I love cross-processed film. I hate waiting and paying for it. So, I’ve been working on recreating some cross-processed looks in Lightroom using existing presets as examples. Originally, I was only playing with white balance tweaks and HSL adjustments, but I was never really happy with the results. Then I figured out how to use split toning to get the looks I wanted (yeah, I’m a little slow sometimes…), and now I’m happy.
To test out the new presets, I pulled some images from a recent self-portrait shoot and went to town with the processing. The base lighting is the same in all images — Nikon SB-600 at full power with a CTO gel at camera left, sun at camera right.
Here’s what the original colors looked like:
And here are three variations on the cross-processed look I’ve been working on:
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. I still need to do some tweaking to find a good starting point for the preset(s), but I’m starting to get the colors and tones that I want. Someday, I might even share those presets. :)
Lomo LC-A and Agfa CT Precisa cross processed. Love it! I might have to try more of these types of city night shots while Mia is away on a business trip.
I’ve been going through a bunch of old film shots lately and have rediscovered some awesome photos. They remind me that I don’t need to have a bag full of lenses and a big-ass DSLR and Photoshop to capture and create great images. I can “get by” with “just” a Lomo LC-A and a pocketful of film.
In fact, it’s kind of liberating and refreshing to work with such a “limited” camera. The fixed 32mm lens is just the perfect focal length for how I like to shoot (roughly 20mm on Nikon DX sensors). Zone focusing is wicked easy. The LC-A’s auto exposure is really good, and, if needed, I can set a custom aperture from f/2.8 to f/16 with a fixed shutter speed of 1/60. And it has a hotshoe for those times when I need a flash (yes, I’ve done on and off camera flash with an LC-A).
Then there’s cross processing. As fun as it is to tweak a digital photo to look like it was cross processed, there’s nothing quite like the real thing. Elitechrome’s blues are soothing. Velvia’s reds are nothing short of explosive. Playing and experimenting with each film type’s characteristics is part of the fun of cross processing.
And now I think it’s time for me to go out and burn a few rolls of film on my LC-A. Too bad I have to work today. There’s always the weekend. :)
I used to shoot a lot of film back when it was super convenient for me to drive down the street a couple of miles to a local pro lab (Rainbow Photo). Ever since it closed, I’ve had to switch to labs that are at least 10-15 miles out which, in this area, equates to about 20 minutes of driving one way without traffic. All that driving sort of turned me off to shooting film, simply because of the hassle of getting out and back during business hours.
However, I was recently going through some old film scans from a couple of years ago, and the desire to work with film is back. I want to shoot medium format. I want to cross process slide film. I want to work with the limitations/quirks of a particular camera and exploit those. I want to play and have fun.
That’s not to say that my D300 isn’t fun (far from it), but it doesn’t really have any character to it. My Lomo LC-A has character. My Olympus XA has character. My Holgas definitely have character. And, not to get into a film versus digital debate, film still has a certain aesthetic that digital doesn’t have (yet).
As I look through old film shots of mine, I keep thinking “Wow, that looks cool!” I don’t have quite the same feeling looking through my old digital shots. Maybe that says something about how and what I shoot. Maybe I’m just more “inspired” when I work with film. Who knows.
I do know that I enjoy the experience of shooting with film cameras much more so than with digital. Perhaps that is the difference in what I’m seeing in my images. When I see my film images, I remember which camera I shot with, how I got the photo, and what it was like taking the photo. When I see my digital images, I get caught up in the technicalities of the processing and lens types and whatnot.
I think it’s time for me to get back to shooting with film cameras again. Actually, I think I need to shoot with film cameras again. I need the challenge of working with different cameras and film types to spark my creativity and to break me out of the photographic slump I’m going through right now (did I forget to mention that I’m in a photographic slump right now?). I want to have fun with photography again.
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