While I had my Jobo Processor set up, and after running all of my Black and White film, I also ran a couple of batches of color film. The processor is ideal for color processing as the temperature controlled water bath nicely and accurately maintains the high process temperature [37 to 40C].
First I ran a batch of E-6 chemistry. This is the process used to develop color transparency film. I don't shoot a lot of color film any more, mostly because of the cost. 4" x 5" sheets of color transparency film run about $10 each. The larger 8" x 10" size runs about $30 per sheet. The chemistry isn't inexpensive either, and a 1L kit, enough to run 30 sheets of 4x5 or 15 sheets of 8x10, runs about a hundred bucks.
The reason that I started out with Black and White film is that I'm somewhat color blind. I struggle to recognize the difference between drab shades of grey, green and brown. This made color printing in the darkroom virtually impossible for me. It even makes toning of black and white prints a challenge. But sometimes the subject is the color, and black and white just doesn't do the image justice. For this reason I usually carry a sheet or two of color film with me when I am out shooting. If I come across something that screams color, I will take a shot. Usually this amounts to about two dozen sheets per year, a mix of transparency and negative film, in 4x5, and occasionally a couple of larger 8x10 shots. I still have a bunch of old stock of various color films in my freezer. I bought most of this stuff years ago, when the price was much lower, so I figure I might as well use it up. In all likelihood I will continue to buy some new stock from time to time, just to take advantage of opportunities like this one.
I took this shot of Horseshoe Lake in Jasper because I liked the way that the color in the sky was being reflected in the lake. I enhanced it a little with a color filter. This shot was taken during the Fall Photo Weekend of 2022 attended by several members of the Monochrome Guild.
I shot this on October 22nd 2022 at about 2:45 in the afternoon. In the mountains in late October, that is starting to get pretty close to sunset. I used my Ebony view camera and a slightly wide 125mm lens. A blue/yellow color polarizing filter enhanced the yellow reflection and added some blue to the sky. I shot this on the now discontinued Fujichrome Velvia 50. Despite the fact that the film expired ten years ago, in October of 2012, it still yielded pretty respectable results. The exposure was F18.0 with a shutter speed of 1 second.
For comparison, here is the Black and White version of the same shot. This one was taken moments before the color version. The camera and lens were the same, and the tripod position did not change. This one was taken on Ilford HP5 sheet film, developed in 510 Pyro. Although it is a nice shot, it just doesn't have the pop that the color brings to the other version. Most of the time I prefer the monochrome version, and the control that the negative affords me in printing. But occasionally the color makes the image. As there was no filter used for this shot, and the film was somewhat faster, the exposure time was less. This image was given an exposure of F29.0 and a shutter speed of 1/15 second.
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