Provia 100F on Nikon FA

Back out on the water again testing Provia 100F which typically is recommended for portrait photography. I thought why not see how it looks for urbanscape photography?''

5 key features for this film stock

1. it provides super-fine grain making life a breeze when enlarging prints.

2. You will get highly accurate colour reproduction

3. If you meter correctly you will get very accurate highlight to shadow linearity

4. This could be a good choice for long exposure photography and multiple exposures

5. Want to shoot in low light conditions then you can push process 1/2stop up to 2 stops with a small amount of variation in colour balance and degradation

Key Features

If you like the fine sharpness of digital photography and would like to return to film then this film could be a good choice. Shooting at ISO100 this colour reversal film will give you an extremely high level of sharpness, capturing the details with extreme clarity combined with wonderfully vibrant colours.

Film Speed

If this is your first time shooting slide film, shoot it at box speed whether it's on 35mm, medium format or large format. It’s the only way to truly find out what works best for you in the conditions you are shooting them in. After shooting a roll in different conditions, you can review them after processing to see which images resonate with you best. Now, you want to consider some push processing to see how the results will vary.

Exposure Guide

You should be good to go with the age old recommendation of shooting sunny 16. However bear in mind that these settings are determined for 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset! Adjust accordingly using a light meter before and after these times so you can ensure the best results.

As you are watching these wonderful images scrolling, you might want to consider the following added things I have learned from shooting this film.

If you are out shooting casually in these conditions, perhaps on a beach, open water or even snow, anything with large reflective surfaces, then set your aperture to f/16 and you’re good to go. If you are standing in the middle of the street then, f/11 is sufficient, in extremely well lit conditions.

In hazy sunlight consider moving down to f/8 and if there is considerable cloud coverage, then, f5.6. If you’re in the shade or shadows and your camera allows it, then f/4.

Depending on your circumstances and experience with shooting slide films, you may want to adjust up or down ½ a stop during summer or winter.

If you are shooting indoors, perhaps, backlighting a subject then you may need to go up or down 1 stop in your aperture adjustments. Also, if you are shooting in extremely bright or dark conditions then you may want to adjust your lens plus or minus one stop.

All these numbers may sound confusing and complicated. You can save yourself a mind bend by using a dedicated light meter such as the Sekonic L-308X. The amount of times I have mentioned this brand you’d think I’m cutting a cut!

Best Filters

As you can see from my images, some of these have been exposed to extremely bright conditions.

If you are shooting in seaside locations, snowy landscapes in Alaska or distant bright views as you can see from these images, or even closeups or plants or portraits it is advisable to use a UV filter Number 2C.

For bright cloudy conditions, you can use a Wratten No.81A Filter and make an appropriate aperture adjustment plus 1 or 3 stops.

For early morning or twilight portraits use a Number 82A or Number 82C filter and adjust aperture stops again plus 1 or 3 stops.

Shooting with Electronic Flash

I have shot with Provia on Medium Format several times, the results have been very good when exposed correctly. However, I strongly suggest getting lots of practice with studio lights.

The advantage of working in a studio is you have a great degree of control over the lighting, so you don't want to flood your subject with too much or too little. Most modern studio lighting equipment is very very reliable and gives you a very consistent light.

If you are using fluorescent lamps you will have to adjust your exposure by one stop for white, daylight and cool white and 2 and 1/3 of a stop for warm white.

Use a Wratten Filter No.80A along with a 1 2/3 lens stop increase, when using 3200K tungsten lighting.

For household tungsten lighting such as room lamps which are the main source of lighting, you will need to use both a Wratten Filter No.80A and a Wratten filter No.82A, plus an aperture increase of 2 stops.

Storing your film

Serious analog photographers know the value of film and the value of their pockets. You can ofcourse store your film wherever you want but if you’re not sure when you might be using your film or even use it sparingly, then make sure you store it appropriately.

If you are going to be using it for up to 3 years then stick it in the fridge out of an abundance of precaution. Anything beyond that stores below 0C or 32F, i.e. in a freezer. If taking film out of a fridge, leave it in room temperature conditions for at least 2 hours before shooting with it. Obviously use your usual good sense when defrosting film from a freezer!

