Bellingham, WA
March 29, 2004
|
|
Question by Tim Harvey-Vancouver, BC:
I'm gearing up for an expedition from Vancouver to Moscow
vancouvertomoscow.com and have just been offered about 500 rolls
of film-but all the cheap grade of Kodak you find at a gas station.
I'm a serious photographer but most of my experience in black and
white or digital. My question: am I wasting my time using
consumer-grade film? Will I be kicking myself forever if I use this
free bounty of film instead of bucking up for-well, what do you
recommend?
Brandon: First of all, Tim, congratulations on taking part in what is
destined to become an historic expedition! Your website is phenomenal,
www.vancouvertomoscow.com, your sponsor list reads like a who's
who of the gear world, and the strength of your team goes without saying.
As for your questions about the free film, "Am I wasting my time using
consumer-grade film? Will I be kicking myself forever?"
Aside from the experiences, the pictures you bring home from an expedition are
the most valuable and salable tools you'll own. Magazines, sponsor
catalogs, websites, slide shows, posters-those are all very real
possibilities and, considering the background of you and your team
members, will more than likely play a big part in your post expedition
follow-up.
First and most importantly, what's the story with this bounty of free film?
Is it old, or new and fresh? Is it repackaged? Was it the only thing remaining
after the night manager had a smoke a bit too close to the gas pumps? If you can
ensure that it's not damaged, outdated, wet-get the picture-then it might be worth
a look.
Because of the wide range of possible uses, print film can be a good choice.
Negatives are far and away the most flexible medium out there. From negatives
you can easily and inexpensively make prints, convert to black and white, scan
to digital even make slides, if old-school slide shows are on the agenda. Slides
do have some advantages, like being easier to scan or adjust colors, and are typically
preferred by most publications. But keep in mind that by the time they're processed,
overall cost is higher.
You didn't mention what brand and speed of
film you've been offered. If it's Kodak Gold or Fuji Superia 200,
those are good "general purpose" standards of the industry, and will be fine
for a good portion of your needs. They're a balance between sharp resolution and
ability to handle bright to regular lighting. But they won't do for some of the dark,
ominous days you'll undoubtedly see on the expedition, and you'd be wise to bring
along some higher speed film as well. Pick up some ISO 400, 800, and even some 1600.
Keep these handy for that hungry Siberian grizzly that explodes into camp at midnight,
finishes off your food cache and uses one of your bikes for a tooth pick. Not
capturing that moment on film is definitely something to kick yourself over.
With 500 rolls to use up, if just 1% of your shots turn out great, that's an
entire slide show and half a dozen different articles worth of photographs. Play
around, experiment like crazy and, in the words of my buddy Rico, when I asked him
what shots we should look to bring home from Siberia, "Just shoot everything!!!"
» Back to Expedition Authority Index Page
|
