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Boundary Waters Canoe Trip on 16mm Ektachrome 100D


Adam Dargan

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I really haven't seen much 16mm Ektachrome footage out in the world so I wanted to share this film I shot earlier this year. Filmed in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the Summer of 2022. Shot on a Bolex Rex 5 with turret mounted 10mm, 25mm, and 75mm Kern-Switar lenses. I lugged around a 15lb pelican case in on the week-long ~25mi canoe trip in the deep backwoods of northern MN so some of the shots are less planned out (and shakier) than others. I need to figure out a lightweight tripod system in the future. 

Full disclosure I've only shot reversal a handful of times so the exposure was not as tight as it could have been. I shot 5 rolls of fresh Ektachrome 100D (ordered directly from kodak). I metered with my Sekonic L-308B which limited me to incident metering. In the future I'd like to upgrade to a spot meter so I can more accurately meter landscapes. 

I received a flat raw 6K scan from thenegative.space and did final color in Davinci Resolve. It was an HDR scan (which comes standard now) which gave more dynamic range in the shadows/highlights which is especially useful for reversal. That said, I still probably pushed the film in color a bit more than I would have liked which is why you'll notice more noise on some shots than others. I also lost a bit of resolution in my 4:3 crop to reduce the edge framing. 

It's all a learning experience! Each new project is an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist. 

 

 

 

 

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Came out great. I'm always shocked how crisp those lenses are for the vintage. I've shot a bit of Ektachrome 100D and was not very impressed with the scanning results. It just looks like color balanced negative. However, when you project it, wow it looks outstanding. I also scanned a project recently that was cross processed and it actually did not look like negative at all. I was shocked how much different it looked than standard processing. So maybe something to try in the future? 

 

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@Tyler Purcell Thank you! 

It's amazing how much of a difference the scan can make on the final image. Still, I wish it could match the quality and feeling of projected Ektachrome. 

The process you're talking about is the same they did on the show Euphoria right? I would be interested in trying that on a roll sometime to see the difference.  

 




 

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On 11/7/2022 at 7:00 AM, Adam Dargan said:

It's amazing how much of a difference the scan can make on the final image. Still, I wish it could match the quality and feeling of projected Ektachrome. 

Yea the color depth of projected images is outstanding, you don't get that with a very flat digital image, even film scanned doesn't hold a candle to projected film. 

We have some one light prints made directly off camera negative that I project for people here, both 16mm and 35mm, which are clean, scratch free and look outstanding. I have shown them to so many people and they're blown away what real film looks like compared to digital, not on the same planet. 

On 11/7/2022 at 7:00 AM, Adam Dargan said:

The process you're talking about is the same they did on the show Euphoria right? I would be interested in trying that on a roll sometime to see the difference.  

Yea exactly!

I have 2 rolls and I may experiment with it. 

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On 11/7/2022 at 10:00 AM, Adam Dargan said:

@Tyler Purcell Thank you! 

The process you're talking about is the same they did on the show Euphoria right? I would be interested in trying that on a roll sometime to see the difference. 

Euphoria cross processed the 100D Ektachrome in ECN2 which is a very different look than running it as E6 color reversal.

One of the aspects is that negative stocks like Vision3 have an orange base and the 100D Cross processed has a clear base. And of course you cannot project the Cross Processed film unless you make a print.

 

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Just now, Robert Houllahan said:

Euphoria cross processed the 100D Ektachrome in ECN2 which is a very different look than running it as E6 color reversal.

Have you tried it yet? 

I should do a music video or something, we can muck around with it. 

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11 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Have you tried it yet? 

I should do a music video or something, we can muck around with it. 

We have run countless feet of Ektachrome in ECN2 the most recent recognizable job was the opener film for this season of NFL Football for NFL Films which was a mix of Color Negative B&W Reversal and 100D Ekta cross processed all with a 3K overscan.

We also had a recent music video project that DP Hutch Crane did with expired VNF run in ECN2 that really did some cool color shift stuff.

Very different look than running in E6.

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On 11/7/2022 at 3:03 PM, Robino Jones said:

Beautiful! - I love the look of Ektachrome. Makes me want to go canoeing ?

Also wanted to thank you for recommending thenegative.space, you saved me a LOT of money and I can't recommend their service enough. Super efficient and pro - I'll be recommending their service from now on.

 


Thank you so much! This is actually the third time I've filmed a canoe trip. Each one getting better and better. Really happy with how this one turned out. 

And yes! thenegative.space is by far the best scan I've seen so far. They use a lasergraphics scanner and it's very affordable.  

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On 11/11/2022 at 7:58 PM, Robert Houllahan said:

Looks nice I assume Spectra did the E6 process?

I have run both 35mm and 16mm 100D E6 On our Scan Station in HDR and I think the Scan Station does better with Color Reversal than the Scannity at Spectra does.

Yes, Spectra did the processing, and thenegative.space did an HDR 6K scan with amazing color depth. 
 

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