Sunday, June 18, 2017

Came Across The Fuji Acros

Excuse the bad pun. Today I'm sharing something different, definitely a first. This is the first monochrome film I ever used - The Fujifilm Neopan Acros. For starters, it's interesting.

Walking The Dog
Walking The Dog. Monochrome images remain timeless for me.
But how was it? Well...

It was a bit different. For starters it had a relatively low ISO of 100, so it's best used outdoors on a bright day. Going sunny16 was a bit tricky for me, being spoiled by auto metering on modern cameras, and only starting out on the manual stuff. The good news is, though, it's also somewhat forgiving enough when you get the settings wrong and underexpose a bit, like what happened below. It's a bit dark, but not too bad.

White Fur
White Fur. This dog has other ideas apart from just walking around.

I like how monochrome has a timeless feel to it. They can mix with old and new pictures, and they stay practically the same over a long time. Sure, digital can produce the same images, but the experience is vastly different.

Push Cart
Push Cart. Harsh shadows courtesy of the noontime sun.

Underexposed images can look somewhat creepy....

Sitting In A Dark Corner
Sitting In A Dark Corner
What's In The News?
What's In The News?
Intersection
Intersection
Mall Drop Off
Mall Drop Off

However, if it gets too dark, that's when it loses contrast. One can probably do push processing to get more exposure, but that may ruin the better exposed photos. This is seen on some of the shots below. If it looks faded, it's underexposed.

Tail Lights
Tail Lights

Cranes
Cranes

Scooter
Scooter

Blur can have interesting effects in monochrome. The shot below looks like it's heavily raining and windy, but it was a clear sunny day when I took it... I was moving, and shutter speed wasn't fast enough when I shot this, so it turned out blurry. Compared to colored images though, it doesn't look as bad.

Stormy
Stormy

Waiting For The Bus
Waiting For The Bus

Unattended
Unattended. Please don't do this in public. Take your belongings or have a companion watch over your stuff when you go to the bathroom. Doing this is just asking for these to be stolen.

Rainy Afternoon
Rainy Afternoon

Hood Or Umbrella?
Hood Or Umbrella?

What I particularly like about this film is it has really fine grain. It's almost invisible to me. This allows properly focused images to be relatively sharp. There's not much sharpness my Vilia can produce though. Will try again on a better camera next time, maybe?

Dim Shelf
Dim Shelf. Indoors is no place for this film. ISO 100 is ill-suited for indoor natural light use.

Occupied Hallway
Occupied Hallway

I saw the near end of the roll at a local Starbucks while waiting for the car wash to finish. The baristas there were kind and friendly enough to pose for me.

Sipping Coffee
Sipping Coffee

Studying At Work
Studying At Work

Gab
Gab

Francis And Gab
Francis And Gab

Studying Coffee
Studying Coffee

Francis
Francis


Thoughts? 

Well, it's an amazing film. It's not a big fan of underexposure as it loses contrast, but the proper exposure gives good results. Will try to overexpose this a bit next time. It's not for everyone though- it is an acquired taste. On this day and age, with all the vibrant colors around, monochrome may not get as much love as the colored photos. Monochrome has become for many (not all, thankfully.) in digital photography, a go-to option for salvaging badly taken pictures. 

Hard enough to be shooting film, but this option takes it a bit more challenging route. This film is traditional black and white, and it is processed differently from the process (C41) used in color negative films. The average camera lab may not accept it. Good thing the awesome people at Sunny16labs are able to do the processing. If you're looking for something different, I wholeheartedly recommend this film. It's a different kind of challenge - a breakaway from the comfort zone. It's worth to try out at least once.

Also, follow me Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, and Instagram. Yes, I'm kind of all over the place. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts on the comments as well. Until then, don't let the fear of getting lost deter you from going out to wander! :)


P.S.
This monochrome film entry goes out to someone whom I had the privilege to know, and inspired me to go back to film photography. You know who you are and may you someday be as famous as the photographer you wish to emulate - May you be the next Vivian Maier. I am proud and grateful to know you and I think you're simply amazing not just in your photography, but as a human being. Whatever the future brings never give up on your endeavors. May you see how amazing you are just like how I see and admire you for it.

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