In 2015 The Film Photography Project released “Retrochrome 400,” a re-roll and repackage from industrial Eastman Kodak Ektachrome rolls that were originally intended to be used by Sandia National Laboratory. They have a really fascinating write up about this film’s origins that I encourage everyone to go read.
I was nervous to use it. I think that it’s status as “cold-stored expired,” plus the pressure of color positive film, notoriously testy, showing every error, got stuck in my brain and I felt like it was too precious. Like I couldn’t blow it on even a single shot, because once it’s gone, it’s really gone forever. So, I was incredibly careful with this one. I’m not the kind of photographer who stages shots. You will never find me aiming fancy light rigs on a boom or asking my kids to cheese a fake smile or pose. I’m looking to capture the truth. So, I wait, like a patient crocodile, camouflaged in broad daylight, until the moment is right. Then I strike. But sometimes I get lost in the moment and before I know it I’ve gone through a whole roll.
I had to hold back, stay present, click the shutter deliberately. Shooting Retrochrome was an exercise in intention. It paid off, though. There is a slight dreamy mute on all of the colors, the grain is fuzzy but consistent. The vivid saturation of fabrics was softened but the intense blues of a beautiful summer sky and the rich greens of a forest in full bloom were captured precisely. These exposures make me feel transported. I loved using this film, when I saw my exposures for the first time I shrieked and then sighed because they felt nostalgic, with a deep longing for a time past. I will treasure these photos, they are some of my favorites that I’ve ever shot.
originally published in 2020
