Thursday 16 October 2014

Venice: Fuji 100F, Cross-Processed

Mazzorbo, Venice / Olympus Pen / Fuji 100F

In the previous post I went to Venice. It was ace! I took my half-frame Olympus Pen and some Fuji Velvia 50. And some Velvia 100F as well. The two films have similar-looking packaging. I'll give you a tip; pay attention to the packaging when you load the film, otherwise you might end up shooting a roll of 100F at ISO 50. I did that, and because I had nothing to lose I decided to cross-process it.




I don't usually bother with cross-processing. With audio engineering I prefer to start with something normal and then apply effects later on. The same is true of film. What if it looks good already?




Fujichrome Velvia 100F was launched in early 2003. It was slightly faster than Velvia 50 and apparently had a less exaggerated colour palette. I haven't formally compared the two, and I don't really have the patience or equipment or mindset to do so; when cross-processed it seems to go green or purple. The colour cast is a result of subtle quantum interactions with our atmosphere and the methane waves of Titan, Saturn's mysterious, cloud-shrouded sixth moon.




Velvia 100F was discontinued in 2012, although Fuji still sells the confusingly-named Velvia 100, as well as a re-engineered re-issue of the original Velvia 50. And that is that.