Film for Guatemala

[callmethebosch]

Hey everyone,

 

I am taking a trip to guatemala this winter december to january. I will be

visiting the entire country. Tikal, Guatemala city, Monterrico, Antigua, Lake

Atitlan and several volcanoes. Ill be there for a month and want to take

around 35 rolls of film. Any recomendations for film speed and brand. Im

thinking kodachrome with speeds from 60 to 200. Will I need anything faster.

Any suggestions welcomed.

 

Thanks, Trevor

[stephen hazelton]

Is there any reason to use anything different from what you normally use at home?

 

I'd probably take (or buy there) a couple of rolls of higher speed film for night use.

[frank uhlig]

If you intend to photograph inside "jungle" you will certainly need 400 - 800 ISO. It is dark down there, even with full sun above.

 

Agfa Vista 400; Kodak Ultracolor 400 come to my mind. Fuji NPZ 800, too.

 

And with their low grain and fast modern camera shutterspeeds these films will work on a sunlit beach as well. But you seem to prefer slide film, sorry.

[manuel_franz]

Yes, for the jungle, you will need some higher speeds. Other than that, just use the film

you usually prefer. Also, you won't really be able to find any slide film in Guatemala and

even for print film the selection is rather slim. In other words, bring whatever you need -

that means equipment, too!

[steviewander]

Guatemala is such a colorful country; personally I like the saturated Kodak E100VS for just

about

everything, including portraits, although I do get a fair number of comments regarding

oversaturation. I also bring along about an equal amount of E100GX which is a better

choice for skin tones, but lacks the vibrancy I like from the VS. Throw in a few rolls of Fuji

Provia400F (which can easily be pushed to 800) and you're good to go.

 

It's the same inventory I take on every trip. Check out my Guatemala photos (or any other

folder, for that matter) and see if my results suit your taste.

Have fun, Guatemala is so beautiful, but you will find photographing people a real

challenge!

[jonathan_adams]

Guatemala is actually pretty hard to get good photos because of the hords of

photographers that hit the country hard. Best opportunities for me was in Todos

Santos, which is a great because they still wear the traditional clothing. (Great story to

keep photographers away is that a tourist got out and photographed a kid and the

villagers swarmed and killed the guy because they thought he was going to steal the

kid. Best way for a town to cut down on photographers is to have a story like that)

Guatemala City hold onto your bags and get out of that town as quick as possible.

Lake Atitlan stay at the Casa Del Mundo which is a short boat trip from the main

town. By far one of the best places I've ever stayed as a traveller. Good food with

amazing view and awsome rooms for cheap price. Rise before sunrise to be able to

photograph the fishermen out in the boats on foggy morning. Antigua cruise the

town before and around sunrise. Streets are empty, and the light is nice. I shot 100

and 50 Fuji Povia and Velvia and it did well for me. Overall Guatemalans are far nicer

than Mexicans but both places are hard place to shoot because they have been on the

receiving end of a camera for so long.

[juan munoz]

Trevor, this time of the year is the best weather wise to visit with some nice and vivid colors so a Velvia will do it nice. I live here in Guatemala and if there is anything I can do before or during your visit please let me know will be glad to help, enjoy it !

[emily_schmitz]

Will I be able to find 120 film easily in Guatemala? What are my chances on Ilford HP5 Black

and white? What about finding a traditional film dark room? That would allow someone to

use it? I'm planning on being in Guatemala quite a while, depending on the types of

opportunities I find. Maybe a year at most. Is there a photographic 'community' there I could

get involved in? I'm interested mostly in film photography.

[javier_gonzalez9]

Well I live in Guatemala you can go to one of the Kodak stores to find ISO 100 to 400 If you find Fuji stores you can find ISO 100 to 800. Regarding 120 film and ISO lower than 100, I'm not really sure if its allways in stock your best bet is to find the Kodak store in "Pamplona", I've bought ilford 35mm on "Foto Europa" on zone10 but dunno about 120.

 

regarding the "wipiles" (the clothing worn by native women) you can still find them in places like Chimaltenango, Chichicastenango, Panajachel (where lake Atitlan is), Coban, Quiche. The culture in men is almost dead you rarely see typical clothing on the men.