Hi friend, 👋 Happy Tuesday!

The weather in NYC needs to make up its mind. One day it’s hot and sunny ☀️ then the next day is cold and cloudy. 🥶 I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready for warm weather. 🙏 

I would like to get to Coney Island with my 4×5 camera and some Portra 160 before there are crowds, but it needs to be a little warm. 😢 

Here is what we’re talking about today:

1. 🛝 Slide film results

2. 📐 A different angle

3. 🧪 B&W developers

4. 🎁 Bonus gift

🛝 Slide film results

The other week we talked about the development process for slide film (color reversal). I’m happy to report that developing my first roll of Kodak Ektachrome was a success!

The development process was easy enough. Although I wish CineStill’s instructions would provide timing ranges a little closer than “6 - 11 minutes”. 🤷‍♂️ 

Pulling the film out of the tank and seeing it in full color is really awesome!

Exposure really matters

Slide film is definitely less forgiving than color negative film. You really have to get your exposure right. This is due to the film having a smaller dynamic range. It is very easy to blow out the highlights or lose all detail in the shadows.

I struggled with this. I ended up underexposing a little. I was able to brighten things up in Lightroom, but it’s a little muddy.

Would I shoot slide film again?

Absolutely! It is a lot of fun, but it requires slowing down and really metering well. I have another roll of 35mm, and I would like to also try 120. The bigger positive would be really cool to see. The only downside is that it’s expensive. 💸 A roll of 35mm film is $22. 😭

📐 A different angle

I’ve talked before about getting out of a rut by trying different things. How even if you’ve shot the same subject matter to death, there is always a different perspective you can take. It’s good advice (that I should follow more).

One thing I’m very guilty of is always shooting standing up. I get that same eye level perspective over and over again. So the other day I decided to go in the extreme opposite direction. What would things look like a ground level? 🤔 And when I say ground level, I mean literally camera on the ground (waist level viewfinder ftw).

Is it an original idea? No. Did I look ridiculous? Probably. Were the results that great? Not really. But it was nice to try something different. What’s an extreme opposite you can try?

🧪 B&W developers

If you pay attention to my little dev reports, you’ll notice that I always use Rodinal. It’s the only B&W developer I have. I always thought the developer you choose didn’t really matter. But it turns out that’s not really the case. Like film, different developers have different characteristics and uses.

What characteristics make developers different?

The developer you choose affects:

1. Sharpness - how well fine details and edges are preserved.

2. Grain structure - the visibility and texture of the grain.

3. Tonal separation - the ability to distinguish subtle differences in tones.

4. Contrast - how punchy or flat the image looks.

So I’m excited to see these differences in action. I’ve ordered some different developers and some film to experiment with. Here is what I’m going to try out.

It will be interesting to compare these side-by-side. Stay tuned!

🎁 Bonus gift

While I was going down the B&W developer differences rabbit hole, I got tired of constantly looking up developers or asking ChatGPT what the differences are.

So I, along with 🤖 ChatGPT, put together a little website that lists different B&W Films and Developers.

You can easily see each film/developer’s characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, and what it pairs well with.

It’s been useful for me, hopefully you will find it useful as well.

You can find it here: developerandfilm.com

Let me know if it’s missing your favorite B&W film or developer and I’ll add it.

If you find it helpful, consider sharing it with a friend (as well as this newsletter 😁)

That’s all for today. I’ll see you next week! 👋 

Ben Henschel

📷️ Yashica Mat 124G / 🎞️ Ilford HP5+