Shooting Expired Fuji Velvia 100 at Kew Gardens

Kew Garden’s Temperate House, the largest remaining Victorian glass structure in the world. *1/320s 50mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

This week marks an important milestone as this blog is number one hundred! It’s one that’s crept up on me the past few weeks, but what better way to celebrate it than with my first ever trip to Kew Gardens armed with an expired roll of Fuji Velvia 100 in my Nikon F100. Thankfully it is a lot less expired than last week’s Kodak Ektachrome 64, this one only passed its best in 2013, so it is less than a decade old. With my previous attempts at shooting an expired roll of Fuji Sensia 200 yielding images that were slightly overexposed, I thought I’d try shooting this roll at its original box speed. A decision that proved to be the right one.

Going up to the walkway in the Temperate House allows you to look out across the main atrium. *1/50s 20mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

Following the paths leads you to the wings of the Temperate House. *1/40s 20mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

This curled up leaf proved to be the perfect macro subject to test the resolving power of Velvia 100. *1/5s 105mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

It’s not just plants to keep you entertained. There are also ornamental birds like these mandarin ducks roaming across the gardens. *1/160s 105mm F3.5 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

For those few who are unfamiliar with Kew Gardens, this three-hundred-acre botanical garden houses one of the largest botanical and mycological collections in the world and was founded in 1840. However, this was built upon the legacy of previous exotic garden, which was founded by Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury and was later expanded by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, who was the mother of King George III. It’s Palm and Temperatures houses are two of the most enduring symbols of Victorian architecture which are amongst the multiple Grade I & II listed buildings on site. From ancient trees to giant lilies, to cacti and everything in between, there’s no better place for the horticultural enthusiast to be.

The Tropical House, unfortunately this image came out blurry from camera shake. *1/200s 50mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

Shooting inside the Tropical House proved to be very difficult as the lens fogged up from the difference in humidity from outside. Eventually after five minutes I managed to get this shot of the arches in the wings. *1/50s 50mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

Big banana plants reach for the glass ceiling. *1/20s 20mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

There are many brightly coloured subjects inside the Tropical House, though you can see the slight haze from the fogging up of the lens. *1/6s 105mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

The contrast and colour of Velvia makes these bright yellow colours pop. *1/10s 105mm F5.6 Fuji Velvia 100 (exp. 2013) Nikon F100.*

I could sit here and write thousands upon thousands of words about Kew, but I will let the images do the talking. There’s so much more I could have shot but with only one thirty-six shot roll of film you can’t capture everything. But that’s part of the fun! What was great about this shoot is it proved how useable expired slide film can be, even when it hasn’t been stored properly, provided it is less than a decade old. If you see anything like this up for sale you can almost assume it is as good as fresh and you are mostly likely picking it up at a big discount. I did bring my tripod on the day which, thankfully you are allowed to use in Kew, but it did help that this was Velvia 100 and not Velvia 50. Once again, the light meter in the Nikon F100 was spot on despite it being rather primitive compared to modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras and the limitations of slide film’s dynamic range. I can assure you there will be plenty more blogs like this in the future, so long as I can find the right expired film!