because of what I’ve been seeing others create with it and I must say it did not disappoint. I loved shooting this film stock and I probably will be shooting more personal portrait work/travel with Foma. It’s a tad cheaper than other name brand b&w films and it just has a more classic black and white look to it that I just really enjoy.

I’ve really been enjoying all these new film stocks I’m experiencing. Up next I have a roll of Ilford FP4+ that I shot some portraits with and had a rather interesting developing challenge.

First Roll: Kodak Double X

Sometime early 2019 a friend and local photographer gifted me a roll of Kodak Double X. This film is a cinema film, yes the kind they use for Hollywood movies. Famous movies that have used this stock were Schindlers List and the opening scene to 007 Casino Royale. So my approach was to give a minor attempt in creating some cinematic stills, was I successful? Maybe. However I was extremely excited with the outcome of this first roll and I knew also I would attempt to photograph different people and different light times to see what this film looks like in all avenues. Sometimes I found it tough because this film is a 250 ISO film and I overexposed a bit with rating it at 200. The last few shots with Ellen I took were much slower shutter speeds and it was key not to mess up and get motion blur.

Conclusion: Would I buy this film again? Without a doubt, this film was fun to shoot and I think I would always try to get cinematic looks with it just because that would be a fun challenge to do. My only complaint though, its only in 35mm and not in medium format (120)

First Roll: Lomography F2/400

Its not uncommon for me to keep a roll or two in my bag when I go take some portraits. When I was shooting with Ellen I also brought my Rolleiflex 2.8C with a roll of some Lomography F2/400 color film. (Check here to see the digital shots) Now, F2/400 is a color film that was purchased by Lomography, they bought an exclusive jumbo roll of film from an older company. And like a fine wine, they “aged” it and then distributed it. When they announced this film I picked up a good handful, which was a good idea because they sold out within a day or two.

After wrapping up our shoot I ran home and went right to developing this roll. I was super excited how the negatives would render let alone if they would reveal anything, which is always my feelings about developing but that’s what makes it feel like Christmas morning haha. Anyways, I shot this F2/400 at box speed and was extremely impressed in when I did a preview scan. I’m happy I bought a good amount of rolls. With that in mind, I will be treating this film like a fine whiskey… only busting it our for special shoots or something.