Harman RED 125 at the Rust Out Race Track
Experimental film photography is probably the closest thing to gambling when it comes to taking pictures. With no idea what the final results would look like, I decided to load a roll of Harman Red to shoot the second edition of Rust Out in Saitama.
Harman Red is basically Harman Phoenix, but rolled backward so it’s ready for redscale shooting. If you’re not familiar with “redscale,” it’s a fantastic way to do weird things with a film camera. Any color negative film can be shot redscale; you just need to load it “backward” so the emulsion layers are exposed from the back. This makes your photos come out dominated by reds, oranges, and yellows, and Harman Red makes it even simpler since the film is already loaded backward in the canister. On top of that, it appears that the emulsion used in Harman Phoenix is especially good at producing stunning redscale images.
You usually shoot redscale like you would black black-and-white film, and after my first attempt at Rust Out over a year ago, I wanted to capture that unique feeling of speed in a space that feels somehow half closed in, yet half exposed to the elements.
Harman Red is a 125 ISO film, but the rule of thumb for redscale is to use it in bright conditions, so I shot it at 100 ISO and with no ND filter just to be safe. I’m not entirely sure how to explain the different tints of orange in some of the pictures, but everything you see is straight out of the scanner, and for some reason, certain shots are much more contrasted than others.
My opinion: if you’re planning to shoot somewhere with very little vegetation, mainly in the city, where shapes matter more than colors, then yes! Treat Harman Red like black-and-white film, but with that extra twist. I’d love to shoot a roll of Harman Red in a desert or on a snowy mountain to capture those bright shades of orange. And if any of you ever try it at a race or somewhere else, I’d love to see the results, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
Have you tried photography gambling?
🎞: Harman RED 125
📷: Leica M6
📍: Saitama
