Vintage Look with Cross-Processed Fuji Provia 400X

Fuji Provia 400X produces wonderfully subtle colour changes when processed as C-41. For this, my first attempt at cross-processing, I used an SLR to experiment with various exposures to show exactly what this film can do.

The first selection of images were shot in Castle Arcade, Cardiff, in the UK. The Victorian indoor shopping arcade is flooded with natural light. ISO 400 gives a very warm image that is tinted green, while retaining a good range of colours. Over-exposed a stop Provia 400X is much paler, yet the hues aren’t changed. By the time you take it two stops over, oranges become quite prominent. My favourite is definitely the normally-exposed image; it captures the feel of the light in the arcade perfectly, which I haven’t been able to do on negative film.

As you can see from the shop doorway below, when cross-processed the film sometimes shows very little change at all when exposed normally. Advancing to see a picture of the window of the same shop, with similar bright oranges, the difference at ISO 100 is clear.

Xpro Provia 400X really comes into its own when you show it some grass and leaves! The final images are from Bute Park in Cardiff. Shooting at ISO 400 the characteristic warm green glow zings, while keeping the sky a perfect blue. The vintage effect is more noticeable in some images, while others it is more like a subtle warming-up of the colours.

written by stevesmith1983 on 2010-09-03 #gear #review #fuji #provia #xpro #user-review