All images above shot on Portra 400 35mm film with a Pentax ME. Single 4×6 prints available upon request.
Film vs Digital
This isn’t a scientific comparison. It’s also important to note that you’re viewing both of these images digitally, you are looking at a back lit screen of some sort which means we aren’t REALLY comparing film and digital here. Anyway, I digress….
The image on the left was taken with Portra 400 35mm film loaded into a Pentax ME. That camera is aperture priority, meaning it automatically sets the shutter speed. Fantastic for street photography and quick shots, terrible for situations like this. As you can see the subjects are underexposed. I had this film processed at Unique photo, because this is a digital scan of the film the blacks are actually lifted a bit. The print has much deeper blacks, making the details in the outfits even harder to see.
The image on the right was taken with a Sony a6000. The lens flare is a product of the lens, a Kalimar 28-70mm, and the sun being at just the right spot at just the right time. Both photos were taken with the same lens. For the film photo I cut the flare in hopes of achieving better exposure. For the digital photo I tried to capture the most dramatic flare and play it up. The RAW photo allowed for lots of flexibility in post. I could pull back detail in the shadows, reintroduce contrast, and bring saturation back to the color, all things normally lost when you have a flare in your image.