In preparation for #BIFScale17, I picked up 5 rolls of Ultrafine Red Dragon 100. After shooting a roll I wondered what it was made from, just what did the good people at Ultrafine start with to wind up with the Red Dragon?

The internets didn’t have a clear answer, so a roll went into the dark bag and out came a de-redscaled roll of…I don’t know.
What I can tell you is that I call it: Green Kitten 320.

Why 320? Well, Ultrafine recommend shooting their Red Dragon film at EI 100, and I read that redscaled film should be shot at 2 stops over its box speed. I also knew that Red Dragon benefited from some overexposure, so I guessed that EI 320 would be a good place to land. I was lucky enough that the auto exposure on my Ricoh 35 ZF seemed to get it right most of the time, as long as I paid attention to the shutter speed.

The first 5 frames below – including the streaking headlights out the window, and fading out in the parking garage at work – were fogged. I think this was from spending a few days de-redscaled on the counter in a reused 35mm canister before going into the camera.

Here they are:


The last 5 frames (not pictured) were also fogged, I believe from the first N days it spent redscaled into a reused 35mm canister at Ultrafine in the US.

All that fogging made for some nice color shifts at the beginning and end of the roll. In between, the Green Kitten shone. It’s a bit grainy, but the color is just amazing. If I could figure out what film it started out as, I’d probably keep it on hand. With results like this, I’d love to have more, which is something to think about when I put in an order for #BIFScale18.

If and when I do this again, I’ll probably shoot it at EI 100 or maybe 200, as most of the frames were underexposed. After shooting four rolls of “normal” Red Dragon 100 at EI 25, EI 100 is probably close, if not spot-on for this descaled Green Kitten.

I’d probably also use a camera where I have a bit more (or a bit less) control. The Ricoh 35 ZF is a great little camera, but I’m not so confident with Shutter Priority shooting.

Thanks for reading,

~ James Cockroft

Submit your 5 Frames… today

Get your own 5 Frames featured by submitting your article using this form or by sending an email via the contact link at the top of the page.

Share your knowledge, story or project

The transfer of knowledge across the film photography community is the heart of EMULSIVE. You can add your support by contributing your thoughts, work, experiences and ideas to inspire the hundreds of thousands of people who read these pages each month. Check out the submission guide here.

If you like what you’re reading you can also help this passion project by heading over to the EMULSIVE Patreon page and contributing as little as a dollar a month. There’s also print and apparel over at Society 6, currently showcasing over two dozen t-shirt designs and over a dozen unique photographs available for purchase.

Similar stuff on EMULSIVE

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from EMULSIVE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Discover more from EMULSIVE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading