The Return of Kodak Portra

The retro inspired entrance to the Everyman cinema at Kings Cross Central. It proved to be a very effective composition in square. 8s 150mm F5.6 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

Amazingly, despite it being perhaps the most popular colour film to shoot, it had been eighteen months since I’d shot a roll of Portra of any description. The last time was Autumn 2021 when I shot several rolls of Portra 800 during a trip through Snowdonia and the Peak District. Sadly, recent price increases have put Portra up to eye-wateringly high levels, but I did manage to stock up beforehand, ready to rock and roll for this summer. First though I wanted to shoot a random expired roll of Portra 160 (120) that I had acquired to get a feel for the film again. When I got the results back, I was left wondering why I had waited so long to shoot it again and also very pleased that I now had plenty of rolls sitting in my fridge. As it expired in 2021 I decided to shoot it at ISO 125 as I didn’t know how it was stored.

My first shot of the night (undercover) was of the flagship Samsung KX shop that was unfortunately already closed. 4s 50mm F3.5 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

Turning in the other direction I tried to capture the sweeping roof as a leading line out of Coal Drops Yard. 8s 50mm F3.5 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

The shooting conditions on the evening in London were far from ideal. I was there again with Photo Battle London, hoping and praying that the forecasted rain would come much later. But it wasn’t to be, pretty much as the session started the heavy rain came, and to make matters worse the theme of the event was ‘interesting people’. Not the best thing to be shooting on an old and slow film camera that will require exposures of several seconds and has no weather sealing. The evening was surely to be in all senses of the word a washout. With me were my 50mm PS, 80mm S and 150mm PS lenses for a complete range of wide-angle to short telephoto.

After fending off a few questions from security, I managed to take this shot inside Central St Martins. I was very lucky that the lone skater stood still long enough to be captured with a 2s exposure. 2s 50mm F3.5 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

So, with this in mind I abandoned the theme of the evening and decided to try and enjoy shooting my roll of Portra 160 wherever I could find cover. Despite constantly coming into and out of Kings Cross St Pancras I’d never actually walked around the recently rejuvenated area to the north of the stations known as Kings Cross Central. Thankfully before the session (and the rain) I had done a quick scouting walk around the area, and I headed straight from our starting point at Beer & Burger to the new shopping centre at Coal Drops Yard. Architecture was definitely a better choice.

As I walked around the corner I was met with the unusual view of a large an extensive workshop that was visible through large glass windows. A good opportunity I couldn’t miss. 2s 150mm F8.0 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

And turning around I was greeted with a tall composition that was made for square. I was really fortunate to be in a location with so much cover from the rain. 1s 80mm F2.8 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

I had two hours to shoot my roll of film and it was the most fun I have had shooting in such a long time. I had no expectations of what I was going to shoot, or the results and it was great to just be having a good go with the Bronica as I had barely used it in 2023 up until this point. From Coal Yards Drop I walked through Central St Martins to Handyside St. and then I looped back around to Beer & Burger on York Way via Canal Reach. Of course, the rain relented and ended just as the session finished and I was able to get a shot at Beer & Burger that actually fit the theme of ‘interesting people’. My last shot came at St Pancras station before I hopped back on the train home. It wasn’t a complete washout in the end.

As always I was photographing a classic car. I waited for another car to go by to create a light trail behind this Mercedes W123. 4s 50mm F3.5 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

This piece of art at the front of Deep Mind’s offices really caught my eye, and after failing to compose anything interesting with my 80mm lens I got this with my 150mm. 1/8s 150mm F4.0 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

I had been hoping for a quick enough turn around on my film to enter into the Photo Battle London competition but alas this did not happen. I was thrilled with the images and how they turned out however. Fitting results from what had been such a fun and expectation-less evening of shooting, exploring somewhere new. I’d done central London to death over the years, and this reminded me yet again that there are so many parts of London I’ve yet to really explore.

As the session with Photo Battle London was coming to an end, the rain finally relented and I managed to capture this for the theme of ‘interesting people’. I am thoroughly pleased with it given the gear and I had and the conditions I was shooting in. 1s 150mm F4.0 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

The final shot on the roll came at St Pancras before I hopped on the train home. It renders the neon lights in a more subtler way then CineStill but it is still very pleasing. 1s 80mm F2.8 expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

Ironically the very first shot on the roll, which I had taken earlier in the day on a job, would have fit the theme of ‘interesting people’ perfectly as it was of a vintage style loving woman and her MGB. Perhaps I’d have more luck at the next Photo Battle London and perhaps Portra will make another appearance. By the time you are reading this I will have shot a roll of Portra 400 over Easter weekend in my Kodak Retina iiiS and a couple of rolls of Portra 160 in Italy on my Nikon F100. This stuff may be expensive, but I’ll be sure to make it count.

Ironically the first shot on the roll taken during the day fit the theme of ‘interesting people’ very well. 1/60s 150mm F4.0 with polariser expired Kodak Portra 160 shot at ISO 125.

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