 |
| Image courtesy Fujifilm |
Fast forward a few years and I notice that I began to like a
certain type of film. I started shopping
for that particular roll. I preferred it
over other brands. That roll of film was
Fujifilm.
I wasn’t too worried about the speed of the film, it just
had to be right for what I was shooting.
So when it came to re-approaching the Laundry essay I had to
pick a film that:
1.
Sort of fitted in with the original series of
images;
2.
Looked good when scanned and printed;
3.
That I like and;
4.
Is easily available.
The answer was a return to Fujifilm.
Superia Xtra is still manufactured and widely available at a
reasonable price which made the decision relatively easily. It is also still available in ASA400 speed
which was the desired speed that I wanted for the project.
For those that are new to photography ASA or ISO (as it is
now known) is the sensitivity rating of the film to light. The bigger the ASA/ISO number the more
sensitive the film (or digital sensor) is to light. Therefore, the time need for the film to be
properly exposed is shorter or ‘faster’.
For example a film or sensor with a speed rating of 400 is twice as sensitive
as or faster than a film or sensor with a speed rating of 200.
The speed of the film or sensor also has an effect on the quality
of the resulting image. A faster film or
sensor will have a more pronounced grain (in film) or noise (in digital). These will be little dots which appear a bit
like textures in film and coloured squares in digital. Noise in a digital image is often frowned upon,
however, in film it is often seen as a distinction; part of the image something
to add to the photography. I have to
admit it, I quite like it. It gives
character.
Why did I settle on ASA400?
400 speed film is considered quite fast. It allows fast shutter speeds or smaller
apertures in relatively low light conditions.
It also allows some shooting indoors without flash. Perfect for shooting laundrettes. 400 speed film also has a touch of grain to
it. Not too much to be detrimental to
the photograph but enough to give it character.
Again, perfect for the look of Laundry.
The sad thing is, the older I’m getting the more
geek-ish I’m getting with it. I find myself looking for and reading film
data sheets. Some of these are very
simple and give a brief overview of the film and how to handle it. Other companies like Ilford and Fujifilm (my
favourite films) produce very detailed documents that I find absolutely
fascinating. I know, very geek-ish!
I thought I would post the data sheet for Fujifilm Superia
400 here for you to have a look at!
Unleash your inner geek!
To see some fine examples of this film then vist the flickr group We Love Fuji Superia.
No comments:
Post a Comment