A second chance: Fuji Astia has been a film of extremes for me - intense or subtle depending on the process.
This is not a film I’d ever planned to review but a couple of things happened recently that change my mind. Firstly, people have commented favourably on a couple of shots I’ve taken with it, and secondly, for the first time I’ve had it processed correctly in E6.
I’d purchased 10 rolls in a clearance sale, with the intention of using it for cross-processing, but when I got the first results back I was a little disappointed (to say the least). The negatives were bright green (not a good sign), and the scans done by the lab were, well let’s say “intense”. Totally bright pink! An interesting novelty, but one I quickly tired of…
I tried scanning the negatives myself on the scanner we had at work, with a bit more success. Although there was still a definite pink cast to the pictures, I was able to get a broader range of colours. More the sort of look you expect with a cross-processed film, so I was happy enough.
Then disaster, the scanner was sold, and I was stuck with several rolls of film that I didn’t really want to use… until I remembered what it’s supposed to be used for – making slides!
I’ve used it to take pictures of a local art gallery with my Holga, and I like the results – the subject matter may be brutal, but there’s a delicate quality to the colours that nicely complements the general softness of the Holga’s focus. I’ll definitely be using the Astia for slides again soon!
4 comments
stouf
I love the car shot ! Great gallery !
eyecon
Wow - # 12!
mandashitley
Yeah that pink is pretty crazy. I don't think I'd want to have a bunch of rolls of it either. Nice photos anyway
tnzzz
Funny how the film can be completely different each time. I just had a roll of Astia 120 developed and the shots were in shades of green. No pink in sight ;)