By: Chuck Miller
Photography

The Summer and Autumn with Fuji Velvia 100

I’ve used Fuji Velvia 50 and 100 ISO films, off and on, for some time.

But demand for the deep-color slide film had waned of late. And in July, Fuji stopped making the Fuji Velvia 100 film formula – not because of low demand; but because there’s a trace amount of a specifically banned compound (phenol, isopropylated phosphate) in the film’s substrate. And although many pro labs say they’ll still process the film, many others are dropping Velvia 100 from their developing offerings.

Now granted, if I want to use slide film, I can still use Kodak Ektachrome E-100, and Fuji Velvia 50 does not have the chemical in its substrate that was banned by the EPA. But unless I quickly figure out how to develop my own slide film, there’s no way I can get fall foliage shots with this vibrant film this year – or any year in the future.

And the people who do have this film are quickly trying to sell it for as much as they can. Not me. I still have a few rolls of 120-size Velvia 100, so I’m going to actually use them for some summer and fall photography. And once I know that I’ve captured as much as possible with my rolls, off they go to Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, with the hopes of turning them into fully functioning images.

I also have some Fuji Velvia 100F 35mm film available, so I’ll pack some rolls in my super-ultra-wide Krasnogorsk FT-2 camera (“Raskolnikov”). I even have several rolls of Fuji Velvia 120 available; so I’ll wrap a few of them in 620 spools to shoot in my Kodak Medalist II (“Kodak Red”), and leave others in 120 paper to shoot with my Rolleiflex.

These shots came from the first roll. And I think they look rather swank.

  • Toll Gate Ice Cream. Fuji Velvia 100 film, Rolleiflex Automat MX camera. Photo (c) 2021 Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.
  • Thacher Park hanging tree. Fuji Velvia 100 film, Rolleiflex Automat MX camera. Photo (c) 2021 Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.
  • Hidden waterfall, Saratoga County. Fuji Velvia 100 film, Rolleiflex Automat MX camera. Photo (c) 2021 Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.

Well now. So it looks like this film actually does what it’s supposed to do.

Now I should let you know that I’ve taken this film for a little bit of a “photo walk” already – out to Syracuse to the New York State Fair; over to Vermont for some covered bridge photography; and a few other places that are on the photographic schedule.

Let’s see if there’s an image or three that I can pull from this film, something that would make a great shot for Competition Season 2022.