Picking up from the original review, I’m going to talk about experiment with Kodak EKTACHROME E100VS and the kinds of results you can expect from pushing and cross processing the film and then pushing and cross processing this film.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride. Here’s what’s covered in this article:
Pure fun ahead
The amount of fun I’ve had shooting this film borders on the childish. After processing a couple of rolls “the right way” using E6 chemistry, I decided I should push process and cross process a couple of rolls on my next batch. Many, many seasoned photographers will tell you that you shouldn’t mess with slide film. You’ll be told that it’s not worth the cost, unpredictability, or heartache when all you’ll get is ruined film back from the lab.
Whilst I agree in part, it’s my belief that if you respect slide film and work within its boundaries, it can give back much more than you might expect. That being said, I’m much happier to experiment with Kodak and other-brand slide film than I am with Fuji. Mostly due to Fuji slide film’s almost total unpredictability when cross processing…more on that in another article. (Note: this isn’t hate, as you’ll see in the Fuji Provia 100F film review).
Pushing Kodak E100VS
Let’s take a look at how it pushes to ISO400. I should have pushed a single stop but as Kodak’s own documentation states it can be pushed two stops, I decided to give it a try.
A two-stop push does nothing to reduce the dynamic range, or detail of this film stock.
No shadows to speak of but again, detail is retained.
Not bad, eh? I shot in 645 format on a bright day with gorgeous light and the two stop push was well worth it in my opinion. The colors remain vivid, grain remains sharp and clear, and we still retain the wide range exhibited when shot at EI 100. I’d highly recommend you try it for yourself.
Cross processing Kodak E100VS
Cross processing any slide film can be a risky process, especially when the film has aged, or was improperly stored. Most cross processed (XPRO) slide films will exhibit predictable color shifts when fresh. For example, Kodak films tend to shift towards yellows, golds and oranges, Some Fuji films go towards the blue/red and Agfa films lean on green and blue.
Anyway, we’re here to talk about Kodak, so let’s look at the results when the film is shot at ISO100 and then cross processed in C41 chemicals. Take a look below.
I love the extra contrast and color bleed here.
f2.8 at 1/30th of a second. Beautiful golds, oranges and reds.
White petals all turned pink.
It’s plain to see where this film is leaning to – reds, yellows and golds. In fact, white and light Gray elements have a pinkish hue to them. Not altogether unpleasant to my eye.
Details are generally retained and the images get an attractive “shine” to them. Reds and pinks tend to bleed through, giving those elements a “halo” effect.
Personally, I really like the results. The shift isn’t always huge and the first image, in particular, has a really interesting mix of high contrast color, as well as blocked out shadows.
Pushing and cross processing Kodak E100VS
So, let’s say that a simple cross process isn’t experimental enough. What if you decide to push the film to EI 200 and then cross process it? Let’s look at the results below:
We still retain most of the detail here, however a poorly placed dark slide led to a rather artistic light-leak.
Beautiful color shift in the tarmac. The dog’s coat appears as if it’s glowing.
Light-leaks and color-bleed but the detail in the background it truly astonishing!
Very surprised at the detail retained in the door and frame. The red bleed to the right adds to the feeling.
Seeing the saturated colors, “halo” effects and huge color shifts for the first time had me smiling like a madman. What I wasn’t prepared for was the retention of detail and grain structure.
The second image of the dog really blew me away, whilst the third made me feel rather uncomfortable. Regardless to say that I’m incredibly, pleasantly surprised and plan on repeating this experiment again very soon.
Wrap up
That’s it from me for now. I’m sure there’ll be more to come soon. As the last word from me, I’d like to invite you to view the images featured in this experimentation review, as well as Kodak’s E100VS technical datasheet below.
~ EM
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6 responses to “Experiments: cross processing and pushing Kodak EKTACHROME 100VS (E100VS)”
I absolutely love the look of the cross processed shots! Especially the ones shot at 200iso. Did you extend the development time for the one stop push and cross process?
This is pretty cool and I can’t wait to try this – I like the idea of either cross-processing as you did or my thought was maybe to push redscale…
I’ve seen redscale with with Velvia 50 but you’d have to cross process it in order to get the desired effect, as slide film doesn’t have an orange laver (to the best of my knowledge!)
Not sure I’d burn a roll of E100VS to try, it’s just too precious these days 😉
I know one thing for sure: I don’t like the cross-processed look. It looks like a really bad and faded 70s Ektachrome shot: Colors tending towards green, blue, and yellow, and the stock’s smooth-as-cream genuine contrast is pushed/lost so hard that you get only black blurbs for shadows and hugely burned-out highlights. The only thing I can remotely acknowledge to be a matter of taste is the blurred halos on the crushed blacks. If this exact opposite of this stock’s strengths is really what you want, you can easily get it with cheap filters on any ol’ bitmap processor, be it on digital photos or any other stock.
It’s all down to a personal preference, Benjamin. That a similar effect could be achieved using a filter isn’t the point!