Multiple exposures

Great news for those of you doing long and multiple exposures. You don't need to exposure correct or colour balance within 1/4000 to 128 seconds shutter speed ranges. However beyond this you will need to expose correctly and colour balance as required.

Processing Film

You will need to use E6 chemicals when processing this film. If you enjoy experimenting then you can also cross-process colour negative films with E6 which will give you a colour positive image but likely with an orange base.

Retouching/editing your film

This is really down to you as an individual. However you may want to consider doing this if the highlights are too bright or you would like to lift a little bit more out of the shadows. Typically with film, it is very difficult to pull information out of the shadows so just be aware of this when metering for your subject or landscape.

Why Printing is your work is important

Regardless of what is happening around us, we are living in unique times. A time when we have access to our photos at any point on our phones! Yet, how many of us have our images where we can see them in our daily lives or even to feel in our hands. Take the time to pick out your best images and perhaps make an album or even a book out of them. They’ll bring you joy in a very different and tangible way.

Final reflections

Provia 100F is certainly one of my favourite slide film stocks. One of the main reasons why I love this film so much is because you can see the results of your work right there in front of you. Unlike film negatives you can relive those moments without having to scan your work [that is if you don't want to].

Photographers often associate this film stock with fashion or portraiture work but there’s absolutely no reason why you should use this film for other work from product to natural landscapes. In fact, I think with large positives available in medium format you could take some wonderful landscape images.

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Kodak Gold 120 is it up to the Flash Test?

The last time I shot this film outdoors I got some fabulous results with natural light. It got me thinking how this film would handle indoors with natural light and then outdoors with my Profoto lighting kit.

Big shout out to Evie for reaching out for this shoot. There was no way I was going to miss an opportunity to shoot in Mansion! Let’s see how the shoot went down!

All images were shot at box speed, with the same shutter speed, aperture and this time shot different setups and frames. As mentioned before, changing light intensity would be something I would have to carefully consider.

As always I was trying to get the most consistent results possible. We got a little more creative with the shots as the shoot progressed! The word out there is that Kodak Gold generally tends to gravitate towards warmer tones with slightly more granular images in comparison with Portra 160.

It goes without saying that metering for these films is essential unless you have a bottomless pit of money! I was using my Sekonic L-308X. Kodak Gold has a slightly wider dynamic range but generally you don't want to go to far from about 3-4 stops to be on the safe side.

This is certainly more important when shooting outdoors without guaranteed consistency of light. The shot of Evie and Sammi with the natural light coming in through the window showed the capabilities of Kodak Gold in low light conditions. You can see from the first image that there is a green overcast on the far left with a darker one in the shadows to the right of the window.

Even so, the warm colours with shadows gives a real classic look and feel. As the light poured through the window a little more intensely this afternoon it hit on those light pinks on Sammie’s dress and softened the whiteness of Evie’s dress. It’s got almost a Bridgerton-esq feel to it and this shot is certainly a keeper!

Next we stepped and got to use this beautiful garden golden chair/hammock! I set up the Profoto B2’s to the left of the frame and had Evie sit on the suspended chair with Sammie standing to her left. After a few manual adjustments of the lighting and working through some poses I ended up freezing this look and was amazed by the outcome.

I love the richness of color from the grass in the foreground to the trees in the background but without a doubt the pose and colors from the dresses and chair/hammock this image is a real stand out!

We drifted out to the garden area and shot this with natural light. The balance of colour is consistent although the brilliantly white dress isn't as well captured, I wonder if that’s because of the scanner or some other reason. Chip in your thoughts in the comments below!

The afternoon light was drifting away and so was my time in this shoot so rather hurriedly we shot these two with the profoto lights to make sure the image would definitely come out.

A little overexposed, which can certainly be fixed in Lightroom, it almost looks as if Evie has been superimposed onto a background. A fill light would certainly have complimented this image, a note for next time!

