tutorial

Our summer on film: Ektar 100

Last week I mentioned my love for film and how I would be sharing some of the stocks I've been shooting just to help anyone else out who might be interested in film. Today is all about Ektar 100!

Ahh....Ektar 100 is just amazing. It has minimal grain and is just so vibrant! I started off with a love-hate relationship with Ektar but I was determined to figure this stock out because the colors are out of this world. I still don't have it down to a science, but after practicing and changing some things up I feel way more confident shooting this stock. I shot a few rolls of this when we were in St. John, USVI and the pictures were EXACTLY as the island was - bold, vibrant, clear, colorful! My biggest struggle with Ektar is the skin tones. Ektar has a red undertone and if you under or overexpose, skin tends to get super red/orange and scary looking, lol. My daughter has more red/orange to her skin tone in general, so I really noticed this if I overexposed/underexposed with her (vs. my son who has a little more peachy-pinky skin tone).

The key with Ektar is to expose it properly. When I first started practicing with Ektar I'm pretty sure I was overexposing by a stop or two (by the way I was metering - bulb in, facing down at 45 degrees). In the Virgin Islands, I didn't take into consideration the light reflecting from the sandy beaches, so I probably added on at least another stop of overexposure there....whoops! 

Now I meter (using my external light meter) bulb in, racing my camera, at 90 degrees....and typically, the skin tones are perfect!  The amazing Wendy Laurel has an article on her blog about shooting with Ektar that is definitely worth checking out!

 

Here's some of my favorite Ektar 100 images!