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Took a roll of Fuji 400 through that old train station downtown and changed my whole mind about pushing film
The light coming through those dirty windows at Union Station gave me way better contrast at box speed than I ever got pushing two stops in a basement, so has anyone else found a specific location that made them drop a technique they were stuck on?
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schmidt.amy1mo ago
People act like pushing film is some kind of dark art you have to master, but it's really just letting in more light when you don't have enough. Station lighting is a specific situation, not a universal truth. Different film stocks behave totally different when pushed, and Fuji 400 is a pretty forgiving emulsion anyway. One roll in one spot doesn't prove the whole method is pointless. You probably just got lucky with the light that day. If you were shooting pushed Tri-X in a dim club you'd be singing a different tune.
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coleman.jade1mo ago
Right, that time I tried pushing some Portra 800 two stops in a basement show and everything just turned into a muddy brown mess... grain was so chunky it looked like sandpaper. Amy's right that Fuji 400 handles it way better than other stocks, I've had way more luck with it in weird light than I ever did with Tri-X. People act like it's a magic trick but really you're just gambling with whatever light you've got and hoping the film doesn't fight back too hard.
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