Spidersnaps: Climbing Fuji
Jan. 31st, 2023 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsAs previously mentioned in an earlier post, conventional C-41 color films have been getting expensive lately... I got this roll of Fuji Superia 400 for THB 450 (USD 12.60) in July, and started shooting it in September with my Kodak M35... Getting this roll of Fuji was quite the splurge, but if you're shooting film, might as well try Fuji at least once, right? (And I'm not talking Instax either ;-))
If you thought that price was ridiculous enough, when I went to get this roll developed, this same model of film was going for THB750 (USD 22.70!) Prices have gotten so ridiculous that not only is it cheaper to shoot bulk-rolled cinefilm, it's actually cheaper to get a roll of bulk-rolled slide film than Fuji, as the same lab is also selling Kodak Ektachrome E100D (now available as cinefilm, thanks to HBO's Euphoria using a lot of it) for THB 500 (USD 14.30) Even with the higher cost of slide film developing (THB300 vs THB120, USD5.40 vs USD2.20), you'd still come out ahead (not that I have the skills to make slide film work yet ;-)) Of course, not all C-41 films are this expensive (Fuji 200 is going for "only" THB 520, about USD 16), and according to Petapixel, Fuji's films are in "short supply for the time being", but it remains to be seen whether these extra high prices are just a phase... Back to B&W and cinefilm for now, though :-)
Camera and film
Partially affected by lightstruck leader, another shot of the ice cream cart I shot on an earlier roll, this time with the ice cream lady :-)
From what would turn out to be my last trip to the Udomsuk area (you'll read why in a moment), a color version of the mural at the strip mall
Backyard plants a la Fuji :-)
Pink flowers a la Fuji :-)
Literally a rubbish still life, featuring a paper bag from the long-defunct department store I featured in a Blast from the Past a while ago (plus 100% crop of just the bag)
Sign at my old alma mater... taken the day I met one of my former teachers, who gave me a job at one of their offices, so now I get to work from an office :-)
Neon sign at a local barber (been around for almost 60 years, been getting my hair cut here for about half that)
Night time kitty shot :-)
Artsy statues at a food fair
(Mostly) red hot chili peppers, and this photo also shows one of the weak points of having a focus-free camera: No sharp macro shots (was trying to film the ladybug just off-center to the left)
Motorcycle carrying a ton of snacks to sell somewhere
Pretty much all of Saliratawiphak Road (the small stub marked by the pin in the link), taken from a pedestrian bridge at the intersection marking the start of the road
Fish being grilled at a local shop
Another food fair, featuring a merchant giving a talk
Inflatable lucky cat at my local department store
Colorful art installation at Samyan Mitr Town (that I finally managed to get a usable picture of, after a couple previous attempts that must have been so underexposed that the lab didn't include them in scans)
Wilting wall flower
Fancy restaurant, looking a bit overexposed
"Alcohol is your enemy" sign, now in close-up
Thai flag at the Morchit BTS station
Victory Monument from the BTS train
Smiles at Siam Center
Inside a buffet restaurant at Siam Square One that I was eating at with my soon-to-be-ex colleagues
Bonuses:
An old pre-Covid price list my regular lab recently posted on their FB
Prices for C41 films at the same lab in early 2023... it boggles the mind that Portra 400, a "professional" film is only 30 THB (1 USD) higher than "regular" Superia 400 Extra... Meanwhile, B&W prices haven't had an equally crazy price hike, as the entry-level B&W films are still under THB300/roll (for example, Kentmere 400 is THB255, about USD7.8; the above pre-Covid sheet shows it as sold out, but probably would have been around the same area as the Ilford Pans, THB 140 or USD4.3)
And also:
- Here's another data point from September: THB 490 in September 2022 (USD 15)
- Look at how much 120 format Pro 400H is still left on the shelves, 2 years after its discontinuation (and it's only gone up THB30, 1 USD, from the old price list)... Speaks a lot to how niche-y medium-format film photography is
