I used to shoot everything at box speed until a bum roll of Portra taught me a lesson

Tbh for my first year shooting film I never even thought about pushing or pulling. I just loaded whatever film I had, set my camera to the ISO on the box, and fired away. Then this past winter I was shooting some portraits in a dimly lit coffee shop in Portland and my whole roll of Portra 400 came back completely underexposed. I was so frustrated until a guy at the lab told me I could have rated it at 1600 and pushed it two stops in development. I tried it last week with some expired Tri-X I had in my fridge and honestly the grain and contrast came out way cooler than I expected. It feels like I unlocked a whole new way to salvage shots in crappy light. Has anyone else had a happy accident that forced you to try pushing film for the first time?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_owens25d ago

Box speed? That's cute. I accidentally shot a roll of HP5 at 6400 once because I forgot to change my meter after a night shoot. Developed it anyway just to see what would happen. Looked like someone dropped gravel in a sandstorm. But hey, some people pay extra for that look. You just gotta own the mistake and call it "artistic choice.

ruby_lane25d ago

Troy, that 6400 HP5 look is honest grain and I actually see real character in it, not just a mistake to cover up.

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