“Hey, is there anywhere near you that can develop ECN-2 film?” Aurea asked me. I did some searching and confirmed that Royal We Film Lab in Oakland could. Then she followed up with “want a roll of ECN-2 film?” so of course I said sure! I’d give it a shot. ECN-2 is the film process used for 35mm movies, so maybe my photos would turn out more “cinematic” (whatever that means).
Flash forward to a few weeks later, and she hands me a roll of ECN-2 film. It honestly seemed a little sketchy, the canister itself was Kodak Gold 200, clearly repurposed with a small “250” sticker on top of it. I asked her like three times if it was legit. “You can only buy this stuff in bulk, so you have to repackage it. I got it from a photographer friend in Seattle,” she explained.
The film is 250D, so ISO 250 and the D stands for daylight (usually instead of T for tungsten, for indoor light). Metering for this was a challenge: 250 ends up being is kind of in between standard stops on my lens and timing options for my shutter, so I did the best I could! Some of the photos are definitely exposed better than others.
In the end, I liked how it turned out. The folks at Royal We did a great job. They told me it would be a 2-week turnaround but it ended up only taking 5 days!
I started the roll here in SF, and got a few commute photos, as well as some with Aurea on a photo walk. We had some amazing weather.
The Embarcadero Center at sunrise
More of the Embarcadero Center
F-Market in Fisherman’s Wharf
We’ve seen Ruth Asawa’s Aurora in black and white before
Aurea shot on the film roll she gave me
I finished it up visiting my friend Nicki in Seattle. I would not have expected such gorgeous weather for Seattle in February!
Pike Place Market
Yarn store in Edmonds
Nicki and Chad
Me! Taken by Nicki
Edmonds Ferry
Plane over Edmonds