I Shot a Roll of Ferrania P30 by Jeff Hamond
I Shot a Roll of Ferrania P30
I came across Ferrania P30 on Instagram @filmferrania and was blown away by the look that was being achieved by photographers Marc Wick @wick_marc and Alec Signorino @histoiredemelody. P30 is a film stock that was used by the Italian master filmmakers of the mid-20th century like Federico Fellini (8½) and Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves).
The stock is 80 ISO and has a very high silver content which–according to FILM Ferrania’s website
“[creates] a natively high-contrast film with almost no visible grain.”
I was inspired to photograph something period specific, so opted for a ‘60s Mod fashion feel. Model Kvetka Sanchez (@kvetkasanchez, portfolio) graciously offered to style herself accordingly, and makeup-artist Blanca Pena @_beautifiedbyb did some wonderful ‘60s-influenced makeup.
I exposed at box speed, using the internal light meter on my Olympus OM-1. Due to the film’s low ISO, I shot mostly wide open (missing focus more often than I care to admit).
True to FILM Ferrania’s assertions, I found the film to be very high contrast with rich shadows. Highlights are indeed “punchy,” but I was delighted to find that the rolloff was soft and pleasing. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good idea of visible grain (or lack thereof) due to the noisiness of the scans.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dynamic range of the images, as I was able to pull up shadow detail, and pull down highlight detail, more than I thought I would.
All told, I’m happy with how the images turned out (in no small part thanks to Kvetka and Blanca’s work). I look forward to shooting more Ferrania P30 in the future.
Thanks for reading. You can find more of my work on Instagram, my handle is @sleeptalkerphoto.
You can find more of my work on Instagram. My handle is @sleeptalkerphoto
