Breaking out Portra 800 in Crap Light, March 2024

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

I had the pleasure of shooting some folks at a social event for the UK-based Empire LRP that happened over here in Dublin. I got plenty of shots of people using my DSLR but also had a chance to use Portra 800 to capitalise on the admittedly crap lighting. The pub had maybe one or two spots wherein things actually looked lit at all, outside of the immediate bar area, and I doubt the bar staff would have appreciated me jumping behind the bar for a good angle. They were patient enough, considering they were hosting a bunch of LARPers.

I’m delighted with how the colours of those costumed came out- The vibrant colours were a real help. I’m somewhat shocked at the lack of grain as well- Shooting ISO 800 film in low light, I had low expectations when it came to grain (frankly I’m dubious about anything regularly posted on /r/AnalogCircleJerk). However, these blew me away with their crispness: Even disregarding the rich colours of the characters' clothing, the texture of the linen and help on some costumes comes is clear even from these lab scans. Given the price point, I doubt I’ll have the opportunity to shoot this often- But I’ll make the best of those times I do.