I took a Canon EOS3 film SLR camera and a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens to Louisville, Kentucky. I brought a digital SLR as well. I didn’t end up using the digital much at all.

I brought both a 35mm Black and White film, and a very good 35mm color film. I shot none of the color. I shot five 36 exposure rolls of the B&W.

The Black & White film was Arista EDU 200, an inexpensive house brand sold by Freestyle Photo, in Hollywood, CA. I’ve shot a couple of rolls of this film in medium format, and I found it interesting. For street photography in a town with an older architecture, a mixture of French and American-Southern building styles, it rocks.

It rocks because it has the look of 1940’s Kodak black and white film. The film emulsion, the plastic stuff holding the chemistry, is a clear blue. The chemistry isn’t modern, and the developed negatives show an uneven imperfect distribution of grain. The film is sourced as from the Czech Republic, which would likely make it Fomapan Creative 200 film. I like the look. Alot.

My favorite modern B & W film is Kodak TMax TMY400 – this stuff is extremely sharp, perfect contrast, greys that cascade through the image. It has a modern look though. T-Grain films came out in the 1980’s, and are dramatically sharper than Arista EDU.

Arista EDU 200 is high contrast and high grain. I developed these rolls in Kodak D76 1:1 (diluted 1 to 1 with water) at 9 munites and 30 seconds – the D76 takes the edge off the contrast. The grain becomes a part of the art of the image. The look complements the subject matter.

— spence

artist@spencemunsinger.com
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