Earlier this yr, as borders lastly reopened, I started planning a visit to Osaka and Kyoto to revisit a good friend and discover these vibrant Japanese cities. This time, armed with a newfound ardour for pictures. I used to be wanting to seize the essence of Osaka via the lens of my Pentax KX, and a lately found movie inventory, ORWO Wolfen NC400. Whereas visiting my native movie lab, I stumbled upon a contemporary batch of NC400, a brand new color movie inventory. Intrigued by the chance to strive a brand new movie, I bought a roll, understanding it might accompany me on my Japan journey. Through the starting stage I knew I wished to take pictures at Mt Inari on NC400 with a Pentax KX. With restricted baggage area, I chosen my gear, choosing the dependable and mechanical Pentax KX together with its 50mm f/1.4 lens. Whereas it added weight to my baggage, I valued the dependability of this mixture.
A Day in Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine
On the third day of my journey, the solar was shining brightly as my good friend and I launched into a practice trip to Kyoto. Our vacation spot was the magnificent Fushimi Inari Shrine, famend for its charming path adorned with vibrant purple gates. As we started our hike up Mt Inari I loaded NC400 into my Pentax KX, able to seize the enchanting environment. The shrine, nestled within the scenic hills of Kyoto, proved to be a charming vacation spot for my pictures journey. As I ascended the sacred Mt Inari, I discovered myself surrounded by a tunnel of torii gates.
The path meandered via a dense forest, dappled in daylight filtered via the foliage, casting shadows on the moss-covered paths. The serenity of the shrines that flanked the path, coupled with the colourful hues of the gates. It had a harmonious mix of tranquillity and visible enchantment. As we made our approach up the path, I encountered various lighting situations—daylight piercing via the dense tree cowl, creating pockets of excessive distinction. To make it possible for I had an correct publicity, I relied on a light-weight metre app that had confirmed dependable. I supplemented it with the inner metre of my digicam. With an ISO of 400, the movie ought to have had sufficient pace to have the ability to get a correct publicity underneath the cover of the woods.
Concerning the digicam itself
The KX was among the finest of the Okay line absolutely mechanical Pentax SLRs. It options the whole lot the K1000 is missing together with a depth of area preview, self timer and mirror lockup. In low gentle It was nice to scale back digicam shake. I used to be in a position to get some fairly sharp photographs on the 50mm with a 1/thirtieth of a second shutter pace. By far probably the most satisfying facet of utilizing the KX is the crisp shutter slap that actually allows you to really feel when you’ve got taken an image. As a digicam it has some distinctive ergonomics and options, such because the shutter lock swap on the shutter button, however extra importantly the sunshine metre on swap, which is on the body advance lever: you pull it out and half press the shutter and the metre needle will point out the shutter pace wanted. This took a while to get used to however I ended up hanging the digicam off my thumb by the lever to learn the metre, which additionally made it simpler to make use of one handed.
The Stunning Outcomes
Once I lastly acquired my developed negatives and scans, I used to be stunned by the distinct traits of the movie. Not like most unfavorable movies its masks was not the standard orange, providing a novel color rendition. The grain, noticeably extra pronounced than different ISO 400 movies, added a particular texture to the pictures. Moreover, the movie possesses a decrease publicity latitude. In a number of the hight distinction scenes, shadows have been muddy and highlights blown out. With some put up processing and color correction nevertheless I used to be in a position to get some usable photographs.
Reflecting on the Journey
Travelling via Osaka and Kyoto with the Pentax and NC400 movie was a testomony to the unpredictability of capturing movie. Regardless of the challenges introduced by various lighting situations, the ensuing photographs possessed a definite aesthetic, invoking that retro aesthetic. After returning to Australia and being considerably disillusioned with the outcomes, I acquired one other roll, presumably from a more recent batch. Though the latitude was nonetheless decrease than I anticipated from color unfavorable. It was far much less grainy and had a significantly better color rendition.
Thanks for studying about my journey capturing on Mt Inari on NC400 with a Pentax KX, you’ll find me over on Instagram @larperwithacamera or over right here if you wish to purchase me a espresso
