Things aren't always black and white - Kodak BW 400CN - #AllTheFilm

So I'm a little spoiled to being able to drop my film off and pick up my scans and negatives the next day.  I kind of suck at utilizing the postal service, and I have the patience of a wasp, so it just works for me to be able to drive two rolls into town, run some errands, and come back the next day or the next week, and I know they will be waiting for me.  There's only one catch.

They don't offer processing for black and white.

And this makes me sad.

So I decided to shoot a roll of Kodak BW 400CN, which is C-41 (color) process film.

The first thing I noticed: a rather beautiful inconsistency in tone, depending of lighting; as in some were almost a true black and white, some were more sepia, and some were this strangely beautiful cyan-like monochrome.

So without a ton of rambling, I'll just show you the resulting images from my roll, and you can see for yourself.

Is it just me, or do the highlights have an awesome cyan tone to them?

Notice the sepia tones are rather strong in this one.

I promise I have more than one kid, but this is the one that likes the camera.

So the results (for me at least) were fairly inconsistent; in fact, I did a slight desaturation on a few of them because the sepia was rather strong, and I'm not a fan of the brown tones in my black and white images, but I left enough for you to see the variations in the results.  It's an acceptable subsitute for decent black and white film, as long as you know you may need to desaturate if consistency in tones is important in your work.  It will definitely have a place in my bag, at least until I learn to develop my own, or develop enough patience to send some off for processing.

Until next time-

xoxox

Leah J

Technical Details:

Nikon F100

Kodak BW 400CN (rated at box speed)

28mm 2.8D

Lensbaby Composer Pro + Sweet 35 Optic

Processed at Dury's of Nashville and scanned on Noritsu

All the Film- Neglected Kodak Ektar 100- #FilmFriday

I mentioned in my post about expired, cross-processed provia that I bought a lot of expired film on eBay several years ago, and it was accidentally stored in a hot attic for months after an unplanned move.  Well, here is another of those neglected rolls.  These were mostly taken at Old Stone Fort Archaeological Park in Manchester, Tennessee, with the last few being on my back deck.  It was a bright, sunny day in early Spring, and my family and I hiked the loop for the first time that day. It really is a beautiful trail, (I wouldn't recommend it for kids under 5 or the elderly since some areas require climbing, with lots of roots and even a steep drop-off), and it's only about 2 miles total- but for this old girl, it seemed further with all of the inclines and climbing to get views of the falls.

Back to the film-

I really adore Ektar, I love the colors of typical Ektar, the blue hues it lends to greens and the way reds pop- But this roll was not typical.  It's really contrast-y, the colors are different (more Portra-ish in my opinion), and still really beautiful.  So, without any more rambling on my part, you can see for yourself.

 Liv climbed down to this rock to take a break and just sat there for a while, taking it all in.

 Lots of roots and loose rock along the trail, one of the reasons I wouldn't recommend it for the elderly.

 Right around this time, the kids spotted a water snake.  I really wish I had caught Olivia's reaction, but I had just put my camera down.
Let's just say she is fearful of snakes.

And I don't really blame her.

 As you can see, there are multiple areas that include falls along the hike, and several popular swimming holes.

It was a great day, and the trail at Old Stone Fort Archaeological Park should be on your list of places to hike in middle Tennessee.

Once we were back at home, Olivia wanted to prove she's not fearful of all the slimy critters...

 She said they were twins.

 This girl loves animals.

Except for snakes.

 The girls picked me flowers that day to thank me for taking them hiking.

Wild flowers...
One of the perks of motherhood and living in Tennessee.

Technical Details:

Nikon F100

Nikon 28 2.8D | Nikon 50 1.4D

Very expired and neglected Kodak Ektar 100

Processed by Dury's of Nashville

Scanned on Noritsu

Do some exploring, and shoot some film!

xoxo Leah

Chores for Books

“Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.” - Fernando Pessoa

This afternoon I went out with my camera for a short walk.  A storm was blowing in, and I love the moodiness of the wind and the sky just before a heavy rain.  As I made my way back up to the house, I found Lily taking a break from her chores, and escaping into the pages of a book.

She loves to read, and I am thankful for that.

She's normally a poser.  It's rare to catch her relaxed or oblivious to the camera,

but today, she never looked up.

She's looking less and less like a little girl, and more like a young lady.  My momma heart aches with a bittersweet emotion.  I am proud of the big girl she is becoming, but sad to see the baby disappearing.  I try to memorize her face every day, because it's ever-changing.  I relish the most mundane of details, and try to absorb every little moment- from her quirky tom-boyish-ness to the tone of her voice as she sings "good morning to you" as soon as she sees me each day.

xoxo-

Leah

[technical details: Nikon D700 | 50mm 1.4 | Prisming | Multiple Exposure]