A quick change into the pink dress and a couple of shots with Evie sat outside in the garden patio. The lesson here is that having an external light source certainly guarantees the image will come out as long as it is well metered!

By this point I do think that Kodak Gold would really have struggled to get anything and I wasn’t going to risk it especially with an opportunity to shoot in such an environment does not happen everyday!

My brief experience with this film stock is making me wonder if Kodak Gold may just be cheaper and equally well performing as Portra 160. Do you really need to spend almost 25% more for incremental sharpness? Tell me what you think in the comments below.

The summer is going to be coming into full swing and I would love to connect or collaborate with you if you’re in London! Shoot me a comment and let's set up something!

Thank you for watching all my videos, do go ahead and comment below. Have you shot with the Bronica Zenza ETRS or similar 6by45 camera or either of these slide film stocks?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this shoot, the images, how you have shot with either of these film stocks? which are your likes and dislikes about them? What do you recommend I shoot next with it?

Be sure to check out my shoot with Fadhillah on Kodak Gold too, see you there!

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Kodak Gold 200 Film

Pre March 2022 this film was only available in 35mm format. With the resurgence of film photographers Kodak released it in Medium format too. Thank you, Kodak!

Kodak Gold 200 is a low-speed color negative film that offers an incredible combination of color saturation, fine grain, and high sharpness. It is designed for general picture-taking situations in daylight or with electronic flash.

Due to its wide exposure latitude—you can shoot this from two stops underexposed to three stops overexposed. If you’re looking for saturated colors, fine grain and high sharpness then this is your new go to Kodak color negative film!

In their press release Kodak recommended this film for advanced amateurs who are looking to upgrade from 35mm to medium format photography! Prior to the digital era, Color negative film was the go to film stock. It’s ease of use and easily processing with C41 chemistry made it the staple for any beginner or professional photographer.

Current available Colour negative films can range in ISO rating from as slow as the bonkers FPP ISO 1.6 through to as fast as CineStill 800t or Portra 800. These films offer greater exposure latitude, ie if you’re not good at getting the exposure spot on it you need not worry as even sometimes even being up to 4 stops off and you should be ok!

As it is a fine grain, sharp film that for daylight or electronic flash. It's well worth shooting portraits as well as general landscape or candid images.

If you enjoy developing at home/ in your own lab, you can use the universally available C41 chemistry. Although Kodak recommends Kodak Flexicolor Chemicals, there are so many alternatives available that it's really down to what you are more comfortable with using.

You can use this film for portraits or landscapes, take your pick! I was shooting this film in some overcast conditions which gave a wonderful natural soft box. Ideally however I would have preferred a little bit stronger light as I did struggle with the very low light conditions in some images.

I shot this film in beautiful Regents Park, London on yet another overcast day. I would be intrigued to see how it would perform in summery and autumnal conditions to see how the colours of nature would render. A studio portrait shoot will also definitely be in order to see how it fares with different skin tones!

Be sure to ask your lab to provide you with a separate contact sheet with your film negatives. This way it gives you an opportunity to view your images in hand should you need to review them at a later date!

Next time I would like to see how this film performs in a studio or outside with strobe lighting. A pack of 5 Portra 160s will cost you about £60 whereas a pack of Gold will come in around £46.

From an initial viewpoint the colours come our more saturated on this film however a more methodical side by side comparison with Portra 160 will give clarity of the similarities and differences between these film stocks.

The standout shot on black and white was with Fadhillah looking in to the distance and with her hands in her pockets. The lowered angle from which I shot this creates a little more added drama with the slight breeze through her hair! The more you are pushing yourself to create using different techniques and mediums will develop not only your portfolio but also your understanding to work

Overall this film is great for anyone looking to jump from 35mm to Medium Format. The wider exposure latitude is more forgiving on the images taken and perhaps more importantly on the weight of your purse or wallet. Who knows, you may capture an image which may take you down a new path of creativity so get out exploring!

Love shooting film? I would love to hear your thoughts on Kodak Gold, have you shot with it? What kind of results did you get with it? Let me know in the comments below!

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