Kodak Gold 120 x Seagull TLR

As I am slowly getting into medium format photography I am also discovering the different film stocks that are available. Of course one of the big ones is the “new” Kodak Gold 200 film in 120 format. Well I got a hold of a roll a few weeks ago and loaded up the Seagull and went for a little bike ride/photo mission through the industrial park not too far from where I live.

It was a nice evening, the sun was hanging low in the sky as I headed out. As always I didn’t really have any expectations. I am more curious when I’m out taking photos, keeping my eyes open for anything that might make a good image. With that being said as I was biking through my neighbourhood I remembered the little fry truck in the industrial park and figured that would be a good spot to start. 

I mentioned before the sun was hanging low in the sky which always makes for some dramatic natural lighting with long shadows. Luckily when I got to that chip truck it was still lit up from the sun with some shadows creeping up on it from across the road. I got a few shots in with the seagull and another camera and headed on my way to whatever was coming next.

I came across a scene with some old loading docks that caught my eye. There were some distinct shadows in the scene and I wanted to see how the film was going to handle the contrast between the light and dark areas. It turns out quite good. Another shot of the loading docks and sky for a high contrast image.

I shot this roll at the recommended 200 ISO using an external light meter to set my exposures. I found the exposure settings didn’t always line up with the controls on my camera so I found myself making 2 exposures around the light meter settings, one slightly overexposing and the other slightly underexposing. Looking at the scans it is barely noticeable at all but I figured I would mention it as we are looking at a few images that are similar but with different exposure settings. The film seems to handle the different exposures quite well.

On my way into the evening I came across a Jewish public school with some very cool 60’s mid century design. Super colourful windows and strong lines were abundant. By this time the sun had dipped and I was now shooting in that indirect ambient light at the end of the day. The sun was behind the building I was shooting which blew out any colour in the sky. I ended up with a few images that I am happy with. The colours are all subdued, soft pastels and have a cooler and softer look than the shots with the sun as to be expected.

All in all I thought the images turned out great and the film handled everything quite well. It was able to handle the different lighting in stride. The colours are natural and organic and have a hint of that Kodak warmth, but not overpowering. Good sturdy affordable film for medium format photography!

Take care and keep shooting film,

Jeremy Shane Reid