really retro

In this day and age, it's really old news to talk about film emulsions. But a minor - very minor indeed - realization has come upon me these past few weeks. As a landscape photographer, and one who has mostly moved to working with a 4 x 5 view camera and a tripod, there has been little or no motivation to use fast film. A couple of years ago I discovered Fuji Astia 100 and have been mostly very happy using it, along with the comparable Kodak emulsion, E100G, as well as an equivalent b&w, Ilford FP4.

For something different, I think it's time to try portraits. On the rare occasion when it's tried, the success rate is usually fairly low. Not necessarily because of film speed problems. The photographer's eye is more the problem. But one technical detail that could be altered to help ease subjects would be to use a faster emulsion. It would help ease the photographer's (my) anxiety somewhat as well. It's obvious to me now that watching the light move across a landscape is hardly the place for fast film. On the other hand, humans sitting before a camera lens is a good application.