What better way to capture the last moments of summer, the golden hours and the changing colours of the leaves than on film! As summer drew to an end, I wanted to test two colour film stocks, Kodak Portra 400 and Cinestill 50D. I also tried a new film studio, Garage Film Lab, to have the negatives developed. For the first time, I scanned and inverted the negatives myself using my Nikon Z6II, a Nikon 60mm AF-D f2.8 Micro and the Nikon ES-2 for scanning and the FilmLab desktop software for inverting. It is more work than having the negatives scanned by the film lab, but also significantly cheaper, especially since I bought the ES-2 and the macro lens second-hand, and after about 20 rolls of film, my investment will have paid off. Plus I learn much faster and get to be more conscious about shooting film.
First off, Kodak Portra 400. It is definitely a nice film, I like the (absence of too much) grain, the look and it was easy to handle in terms of exposure latitude. The pictures are taken all over Vienna, mostly Altes AKH, Votivpark, Volksgarten and Cottageviertel. I particularly love the shots of the Theseustempel, the Foodora driver at sunset and the lady enjoying the last rays of sun in the park. The pictures were taken with a Minolta X-300 and MD Rokkor 45mm f2.
The second film I tested is the Cinestill 50D, which is in fact Kodak Vision3 50D where the rem-jet backing was removed. This motion picture film was used in movies such as Interstellar, James Bond, Star Wars, … . Pretty cool, let’s see what it looks like.
The first set of pictures were taken in Styria in the early evening during a thunderstorm, or to be more specific, the quiet before the storm. I love how these pictures turned out.
The rest of the images were taken at Altes AKH in Vienna. Having been one of the first public general hospitals in the world, Altes AKH now serves as a campus for the University of Vienna and is also a popular recreational area. Usually, the place is full of students, but during the lecture free period, the vibe changes entirely.
