There are lots of things that make film fun, but the one that I have been experimenting with lately are ones that flip the script on colors. These color swapping films, exclusively from Lomography, change the color sensitivity of the layers so that for example blue becomes red and red becomes blue which is the trippy formula that results in the Lomochrome Turquoise look.
This amazing film is really fun to shoot especially because you are never quite sure how it is going to tun out. It subverts your expectations and can make even everyday items vibrate with new colors.
I was so amazed with the idea of capturing images in different color spaces I wanted to be able to do that with my phone as well. Thats why I created a Lomochrome Turquoise film emulation profile for my 36Exp app. That way I could experiment without spending too much on film. Then if the composition was striking enough I would take it on film as well. Kind of like a film companion or a color changing viewfinder.
Well that was the original idea, but I was so impressed by the quality of the iPhone images taken with the app film profile I decided that they could very well stand on their own. So I put together this little idea “A Study in Turquoise” to compare the images and see what makes a Turquoise photo really hit whether on film or digital. As well as discover the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing mediums, as I want to use these techniques in follow on projects.
Test Your Skills
First a little self test to see if you can spot the difference in Film vs Digital, here are a few shots to compare. Can You tell the Difference?
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Results
- Set 1: Left Film, Right Digital
- Set 2: Left Digital, Right Film
- Set 3: Left Digital, Right Film
How did you do?
Lomography Lomochrome Turquoise Film
Digital Emulation from 36EXP App
Strengths and Weaknesses
First the film, I think the film has a very natural feel even if the colors are shifted. The gradients in the highlights flow easily without clipping. The highlights and the shadows are particularly nice without clipping. The colors in the vegetation fall a bit flat with only a small variety of colors.
For the digital emulation, they show a marked sharpness evident of a modern image on iOS. The highlights are particularly difficult for the small sensor system without the HDR processing. The colors in the iPhone images taken on my app are quite amazing, the vegetation pops with vibrancy and the variation in colors are more dynamic than that of the original film.
36Exp App
All the digital images were created using my 36Exp app for iOS. The look was achieved using a custom LUT or Look Up Table that transforms the iPhone image colors, a custom processing stages to apply film like effects. I developed the app to create a film camera experience, where you take 36 images, without seeing them, using a set film then at the end you develop them into the final result. Check it out on the iOS App Store and the link below.
There are always improvements to be made and replicating the film look is a significant challenge. I think there are some improvements especially in rendering shadows, highlights but the colors are pretty close so far. Look forward to future updates to the app with new films, fun colors, and an updated UI.
