Going to the Tropics

[michel eberhard]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm going on a little holiday to Trinidad & Tobago in two weeks, and

I'm having trouble finding the right film for my needs. I'm set to do

the following when I'm there:

 

1. Make a series of cityscapes

2. Shoot some scenery on beaches

3. Make a series of streetlife portraits/scenes

 

Now, usually it's very sunny on the island, but sometimes the skies

can be a little overcast. I have the following film in mind, could

someone advise me or recommend something else?

 

-Fuji Superia X-tra 400 or Kodak Professional Elite 400 (for overcast

conditions, though pulled to 320)

-Fuji Superia Reala 100 (for more natural colors in street scenes)

-Kodak Color Gold 100 (for bold and rich colors on the beach)

 

Many thanks in advance!

 

PS: you might wonder, 'Where is the slide film?' I don't trust myself

too much with slide, since the exposure latitude with most films

isn't as wide as I'd like it to be. But I could be wrong!

[ccrevasse]

On what type of equipment and paper will your photos be printed? If they will be printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper with a Fuji Frontier, then I would use Fuji NPH for my 400-speed film, and would skip the Gold 100 -- Reala on a Frontier will provide all the bold, rich color you need, in my experience. If you use Kodak-oriented printing, I cannot help. Also, you may want to carry a polarizer, if you haven't already planned on that. Sounds like a great trip -- have fun.

[preston_merchant]

Shoot slow film. Even in overcast conditions, it's still plenty bright. 400 speed films in the tropical sun will limit your shutter/aperture combinations.

 

Why not shoot a little slide film? Pack a few rolls of Velvia 50 just for fun.<div></div>

[michel eberhard]

Actually I'm not having the film printed as yet. I first scan the whole lot to see what's worth printing and what not. I have heard some good stories on the Frontier paper, so I'll give that a try at my Fuji dealer here. Although I'm not sure if that paper has the same name here in Europe.. I am not carrying a polariser however, I like the pictures to be as clean as possible ;)

[michel eberhard]

Lovely picture by the way, never been there though. I was actually thinking of packing some slide, but not Velvia. I was thinking Sensia or 100EBX. Lots cheaper than Velvia, and regarding to popphoto.com not a bad choice for those circumstances, not?

[preston_merchant]

I really don't think the choice matters terribly much. I like Velvia for its contrast (I think contrast matters more than saturation)--its a popular film for shooting in the tropics (cf. David Alan Harvey, Alex Webb).

 

Where are you going in Trinidad? Port of Spain, I assume. I was there in April last year, though I spent much of my time in the Indian communities--Chaguanas and the other towns in the middle of the country.

 

Feel feel to email me if you have questions about the island.

 

Happy travels,

 

Preston

[scott_eaton]

If you're going to have print made and don't own a film scanner, ignore every single comment above about slides. You really want to spend $50 a piece for drum scans? I'm so sick of hearing about this religion about slide film when the person recommending it doesn't have the brain cells to assume what the heck you're going to do with the final slides. If you shoot slides, you'll be back in this forum a month from now asking what to do with them.

 

Stay away from the grocery store crap and get some Reala. Best film there is for sunny skies and general shooting, and looks marvelous on a Frontier. I'd also take a few rolls of 400 speed something to fill in the blanks. I'm not thrilled about Superia 400, but it's more Frontier friendly than the Kodak films, and does OK as a beater 400 speed print film. And, unlike slide film, you actually have a practical and inexpsnsive way to get a print from it. Reala though should be your prime and main film to take. Virtually any lab can make a good print of it, and it's currently the best all purpose print film on the market.

[arnabdas]

Another vote for Reala.

[manuel_garcia5]

I asked a similar question in June. I was in Cancun for a week, I only shot Fuji Reala 100. That paired with my Minolta 3500xi flash (only needed for fill) and WOW. Beautiful photos every time, I was a little worried shooting only 100 speed film (NPH 400 is my film of choice) but under the sunny/cloudy conditions Reala handeled them perfectly. Good luck!

[michel eberhard]

Preston,

 

I'm actually going to Princes Town, near San Fernando. Were you there on a holiday? I travel to Trinidad almost every year, but this is the first time I'm going to spend some serious time shooting. Chaguanas is interesting, and so is Maracas, but I'm not sure yet where to go. Plenty possibilities though!

[andrea_salvarani]

Hi,

 

I live in Darwin, NT, the tropical North of Australia, and my experience is that Fuji Superia and Press tend to give an ugly cyan/purplish cast in overcast condition (while they are fantastic in sunny weather).

 

Reala has such a good texture, the grain is almost invisible, but I find it too neutral for sunsets.

 

For overcast skies I like Agfa film, but it is getting harder to find, bad distribution ...

 

Konica also has big bold colors for those sunsets, markets, etc ...

 

So I'd take Fuji for sunny,

Konica (Agfa) for overcast and sunsets,

Reala for cityscapes and else.

 

Take two bodies and keep one with fast and one with slow film, so you won't miss a shot!

 

Enjoy your holidays!

 

Cheers

Andrea<div></div>