Film stocks that break the mold

For several years now, we've been witnessing a true renaissance of film photography. Photographers, both amateur and advanced, are looking for the indescribable sense of nostalgia that film offered before the digital era. As Kodak and Fujifilm regain their former prominence and popularity, new companies emerge and join the competition. Experimental labs such as Cinestill, Flic Film and Lomography stand out from the crowd and earn their place on the shelf alongside the famous Portra 400. This article highlights these little-known films that stand out from the crowd!

Lomography is probably the company that stands out the most when it comes to color. Some films create images that look like they've been taken on another planet! Such is the case with LomoChrome Purple, a film that drastically alters hues: everything green turns purple, and blue skies take on a turquoise hue. This is particularly impressive when used in landscape settings, where trees and plants suddenly become unrecognizable. I find that the images created with this film emanate a certain tranquility and bring a different perspective and particular interest to green landscapes that sometimes become redundant to photograph. The film is so versatile and experimental that it can be photographed at ISO 100, 200 or 400! Whatever sensitivity the user chooses, the results will be adequate when developed, provided you don't change the parameter value in the middle of a roll. In general, it's the contrast and tones that change slightly according to the ISO chosen, and it's up to the photographer to find his or her preferred image style!

Another popular Lomography film, which comes as much of a surprise as LomoChrome Purple, is none other than LomoChrome Turquoise. This time, what we see as blue and orange simply becomes orange and blue. This colorimetric magic gives rise to unlikely scenarios, such as a beach with blue sand under a beautiful orange sky. Once again, you can create scenes straight out of another universe. In my experience with this film, it's important not to overexpose the sky by mistake if you want to make the most of the colour change. Otherwise, the sky remains white. Since green isn't really affected, I wanted to take advantage of autumn and its orange leaves to get blue trees in development. This experimental film from Lomography can also be set to ISO 100, 200 or 400 when shooting.

Flic Film also stands out with its Cine-Color 250D film, an ISO 250 film ideal for daylight (D for Daylight). It's actually a Vision 3 cinema film created by Kodak, but made available by Flic Film. This company buys long Kodak Vision 3 reels sold in bulk and rewinds them into conventional 36 exposure capsules, making this type of film available to the general public at an affordable price. Color rendition is simply film-worthy, as it should be since this film has long been used for feature films in the past, and even today! The dynamic range of the images is impressive, and the color match with reality is spot-on, with of course the iconic warm tint of Kodak films.

 Vincent McGraw

Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 (38mm f/2.8)

+ Cine-Color 250D

Another Flic Film film that stands out from the crowd is the Psychedelic Street 400. This time, it's the desaturated colors that make it stand out from the crowd. It's a less extravagant approach than the other films mentioned so far, but just as original. With less color and saturation, I feel we're concentrating more on the essentials and less on bright elements that might distract from the subject and the feeling conveyed in the image. I think that's why it's a film that proclaims itself as a film for street photography, a style of image in which the mood is mainly created by the people in it. The roll is photographed at ISO 400, a sensitivity that allows a higher shutter speed and a smaller aperture, two very useful parameters in street photography for obtaining sharp images.

The latest company to produce films out of the ordinary is none other than Cinestill, and its famous 800T film is undoubtedly the most iconic. It's once again a Kodak Vision 3 respooled film, but this time Cinestill has deliberately removed the remjet layer on the negative, which usually offers extra protection against static electricity, scratches and light halos. This process gives way to reddish halos around the light sources in the image, which have quickly become Cinestill's trademark! It's a film that specializes in evening or night photography, thanks to its ISO 800 and tungsten color balance (hence the T in 800T) to adapt to artificial light. In my opinion, thanks to the quality of the Kodak Vision 3, the Cinestill 800T easily creates outstanding bluish cinematic atmospheres, and that's what keeps me using it for creative photo shoots!

Cinestill's other popular film is the 400D. This time, the white balance used is daylight. Color rendition is therefore not bluish as with the 800T, making it more faithful to reality. We find the same red halos in the highlights, but they are much more subtle in daylight. This film offers interesting vibrance and contrast, making it perfect for all occasions, whether portrait, landscape or street photography. Information retention in highlights and shadows is impressive, again making it very versatile. The D in 400D actually stands for Dynamic, in reference to this wide dynamic range. Once again, this is one of my favorite films, because of its ability to create nostalgic, cinematic images.

In short, all these films, although less well known than others, deserve just as much to be in the bag of film photography enthusiasts. Although they don't always render colors as close to the real thing, I find them a wonderful way to create original images and challenge yourself to photograph different subjects in a variety of conditions. It's also a fine way of honoring the work of the experimental labs that work tirelessly to offer a wide range of special stocks to film enthusiasts and make modern analog photography what it is!