January brought a cloudy evening to test a color film in a lovely, scenic area.
The ruins of Sutro Baths are famous – possibly more famous than Sutro Baths themselves were during their years of operation! – and looking down upon them from the north is Point Lobos. Ruins of patios, seawalls, and stairwells remain, though there is less of them each year. From the westernmost point, one tower of the Golden Gate peeks out from behind the rocky edge of Land’s End, one of our glorious urban parks.
This particular evening wasn’t especially promising when I arrived with a fellow photographer: the sun was hidden in clouds, and the available light was flat. We bided our time, had a short walk, and were pleased that gaps in the clouds began to appear…
I’ve become an almost religious user of a certain [famous American portrait film] for my color photos, but want to know my options well, so I put a roll of Lomo Color 100 in my camera. It is known for its fine grain, and I decided to maximize this by shooting in 6×7 format on my Mamiya RB67 using a recently acquired wide angle lens. Wide angle isn’t my usual approach, but I’ve been warming to it. The lens was nearly the undoing of the photoshoot: there is some issue with shutter-shake at 1/60th of a second, which ruined two of the ten images I can squeeze onto a roll of 120 film.
The photos shot at 1/125th of a second were LOVELY. The subtle shades of orange, the blue-grays, the slightest green tint of the sea… They all rendered beautifully. One incorrectly exposed, flat image was the result of allowing the lens to take in too much direct glare from the sun, rather than a flaw in the film.
I feel my usual color film renders shadows better: some of that is the speed (I often shoot 400 speed if I’m out for an evening shoot), some of it is the generous exposure latitude of that film. I realize I could likely overexpose this film intentionally to have the same benefits.
The film performed well in a challenging test. The grain is as fine as described. The subtle colors rendered beautifully. This is a good film option.