
In November of 2007, I took my digital camera to the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Faire to photograph what, to this day, is one of Real Florida Photo’s most popular galleries. A year later, I went back. This time armed with several of the best manual focus 35mm film bodies ever produced and tons of film. The performers were fantastic, the patrons looked great in costume, the vendors were spot on and in character, the shows, mock battles, and tournaments were funny and dramatic. At the end of the day I had gone through about $200 worth of film and processing. Well worth it. It was a great day. I could not wait to see my results. This would go down as one of my best days of shooting ever.
The film came back from the developer and each and every photograph I took that day was…awful.
Who is to blame? The harsh midday light of Florida on a sunny day?
Afraid I can’t do that. Shooting in the blinding glare of the Florida sunlight is old hat to me. A lot of my best pictures have been taken in this light. Like a pro baseball player who has been catching pop-fly’s since he could walk, “The sun was in my eyes” is not a legitimate excuse. I know the drill: minus one to minus two stops on my old film cameras in bright sunlight. More than that, I’ve shot this event before and with a lot better results.
Maybe blame the kid at the photography counter at Colonial Photo & Hobby? Now that is tempting. My return to film photography was recent and he was the one that handed me those ten boxes of film in the first place. I had gone there asking for a print film that, “gives saturated colors like a slide film.”
He said that’s not really available. Then he hesitated. He finally shrugged “welllll…this one is close.”
Aaaaand, I trusted him.
Bad move to take advice from a kid who wants to get you out of the way so he can peddle more digital cameras.
Still, I know better than to trust the kid at the counter at this alleged “Pro” lab. Don’t get me started on my experiences with them.
Finally, I realized there is only one factor in this equation I can blame for such a catastrophy. In the time honored tradition of photographers since 1892 there is only one thing that can be blamed when taking bad photographs.
The Eastman Kodak Company.
What?
You didn’t think I was going to say me did you? Oh please.
To give blame where blame is due I blame Kodak for producing Ultra Color 100UC. Sure I had bright spots and shaded spots in the harsh mid day sun in my original shoot of the Renaissance Faire. This time it was SO MUCH worse: Blown out highlights and, otherwise, too dark darks. No way for a happy medium between the two.
What hurt the most, was this series getting away.
Here’s what happened:

The Flogging Drummers Began to Drum

The Gypsies Danced and Danced
…and the dark areas were too dark and the bright areas were too bright and there was not enough in the middle to make a cohesive photograph. I have over a dozen or so great photographs of gypsies dancing and they all look like this. It would have been one of my favorite series ever, if I had only shot it on another film.
When I said I wanted a film that acted like slide film, I did not mean all of the bad aspects of slide film, particularly blown out highlights, with none of the good. Print film should have more range than slide film. I swear the Kodak UC line had less.
Here’s the shot that hurts the most though. It would have been one of my all time favorites. Instead, it’s a white over-exposed mess. Like a fisherman talking about the big one, this will forever be, “the one that got away” to me:

Gypsies Pose for the "Faerie Box"
They say a photographer should never make excuses. I researched this film after the fact and several photographers have warned to never use this films outdoors. Yes, I should have looked into it ahead of time. Would have been nice to know that earlier. Would have been nice of the “Pros” at Colonial Photo and Hobby gave me that vital little tidbit of information before I burned a dozen rolls in the midday sun though.
Things have changed. Kodak has released a new film that is as miraculous as 100UC is, well, whatever it is. It is called Ektar 100 and I can’t imagine using anything else in that range. I apologize to gypsies, royalty and knaves. To flogging drummers, jesters, the most noble of royalty down to the washing well wenches. This year, I’ll be ready.





































