Assignment: Red

I was in a bit of a photographic slump a few weeks ago and decided to give myself a little assignment: go out for a photo walk and shoot only things that are red.

I decided to use my Leica R4s and the 60mm f/2.8 Macro-Elmarit R. I love this lens as it’s fast, not too heavy, close to normal focal length and it allows me to get up close if need be. I decided to load the Leica with a roll of Kodak Ektachrome 100 slide film that has been calling my name for a while now.

I have never been pleased with anything I’ve shot on slide film. Maybe it’s because I am not as competent a photographer as I like to believe I am when it comes to exposure. Dead on exposure is critical when shooting slide film. Color print film has so much latitude that even when I screw up completely, I still can get pictures that look pretty good.

Such was the case with this roll of Ektachrome. Shadows came out a bit greenish, which might be due to underexposure. Or, something might have been off in processing. I was also toggling back and forth the day I shot these between the Leica’s full field and spot metering modes. I think I was on a second mission— to mess up this roll.

That being said, I did enjoy seeking out and photographing the color red. It was a fun day of photography!

I tried a few shots indoors under available light.

And the required selfie taken in the reflection of a shop window on Main Street.

There is a part of me that really wants to shoot more Ektachrome until I am nailing exposure and getting consistently satisfying results. More likely though, I will just fall back on all of that wonderful Portra 400, Pro Image 100 and ColorPlus C-41 film in my refrigerator.