Looking for True Self – With Jacobs and the Fantôme Kino B&W ISO 8 Film

The high contrast of the Fantôme Kino B&W ISO 8 film reminds us of the signature style of our LomoAmigo Jacobs, who tested the Berlin Kino for us and has a great love for black and white photography. We gave him a roll to test, read about his impressions and tips about our new low ISO film!

Have you ever tried low iso films like this one? How was your experience?

I have tried shooting with an ISO 20 Washi film. It was bad because of the lack of light and I only got a few successful shots.

How was shooting with this roll then? What gear did you use?

To be frank, I was quite worried that I would fail again because of the extremely low iso. Also because the weather in London is always moody and rainy, in February, there's not much sunshine to be seen most of the time. I was lucky enough to get a bit of sunshine on the shooting day, even it was cloudy. Therefore I put more thought on the composition and lighting when I shoot, hope that the film would not be too underexposed, at the same time retain more details. I am quite surprised by the result! I used Canon AE-1 in the shooting. I used iso 25 to shoot, as the lowest iso setting of the camera is only 25. I also used the largest aperture of f1.4 and the shutter speed is around 15 to 30. Could not use a shutter speed slower than that because when shooting portraits, the subject might shake or blink their eyes.

What inspires you for this shoot?

I had been thinking that humans, under different circumstances and context would produce different faces to protect themselves. These faces help humans to survive. However when we have too many faces and characters, sometimes we are confused and not being able to distinguish our true selves. We are unsure of these representatives and got used to please other people. But we shall always love the true self even it might not look the best.

Which photo is your favorite?

I am very satisfied with this film, love the high contrast and smoothness of the image. Among all, I like the composition of this the most. It feels like the girl is struggling in between reality and fantasy as if she is running away from the discrepancy.

If you have the chance to shoot with this film again, what would you shoot?

Probably street snaps! To produce some shaky imaginary with high contrast shadows. It should look very interesting in the city landscape and walking pedestrians! Using tripods might be helpful though. And doing experimental shots might also be a good choice!

Thank you Jacobs for testing the new Fantôme Kino B&W ISO 8 for us! If you like his work, please follow him on Instagram.

written by phyllistc on 2020-03-26 #gear #people #black-and-white #portraits #fantome #iso8 #fantome8