 Today's episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Well, every now and then something comes across my desk that's too good to be true, usually because it is. I had several people hit me up on multiple platforms like YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Grinder, the Granary app, et cetera, about somebody who was selling something called medium format retro chrome. Yeah, I know, pretty exciting, right? As you may know, I've been on the hunt for the ever elusive medium format version of retro chrome with many failed attempts to find the actual smoking gun. But let's back up for a second for a quick recap. What is retro chrome? It's probably one of the best 35 millimeter film stocks out there, at least I think so. And if you're just now hearing about it, I feel kind of bad for you because, well, we'll get into it. Retro Chrome is the name given by the film photography project for basically a bunch of expired ectochrome that was found leftover from a military base. It looks really cool in my opinion and the colors pop off in a way that looks really unique, especially if you shoot the color red. However, chances are pretty good that we may never see this film stock ever again. It was a higher speed ectochrome than what we currently have available. And it was, I guess, expired in a way that may not be able to be replicated. That and the film photography project is currently out of stock and many other photo websites are running out of stock themselves. So because of that, I put on my tinfoil hat and started hoarding any rolls that I could find for the impending retro chrome doom wasteland where rolls of that stuff are just as good as orifices in terms of currency. So when I was notified about something someone somewhere calls 120 retro chrome, I was tickled in a way that I'd never been tickled before and that made me uncomfortable. Could there really be a medium format version of retro chrome? So I ordered four rolls off eBay for $68, which is $1 short of a very nice joke. And I grabbed my love affair Caleb and headed off into the hot dusty dry ass desert yet again. I loaded up my Mamiya 7 and noticed that the roll had a transparent condom wrapper over it and used the tagline, size does matter, which is true, especially in prison. They used a Portra 160 backing paper, I guess. That is only slightly wack. I set the ISO to the recommended 320 and I was off. Place the battery this morning and I didn't screw the thing in all the way. So when I turned my camera on, it wasn't working, which gave me a minor heart attack. So first impressions of this medium format retro chrome. Yeah, it ain't it. It was quite a bit faded and the colors just didn't sucker punch you in the back of the head so much. It's certainly a look in its own right. It definitely leans into the tan slash sand color quite a bit. At the end of the day, I think the only two colors it seems to retain are like sand orange and turquoise blue for some reason. So what is this stuff exactly? Well, like retro chrome, it's expired high-speed ectochrome. But instead of being made for military application, it was made for a bulls*** application. Hollywood, that's right. This is expired 70 millimeter IMAX ectochrome, which means you can finally get those sprocket holes that you've always wanted on 120 film. It's fair to say that the sprocket hole thing might disrupt your normal workflow a bit. I know that the lab that I used had some hesitancy about processing these rolls because they have a semi-automated system and they weren't sure if the sprocket holes might jam up their system. So who re-spools this stuff? It looks like it came from a brand out of Hong Kong called WhateverGraphy, which is either a really clever or a really lazy name for a film photography company. On their website, they sell other motion picture film stocks that have been re-spooled under 120. So definitely seems like they have a type. If it's not already obvious, I was definitely a little disappointed in the results that I got. But hey, that's part of the film photography game. You don't really know what you got until it's developed and it's usually s***. We don't fix it in post. Can we fix that attitude in post? Not something. This shot isn't too bad actually, just really faded and what looks like some really soft light leaks are starting to form at the top. Here's what the film looked like in person when you develop it as E6. As you can see, it's very light and I had to add a significant amount of contrast in post to get a decent representation of the photo that I actually took. All right, I'm gonna try and speed load this. So one positive thing about this film is that whoever re-spooled it actually used a sticker at the end of the roll. Oh, there's like a... Oh, it's got like a sticker that might save you from getting a paper cut on your tongue or something someday. However, to even do that in the first place, you'd have to be f***ing up so catastrophically that maybe you just deserve it in the end. This first shot on my second roll really turned out decent, but I think it's just some lucky lighting more than anything. Get my keys right. No, I got that again. It looks so beautiful. That dog doesn't think so. When the nice warm sunset light had gone, I think the photo started to look kind of bad. Well, okay, worse than before somehow. I don't know, the blue tones that this stock uses just really aren't doing it for me. Except for this shot, something went right here. I don't know, it looks decent. I can stomach it. Anyway, fling any ghosts that might haunt these buildings or I guess just desert people in general. We headed back to LA with a smile on our faces and cheering our hearts as we reminisced about what we had shot. Unfortunately for me, as I said before, I was kind of disappointed in my results at the end, especially because I remember the light being very, very good, which is kind of a shame to waste. It's kind of like wasting what little youth you have left to chug flaming hot mountain dews in the hopes that Kodak would see your commitment and be so inspired that they spontaneously bring back Kodak Aerochrome. But yeah, anyway, back on topic. Overall, I think that these just don't look anything like retrochrome. So one day while I was crying and browsing the internet for answers, I decided maybe I should just read the instructions, which goes against everything I know as an American, but whatever. The description on the film actually states that the film is not good to be developed in E6 anymore. And when you cross-process it in C41, it actually gets you more into that retrochrome arena. So I was like, what else do I have to lose? Nobody respects me anyway. I loaded a third roll of this stuff into my Mamiya 7 and basically backup shot it whilst on location for a different video. And the results definitely turned out a little better. The colors are definitely still a little smoky, but the contrast and rendering definitely improved. I shot this cross-processed C41 roll at ISO 100 per the instructions. But speaking of keeping it 100, I'd like to quickly thank today's sponsor, Squarespace. If you're in need of a professionally designed website at a moment's notice, then look no further. Squarespace is an all-in-one website building platform that allows you to create a fully customizable website with ease. That's because the modules used by Squarespace are incredibly straightforward and intuitive to use. I've been using Squarespace to host my own photography website and portfolio for the past couple of years and I could not be happier about how easy it is to rearrange my work or simply add new work into the mix. Plus, if designing a website isn't your thing, there are hundreds of pre-designed templates crafted by professionals for you to pick from. And if you hit a snag, Squarespace's award-winning 24-7 customer service is there to lend a helping hand. So what are you waiting for? If you're ready to build a website, you can start a free trial today at squarespace.com slash grainydays. And if you use the code grainydays at checkout, you can get 10% off your first purchase. I definitely would not pick up this film stock again and I don't know what I'm gonna do with the last roll that I have, except let it sit in deep cryo-freeze until the day that I forget about the pain it has caused me and I whip it on out. I would definitely recommend cross-processing this film if you do decide to pick it up, but I guess just don't expect results that'll make you spring forth and bust a hole in your pants. It's definitely a look. It's just not the look I was going for and that may have tarnished it a bit in my own eyes to the point where I just can't see any redeeming value in the shots that I did get. However, you may see it differently, so let me know if you think they look cool or if they just look like the damp ceiling of a bar before smoking inside was outlawed.