Also still affordable: Cinefilm, at THB210 (USD 6.4) for 135-36, and THB350 (USD 10.7) for 120, presumably bulk-rolled from 65mm negative; with E100D also available in 135-36 (at pretty much the same price as C41)
If you thought that price was ridiculous enough, when I went to get this roll developed, this same model of film was going for THB750 (USD 22.70!) Prices have gotten so ridiculous that not only is it cheaper to shoot bulk-rolled cinefilm, it's actually cheaper to get a roll of bulk-rolled slide film than Fuji, as the same lab is also selling Kodak Ektachrome E100D (now available as cinefilm, thanks to HBO's Euphoria using a lot of it) for THB 500 (USD 14.30) Even with the higher cost of slide film developing (THB300 vs THB120, USD5.40 vs USD2.20), you'd still come out ahead (not that I have the skills to make slide film work yet ;-)) Of course, not all C-41 films are this expensive (Fuji 200 is going for "only" THB 520, about USD 16), and according to Petapixel, Fuji's films are in "short supply for the time being", but it remains to be seen whether these extra high prices are just a phase... Back to B&W and cinefilm for now, though :-)
Camera and film
Partially affected by lightstruck leader, another shot of the ice cream cart I shot on an earlier roll, this time with the ice cream lady :-)
From what would turn out to be my last trip to the Udomsuk area (you'll read why in a moment), a color version of the mural at the strip mall
Backyard plants a la Fuji :-)
Pink flowers a la Fuji :-)
Literally a rubbish still life, featuring a paper bag from the long-defunct department store I featured in a Blast from the Past a while ago (plus 100% crop of just the bag)
Sign at my old alma mater... taken the day I met one of my former teachers, who gave me a job at one of their offices, so now I get to work from an office :-)
Neon sign at a local barber (been around for almost 60 years, been getting my hair cut here for about half that)
Night time kitty shot :-)
Artsy statues at a food fair
(Mostly) red hot chili peppers, and this photo also shows one of the weak points of having a focus-free camera: No sharp macro shots (was trying to film the ladybug just off-center to the left)
Motorcycle carrying a ton of snacks to sell somewhere
Pretty much all of Saliratawiphak Road (the small stub marked by the pin in the link), taken from a pedestrian bridge at the intersection marking the start of the road
Fish being grilled at a local shop
Another food fair, featuring a merchant giving a talk
Inflatable lucky cat at my local department store
Colorful art installation at Samyan Mitr Town (that I finally managed to get a usable picture of, after a couple previous attempts that must have been so underexposed that the lab didn't include them in scans)
Wilting wall flower
Fancy restaurant, looking a bit overexposed
"Alcohol is your enemy" sign, now in close-up
Thai flag at the Morchit BTS station
Victory Monument from the BTS train
Smiles at Siam Center
Inside a buffet restaurant at Siam Square One that I was eating at with my soon-to-be-ex colleagues
Bonuses:
An old pre-Covid price list my regular lab recently posted on their FB
Prices for C41 films at the same lab in early 2023... it boggles the mind that Portra 400, a "professional" film is only 30 THB (1 USD) higher than "regular" Superia 400 Extra... Meanwhile, B&W prices haven't had an equally crazy price hike, as the entry-level B&W films are still under THB300/roll (for example, Kentmere 400 is THB255, about USD7.8; the above pre-Covid sheet shows it as sold out, but probably would have been around the same area as the Ilford Pans, THB 140 or USD4.3)
And also:
- Here's another data point from September: THB 490 in September 2022 (USD 15)
- Look at how much 120 format Pro 400H is still left on the shelves, 2 years after its discontinuation (and it's only gone up THB30, 1 USD, from the old price list)... Speaks a lot to how niche-y medium-format film photography is
Also still affordable: Cinefilm, at THB210 (USD 6.4) for 135-36, and THB350 (USD 10.7) for 120, presumably bulk-rolled from 65mm negative; with E100D also available in 135-36 (at pretty much the same price as C41)
