A Slower Portra

I've been having good luck shooting Kodak's Portra 400 film. It's been my "go to" color print film for the past couple of years. I like its color palette, especially when you overexpose it. I've experimented a lot with this film and get my best results setting my camera or hand held meter to ISO 200.

I've been wanting to try the slower Portra 160 for some time. I shoot a lot of 100 speed black and white film and find that 100 speed film is good for most of the outdoor stuff I do. So while ordering some black and white and instant film stock from B&H, I decided to add a ProPak of Portra 160 to my shopping cart.

I loaded a test roll of 160 into my Canon F-1n camera and marinated long and hard on what film speed I should set the Canon's meter to. Consulting Google, I found that many people shoot this film at the box speed. Second place was ISO 125 and a distant third was ISO 100. I finally decided to live life on the wild side, set the Canon to 100 and headed up the coast to the little town of Jenner and make some pictures.

Jenner is where the Russian River spills into the Pacific Ocean. With all the rain we've had in Northern California this year, the river looked like coffee with cream.

Russian River, Jenner, CA/Canon F-1n with 50mm Canon FD f/1.4

Jenner By The Sea/Canon F-1n, 50mm Canon FD f/1.4

Pacific Harbor Seals haul out and sun themselves on the warm sand right where river and ocean meet. I need to get a telephoto for the Canon.

Pacific Harbor Seals enjoying the warm sand in Jenner

As usual along the Pacific Coast, there were plenty of people just taking in the view and the sounds of the waves.

The muddy water pouring out of the Russian River stains the Pacific almost as far as the eye can see.

Coffee-colored water pours from the Russian River into the Pacific near Jenner, CA

A storm had been teasing me all afternoon, rain clouds dancing just off shore. A few minutes after I took this shot, the clouds began spitting at me and I headed to the car.

100 works just fine for this film and I might even dial it back to ISO 80. Kodak's Portra films were developed using their Vision motion picture film technology and I do think that the film has a grand, cinematic look to it. Lots of people commented on the internet about Portra 160 being finicky, but I didn't find it to be. I'm glad I bought a ProPak of this film so I can experiment some more.