I’m pretty consistent with the film I shoot—mostly because I buy the film I like in bulk. My primary color film is FujiFilm Superia X-TRA 400 and my primary monochrome film is Ilford HP5+ 400.
But when I was in Vermont in July, the film-enthusiasts working at a camera store in downtown Burlington recommended a whole bunch of different films for me to try, so I bought a few of each. I spent this summer giving all of them a spin, at least once.
Portra 400
As in the previous installment, I took these two nearly-identical pictures inadvertently, on two different rolls of film. When I arrived in Sveti Stefan, Montenegro on a cloudy day, my camera was loaded with Portra 400. I’ve used Portra before and I really like it… but I wanted to shoot Sveti Stefan with Ektar 100. So I rushed through the end of my roll and loaded the Ektar.
Ektar 100
Why Ektar and not Portra? I knew from experience that Ektar super-saturates the colors and makes them pop—especially reds and blues. Sveti Stefan is a vibrant place, so I wanted film that would emphasize that. Portra, in my experience, produces more creamy and natural colors.
Film is unpredictable, but it’s possible to make educated guesses about your images. My experience with these films taught me what to expect, and I wasn’t wrong. The Ektar image really yields much brighter colors, especially on Sveti Stefan’s red roofs, while the Portra creates a much more even-looking color scheme.
Photography is always a series of choices, and especially so when shooting film. The post-production that digital photographers apply often happens IN THE MOMENT with analogue; I have to choose my film before I take the pictures, and the film can drastically alter the image. I think both of these photos work—they just FEEL different.
It’s these little wonders that keep me hooked on film.
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