This was a very casual portrait session that I participated in one winter where I was gifted some rolls of Portra 800 (120 format), and I wanted see how they would turn out. I’d already done a lot of research about it so I had a rough idea of how to expose it and what to expect. The camera I used was Contax 645 combined with the Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2, a lens I love dearly.
It was mildly cold with a low winter sun, which is a condition I really like if you shoot in the right direction. The results were beautiful and I can confidently say that Portra 800 is my joint favourite colour film (sharing the top spot with Fuji 400H). I also ought to give a lot of credit to the film lab for their talent in development and scanning.
I must end by saying that despite the beautifully soft and airy results film gives, that doesn’t mean I will pass off shooting in digital. Both mediums have their pros and cons, but I’ll leave this topic to another day. Shooting in both mediums is a joy (and sometimes a frustration) in different ways, you need to love them both.
~Nicholas Lau Photography~
Model: Yukiyo Kousaka | Location: Danson Park | Dev/Scan: UK Film Lab | Icon: Watercolour
2 Comments
It’s almost as if I’m instantly teleported , feeling the crisp ,cool , winter air. The lighting is beautiful. Amazing photos.
It’s good to know your fine art equipment and how to make use of winter sun angles. Pretty portraits!