Shooting Fujifilm Acros II (120)
A long exposure in London’s West End really captures the hustle and bustle. 8s 50mm F11 Bronica SQ-A.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog talking about my experiences shooting expired Fuji (Neopan) Acros 100 (35mm), a popular film stock that was discontinued in 2018 due to difficulties sourcing raw materials. Thankfully a year later in 2019 Fuji announced a new version, Acros II, which was to be released in partnership with long time black & white film producer Ilford, making it in the UK and not Japan. The latter fact made people a bit suspicious that it would just be a rebadged film stock rather than being true to the original Acros, thankfully these fears did not come true.
The tall high rise buildings of Canary Wharf. 50mm F11 Bronica SQ-A.
When I arrived at the Thames Barrier I was struggling to work out a composition that worked with my wide angle lens. In this case I tried to use the right angle of the people barrier to add foreground interest. 4s 50mm F16 5 stops of ND filters Bronica SQ-A.
Huge contrasts in light and dark leave large areas disappearing into inky blacks in this experimental image at Odeon Leicester Square. 1/2s 50mm F11 Bronica SQ-A.
What made the original Acros so special is not just it’s very fine grain, but its ability to resist reciprocity failure. It did not require any compensation for exposures up to two minutes which is, as far as I know, completely unparalleled. For comparison a film with good reciprocity characteristics would need compensation after ten seconds, and many of Ilford’s black and white films require it after just one second. This unique ability remained the case for Acros II and it makes it the easiest film to use when doing long exposure photography. In fact, I got so used to this that I had to be extra mindful of reciprocity failure when I began shooting something else.
Inside an old WW2 Pillbox that has seen an extensive amount of graffiti. The walls have eyes! 8s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
The view inside from the other direction was a bit messier. 30s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
London by Night, bright city lights made for great night time photographs. 20s 50mm F11 Bronica SQ-A.
With strong contrast and that textured grain of film you can create a noir like look that gives a sense of presence. 30s 50mm F11 Bronica SQ-A.
Needless to say, I very much enjoyed shooting Acros II and it is by far my favourite black & white film stock to shoot with. With its high levels of fidelity, strong contrast and its ease of handling long exposures, it works well for whatever you shoot. So long as it doesn’t move too quickly. Being only ISO 100 it’s not as versatile for something like street photography than say Ilford HP5, but it suits the slower and more considered shooting of my Bronica SQ-A in any case.
One of the many old college buildings that exist across Cambridge. 15s 110mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
The plentiful canals of Cambridge are popular for pleasure boating. 1/8s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
Mathematical Bridge - originally built in 1749 and last rebuilt in 1906, this cleverly designed wooden bridge draws attention for being an arched structure made entirely out of straight timbers. 15s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
From what I’ve seen my other photographers, Acros II has slightly more contrast and therefore less shadow detail than the original emulsion, but I’ve not been able to see a significant difference myself. Though I of course did not shoot them side-by-side and I’ve lightly edited the images in post-production to give them a bit more pop. For me there’s just something about shooting monochrome at night that works so much better than the look you get on a digital image. There’s just that bit more atmosphere I feel, and this film stock is perfect for that.
One of Cambridge’s curved benches. 8s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
For the final image I shot on this particular roll I found this geometrically satisfying ascending stairs with a shift from white to black from the bottom right to the top left. 8s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
The only real downside is that it is rather expensive at around £12-13 per roll (at the time of writing this, prices seem to be going up all the time). To be fair this is actually cheaper than Kodak’s offerings (since their own hefty price rises in January), but it is double the price of Ilford’s Pan F 50 and Delta 100. Though the way I see it, it is well worth the money for what it provides. It’s one I will continue to use going forward and one I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet tried it.
In this image I really like how the fine details have been rendered through glass with small reflections. 1/30s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
For me the grain of film enhances the atmosphere of night. 8s 50mm F8.0 Bronica SQ-A.
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