Rediscovering Kodak Tri-X

As a teenager in the 1970s, I shot a lot of Kodak Plus-X and Tri-X black and white film. Both were readily available at the corner drugstore, inexpensive and easy to home process. When I got back into film photography in 2010, I gravitated to the tabular grain emulsions of Kodak T-MAX 100 and 400 because I wanted finer grain in my photographs.

I guess I carried it around in my head that Tri-X was more suited to gritty street photography or documentary style shooting, so I’ve done most of my 400 speed black and white work these past 12 years on T-MAX.

With film getting more and more expensive these days, I keep looking for bargains and saw some Tri-X online for a decent price…three rolls for 24 bucks, which seemed pretty darn good. So I bought some.

I shot my first roll of Tri-X since forever in my Nikon F3HP with the 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor lens. Most of what was on this first roll were personal shots, but I finished the last few frames during a Sunday afternoon of wine tasting at Grigich Hills Estate Winery up the Napa Valley in Rutherford.

If you are into wine at all, you know that Mike Grigich gained international recognition when the Chardonnay he produced at Chateau Montelena blew the competition away at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, basically putting California on the map as a top wine-making region. Grigich later partnered with Austin Hills (of Hills Brothers Coffee fame) to establish Grigich Hills Estate.

I am not a big white wine person, but the Grigich Chards are pretty incredible and their Cabs are some of my favorite reds. While tasting, I clicked off a few shots with my Nikon. Yes, glasses are empty because Mike’s wines are delicious.

Stopped to walk around Oakville Grocery on the way home. I’ve shot this sign many times before.

The late afternoon sun was playing off of some pillows when I got home. The 55/2.8 lens is tack sharp I think.

There is some grain in these photographs, but not nearly what I had imagined there would be. And the tonal range is quite impressive. The results of this roll have changed my mind about Tri-X. I am going to shoot more of it. The price has gone up to $34 for three rolls. I bought more anyway.