Can�t decide on the right film for an African trip, help?

[ittai_kidron]

I�m taking off for a month trip to Ethiopia, a massive land for

nature/landscape opportunities but also very populated, with many

portrait close-up opportunities and indigenous tribes. I expect

wildlife to be somewhat limited. I�ve never used slide film before,

but I am considering taking some with me. I guess my questions are:

 

1. Of the slide film out there � what would work best for me? It�s

summer time over there, hot during the days, cold at nights, skies

should be clear or partly cloudy for the most part.

 

2. I�m not sure I�m ready to make slide film my primary choice

(although any advice would be appreciated), and so what would be the

best negative film for landscape? In the past I went from 100 to 400

only to come down back to 200, and now I�m thinking 100 again. I�m

not sure what ISO to use for general purposes and for sunset/sunrise

situations.

 

3. What should I use for close human encounters? I imagine I�ll spend

some time with tribes, markets and other holy sites. Ideas?

 

Just as a reference, I have a Canon 1V, and the standard 28-80/f4.0

and 75-300/f5.6 lenses. I also have filters (polarizer, graduated

natural density (one stop and two stop), and an intensifier).

 

Thanks, Ittai

[wbowman]

It is risky to use a film you are completely unfamiliar with while on a unique trip like this. If you don't already have an "old reliable" film, then these are my suggestions:

 

Kodachrome 64 and 200 (depending on your lighting conditions) for slide film. It's stability at various temperatures and longevity when processed make it a winner for this type of photography. Although I can't confirm this from my own experience, Fuji Velvia is probably not a good choice for portraiture because it has a poor reputation when capturing skin tones.

 

You won't be able to do much when the sun goes down with those lenses. You might want to pick up a 50mm f1.8 lens to do some night stuff with some high-speed print film (like some 1600 or 3200p B&W film). Those lenses cheap, light, and sharp. The film is grainy, but it'll certainly let you capture some interesting stuff.

[dfdncithekxlbn8kaglf33]

Shoot as you normal would. This means using the gear and film you like and know how to use. There is nothing special about hte light in any part of Africa that makes photography any different. In short, all the same rules apply.

[fotografpeterlundberg.se]

First of all: I do not shot slidefilm! And I was very happy I didnt do it at a recent trip I made to south africa. I used Kodaks Porta film NC wich is a low contrast film. The light was very hars, at least during daytime, so at least I could not master slides.

 

Regarding the colors I dont know if NC is the best choice, but I would strongly recommend print film!

 

Peter

[sergey_oboguev]

Landscape on tripod, slides -- use Velvia or Provia 100F. Do not use Velvia for people (at least caucasians), skin colors will be funky; this is correctable in digital domain, but you want slides.

 

People and general purpose shooting ISO 100, slides -- use either Provia 100F or Astia (Sensia). Astia is less saturated and grain is more pronounced, but it has larger latitude.

 

ISO 400, slides -- Provia 400F / Sensia 400.

 

Landscapes, negative -- Fuji Reala. Low grain, huge latitude, reasonable saturation.

 

Finally, if you have never shot slides, DO IT and shoot at least several rolls before trip.

[richard harris]

I think Velvia will actually be ok for tribespeople :) But probably too slow for your lenses unless you have a tripod.

 

Best compromise would be Sensia 100/Astia (they are the same essentially), provia 100, or provia 400/sensia 400 (again, very similar) for low light or handholding.

 

For Velvia like Saturation but with a stop more speed there is Kodak EBX (or VS is the pro version), somewhere in between Velvia and Provia there is Kodak SW.

 

You should really go out and shoot some test rolls to see what you like. At midday the only film that will be forgiving at all will be Astia/Sensia 100, the others are all quite contrasty. In softer light any of these films will perform excellently - at this point it's down to taste.

[ShunCheung]

First of all, I totally agree with the "use whatever you normally use" suggestion. It is very risky to switch to completely different film shortly before a major trip. In particular, Velvia can be tricky to use.

 

Speaking of Velvia, under most conditions it is a horrible portrait film. I have used it to photograph Africans and they look completely dark with little details on their face. I have used it to photography myself (Chinese) and I look terrible too under bright sunlight; in a cloudy day it is ok. But photographing people isn't really nature photography, so I won't discuss it further.

