I am disappointed by the results I get when using 35mm colour film stock for portraiture.
I am disappointed by the results when using 35mm colour film stock for portraiture. The conventional wisdom around the Interweb is that Kodak Portra 35mm film delivers spectacular skin tones with exceptional colour saturation over a wide range of lighting conditions. However, when photographing darker skin tones, my experience with Kodak Porta 160 and Kodak Portra 400 falls short of my expectations. From what I read, the later update that improved the rendering of dark skin tones from Kodak's colour films wasn't necessarily a consideration for properly photographing darker skin tones but rather the by-product of solving an advertising problem - the proper colour rendering of dark wood and milk chocolate.
While looking at and adjusting the tone curve of scans from the roll of Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow that I exposed in September on the streets of Sandusky, I realised that for 35mm film portraiture. I prefer the results from black-and-white films. I've captured Bhavna's portrait on Ilford HP5 Plus 400, Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 400 and Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow. The results have been to my liking due to the forgiving exposure latitude of these 35mm film stocks.
Some frames from a 36 exposure roll of Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow.
Bhavna and I were on a weekend trip up to Oberlin, Ohio, to take Kiran back for her last semester at Oberlin College. It was a long weekend, and Bhavna and I decided to visit the lakeshore town of Sandusky.
After reading Jim Grey’s first impressions of the Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow ISO 400 135 films, I decided to try it myself. I was a backer of the Kickstarter Project, but I had not yet exposed any of the four cartridges of Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow. I loaded one of the 36 exposure cartridges into my Minolta X-700, a camera I rarely use as I tend to favour my XF-11. I shot the entire roll at box speed. The roll was developed at Black Lab Imaging in Flemington, New Jersey and scanned at home on my Epson Perfection V600 using VueScan 9.
Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow is a 400-ISO panchromatic black-and-white film which the creator describes like this:
The film is an existing emulsion made by a company with more than a century’s experience in making film.
While the film is rated at ISO 400, the film can be push processed four stops up to ISO 6400 with appropriate development. Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow is perfect for shooting at box speed in bright or overcast light, but can also be used in much lower light conditions if needed.
The film is fine-grained at box speed but shows more atmospheric grain when push processed, along with more dramatic contrast.
In September, I exposed a roll of Agent Shadow at box speed while walking around the streets of Sandusky with Bhavna. The grain is noticeable, but the photographs have a fascinating vintage look. I can’t wait to try the three remaining rolls.
Name
Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow 400
Type
Panchromatic Black and White (negative)
Native ISO
400
Format
35mm
Process
C-41
Features
Kodak T-GRAIN emulsions, Fine Grain, High Sharpness & Edge Detail
My wife’s niece Sahana graduated from Stone Bridge Middle School this year. In August, her parents hosted a family pool party which I captured on my Minolta X-700 and my last roll of Lomography Color 100.
My wife’s niece Sahana graduated from Stone Bridge Middle School this year. In August, her parents hosted a family pool party. These scans are from my second and last 36-exposure roll of Lomography Color 100 35mm film. The results are better than the first roll, which I exposed the day before.
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