Leif Norman photographer
full time arts and culture photographer in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Cross Processing Film (E6 and C41)
What did we learn today?
When we tell the lab to cross process slide film; fun things can happen.
To develop print film one uses the C41 chemical process. Well, one used to be able to buy home colour developing kits from AGFA, but now we take it to the local photo lab.
This process is what everyone knows as the usual way to make colour pictures from 35mm film.
(Normally it produces an amber coloured film.)
Colour slide film produces, um, slides. They go in slide projectors. Remember those things?
- One of them ole fashioned slide projectors
- 35mm positive colour slides
Different chemicals are needed to produce positive colour slides. The process is called E6.
C41? E6?
What kind of nonsense naming system is this? (Maybe C40 and E5 didn’t work out? How about WD-40?)
Anyhoo. If you want to get wild and crazy then tell the guys at the photo lab to put your slide film through the print film chemicals. The code word is “Cross Process”.
In other words, you will be putting film that expects to be encountering E-6 chemicals into C-41 chemicals. And it goes a bit crazy! Beef gravy on your ice cream anyone ?
It messes up the colour and contrast. Wild!
It gets all gritty and grainy! Ooh!
Skateboard photographers in the 90’s just loved it! Gnarly!
It makes the shadows go totally black, so it’s probably a good idea to overexpose a bit.
Below are some examples of cross processing with FUJI Provia 400X.
- Cross Processed Vancouver Guy (FUJI Provia 400X)
- FUJI Provia 400X cross processed landscape
In daylight the sidewalks get a bit greeny blue and cloudy days look fairly realistic in colour. The grain is quite tight and noisy in a pleasing manner. Does that make sense? Here is an example:
- This is a very close up scan of 400 ASA cross processed FUJI 400X film. Grainy!
The FUJI comes out of cross processing looking faintly blue grey.
- FUJI 400X cross processed
Kodak Elite Chrome 200 slide film on the other hand looks like this:
- KODAK Elite Chrome 200 cross processed
Notice how much more purply the film is.
The prints produced are quite Smurfy. A little too Blue in daylight for me.
- KODAK slide film cross processed
Reds and oranges are nice and poppy.
- KODAK cross processed, Tungsten light
Tungsten or incandescant light comes out all warmy with a hint of green.
- KODAK cross process, cloudy day
On a cloudy day the Kodak gets very very blue.
Oh; One last thing.
Here is a message from Kodak about the film I just tested:
“KODAK PROFESSIONAL ELITE Chrome 200 Film – Discontinuance:
Due to significantly decreased sales volumes, Kodak is ceasing production of KODAK PROFESSIONAL ELITE Chrome 200 Film. Based on current demand, product is expected to be available in the market through March of 2011.
The suggested alternative for KODAK PROFESSIONAL ELITE Chrome 200 Film is KODAK PROFESSIONAL ELITE Chrome 100 Film.Kodak actively evaluates its professional film portfolio to ensure it’s consistent with customer demands; decisions regarding product discontinuations are largely based on customer demand and sales.
>> Back to KODAK 35mm Slide Films“
So darn. All that work for nothing.
But I like the FUJI better,
so there Kodak.
(all photos except the slide projector, slides and boxes of film by Leif Norman. I only stole a few.)
4 thoughts on “Cross Processing Film (E6 and C41)”
Comments are closed.
To whom it concerns.
I am very interested in developing my own colour films, can you please tell me what I need, I have seen a video of someone using a black light proof bag with enough room to use it and I thought it was a good idea, now you know what I need and the total cost of it,
Please reply and please tell me how much it would cost to take out my own films.
Many thanks for any help you can give me.
Kind regards
James Conway,
38 Church hill,
Dunlavin, County Wicklow.
Ireland
Developing your own colour film at home would be nigh impossible these days. AGFA used to sell a c41 kit. They don’t anymore. I tried it once. Everything came out very amber. Too much trouble for what it’s worth.
I am developing with the “Tetanal Colortec C-41 Kit”. This is very simple! check the links:
http://www.lomography.com/magazine/tipster/2011/02/04/handmade-color-processing-with-tetenal-color-colortec-c-41-rapid-negative-kit
I tried the AGFA home C-41 kit on regular colour neg film. It worked, but the temperature was not precise enough, and it all came out very purple! Fun though.