[frank uhlig]

Just to make it clear: Ethiopia is just north of the equator: there are no seasons! Much of Ethiopia is mile high and more, so it is always rather cool at night and hot in the day. A bit of geography does not hurt, does it?

 

As far as film: use what you know; the light always comes from the sun around here. So what is good to use in Amsterdam works in Tokio, Addis Abeba, Rio, ... At least it always has for me.

[efusco]

Ittai,

You didn't say when you were leaving. If time allows and you feel you might want to shoot slide film for some reason (you didn't say why you were considering it for this trip if you don't normally use it--do you intend to use the photos differently than you normally would?) then I suggest the following:

 

Buy 2 or 3 rolls of Sensia II (a good starting place, the other recommendations above are good too). Shoot those 2 or 3 rolls in various lighting situations, but particularly those that are similar to what you're expecting in Ethiopia. Now look at those slides...are you satisified with the results? Is your percentage of accurate exposures satisfactory? Did you get the color and saturation you expected?

 

If Yes, you did well, then you might just do fine with slide film..you're probably a pretty experienced photographer that knows how to compensate for exposures in various lighting situations to get the critically accurate exposures slide film demands. Fire off another 10 rolls of whatever film you plan to take just for practice and to make sure you're consistant and you're good to go.

 

If your exposures were all over the place or just plain 'bad' then either you need to abandon the idea of taking slide film or you need to get to work very quickly and very aggessively doing test rolls until you can consistently predict your exposures (as above) so that you don't come home with roll after roll of bad photos.

 

The safest bet is, as repeated above but bears repeating again, shoot what you know and what works for you--there is nothing mysterious or different about any light anywhere. If you can read light in Texas you can read light in Africa.

--evan

[Rod Sorensen]

I'm not entirely in agreement with the idea that you need to stick with your normal film. Your question suggests that you may not be sure you'll get the best images with your normal film. If I was going to Ethiopia and wanted to maximize my chances of good images, I'd want to use the highest quality film I could use. I am partial to slide film, so I'd probably suggest Provia 100F as the easiest switch. It has reasonable speed and represents colors accurately. It would be a good all around film and I don't think you'd be disappointed with the results or find it hard to use. If you are going to be doing some landscapes or wildlife, I'd also take some Velvia. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the results. If you aren't used to slide film, you have to be prepared for some minor frustrations. You don't end up with easily viewable "pictures". But with scanning techniques or from your local lab, you can get "pictures" of your best images and I will predict they will be better than what you might have got from your negative film. Have fun.

[wildpicture]

Having photographed many times on the African continent, I can only second what many have mentioned before. Stick to what you are used to. Don't go trying something new and unfamiliar for this trip. You have to learn the characteristics of a film with experience. It takes time.

 

One remark about the sunlight being the same all over the world. I do not agree at all. Sure, we only have one sun, but the light does vary around the globe. Since Etheopia is near to the equator, the sun will be high above most of the daylight time. Remember it rises and sets very fast, so there is very little time between dark and full sunlight. Because the sun is directly above and very strong, the light is also very harsh. This increases contrast and creates deep black shadows.

 

For portraits of black people, this is very difficult. A cloudy overcast sky would be best, but you can't control that of course. So you might have to use fill-in flash for portraits. Or a reflector.

 

Though Velvia is my favourite film and I use it most of the time in Africa for mammals and birds, I would not advice it for portraits of black people. You will loose all detail in the dark.

 

Have a great time there!

[safarishots]

I'll just add confirmation of Hans' idea about fill-flash. The high angle of the sun combined with dark complexions is tough to deal with unless you put in more light from a lower angle.

 

Also, realize that if you will be taking potos inside huts, then they are very dark inside. If you don't want the unnatural look of flash, then you will need a very fast film. The earlier suggestion to get a fast 50mm lens was also an excellent one.

 

A very common film for weddings these days is Fuji NPZ 800. It handles high contrast well and gives a lot of flexibility for non-tripod shots. It could be just what your are looking for, unless you need very low grain. I didn't know about it when I was in Africa, but I had pretty good success with Kodak Max 800.

 

-Jon<div></div>

[safarishots]

One more thing. Ethiopia is mountainous. The light at high altitude is very blue. When you shoot slide film, you might use an 81A filter to warm things up. Print films can be adjusted in printing.