If you’ve never had the misfortune of experiencing a California “fire season”, you are blessed. This was my 39th, and it has been the worst I can remember thanks in large part to the ever-present smoke from the nearby Bobcat Fire. But it didn’t help matters that I picked this particular occasion to pay my sister a visit on her ranch in Nevada County – as in Northern California, the hotbed of the conflagration. I brought along my Minolta SRT 102 and MC Rokkor-X PG 58mm f/1.2 lens.
You may have heard of Nevada County as the hotbed of another conflagration, one whose smoke carries a far more pleasing aroma for much of the population round those parts – Nevada County is where lots and lots of cannabis is grown.
Prior to her purchase, my sister’s ranch produced its fair share thanks to its remote location, isolation from prying eyes, and seasonal stream. This was back in the day when such an operation was against California law. I’m not privy to why things went south for the previous occupants, but by the time my sister took possession it was bank-owned and had been vacant for half a dozen years, the four enormous planter beds overgrown with weeds not of the monetizable variety.
Nowadays, two of the four planter beds have been disassembled, their wood and $50k worth of soil being repurposed for the legitimate grow operation now occupying the property – a vegetable garden.
I photographed the ruins of the remaining two structures at a time when the smoke blanketing Nevada County limited visibility to maybe two miles. So thick was it that its effects could easily be seen even within the confines of my sister’s property, like waking up in fog. By shooting into the barely-visible sun, I hoped to maximize the gaussian, back-lit eeriness. Employing the MC Rokkor-X PG 58mm f/1.2 took this effect even further. This lens has a reputation for creating dreamy renderings at wide apertures, an effect I made full use of for these images.
For 20+ years I have been an on-again-off-again film photographer, staunchly of the ILFORD variety. This was my first foray with Arista EDU ULTRA 100. I see the grain a bit more with the Arista and I feel like there is a glowy halation going on that I am not accustomed to. There’s also a punchy contrast to this stock that I’ve never felt so readily with HP5; I wasn’t planning for it, but this extra contrast probably helped a lot, given the hazy conditions in which I was shooting. Developed in Df96 from Cinestill, scanned on Epson Perfection V500, and digitized with Negative Lab Pro.
~ Ryan
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8 responses to “5 Frames… During California’s “Fire Season” on Arista EDU ULTRA 100 (35mm Format / EI 100 / Minolta SRT102 + Minolta MC Rokkor-X PG 58mm f/1.2)”
I bought a roll of this film a while ago and didn’t like the results after scanning it so I never used it again. I recently made a darkroom print from the negative of that film and absolutely loved the results. So much tonal range in the print and the grain was quite pleasing too. I was completely shocked!
Arista EDU ULTRA 100 is rebadged Fomapan 100 Classic, Kurt. Same as Kosmo Foto 100 🙂
Love those Minolta SRT-Series Cameras. I have two myself. I never used the Arista Films, but these look great!
Thank you for that, analogphotobug! Yeah, coming up on an X-700, the SRT102 is definitely a different experience, but I can certainly understand its appeal. It’s the model that introduced me to fully mechanical cameras.
Superb shots and so sorry for your sister’s ranch.
Thank you, Frederic, for you compliment and concern. I am happy the report that the ranch has suffered no damage as a result of the fires this year. It was never under direct threat unless you count the unbearable smoke.
Arista Edu 100 is Foma pan 100 rebranded for Freedtyle photo.
Not a secret and common knowledge but thank you all the same for sharing: https://emulsive.org/reviews/film-reviews/film-list/every-single-film-stock-still-made-today-part-1-adox-to-dubblefilm#aristaedu-ultra-100