An old friend of mine, Emmett once told me of his policy of picking tuna when choosing a lunchtime sandwich at Tesco. His rationale is that sooner or later tuna fish will become so rare that prices of it will rise so high as to make it prohibitively expensive for the general population to afford it more than a few times a year. I told him I didn’t really like tuna that much and he agreed but said “I just want to be able to tell my as yet unborn kids what it tasted like.” Dark right? But weirdly understandable.
Years later I’m stood in front of the till at Parallax Photo about to pay Sam for my rolls of film when I asked him “Can you pick a wild card? Something a bit different.” Sam did his best Rachel Riley, picking some from the top and a few from the bottom. He told me a bit about each one but recommended the Fuji Industrial 100 and I just said “Yeah. That sounds good.” Partly ‘cos that’s how I roll but also because Emmett’s words suddenly recurred to me. “Always pick the tuna.” I thought about the bloodbath at Fujifilm where every month another line of film is being slaughtered and wondered if this might be the last time I get a chance to shoot this particular line. I paid and left, forgetting to ask what industrial film even meant.
The Fuji Industrial 100 was the first roll I put into the Olympus OM10 on the day of the Barbican photo walk. I tried it with a 50mm f/1.8 lens and a 28mm f/2.3. The day was bright but the sky had a thin blanket of cloud which cleared a few times to reveal the odd splashes of blue. I briefly considered pushing it but was talked out of it. Shooting it at box speed would be a good reference point to use in case I decide to shoot it again at which point I could then better appreciate the effects of pushing it a stop or two.

On a mildly cloudy day the colours are subtle but I like the contrast.
As the photo walk ended at the Old Red Cow the sun decided to show itself. It was the early evening and the start of the Golden Hour which the film really reacted well to. Skin tones came to life and the grain was smooth and fine.

John
The film seemed to react well to all skin tones.
The Fuji Industrial 100 really picked out the subtle pink in Lucia’s hair

Lucia

Lucio. With a bit of decent light this film is really good for portraits.
I like the results from this film. With half decent light it’s very usable and in the sun it’s a lot better than I thought it would be. I think I’ll use it again as it’s a quite decent film in its own right, especially in summer but also because you’ll never know when you’ll next get to shoot it again.
You can find a curated collection of thought provoking analogue art and info about a range of workshops and photo walks on my Instagram – londoncameraproject
11 Comments
Ricardo Miranda
December 9, 2018 at 9:12 amNice write up Robert.
Robert_
December 10, 2018 at 8:20 pmHi Ricardo. Thanks mate. I don’t think you came to Barbican but you’ve been to quite a few others. Have you shot Fuji Industrial?
jeremy north
December 9, 2018 at 9:14 amExcellent post Robert. Lovely images and a super intro. I really like the tuna analogy.
The last time I went to The Barbican was 30 years ago to see Leonard Bernstein conduct Mahler’s Ninth symphony!
Robert_
December 10, 2018 at 8:18 pmHi Jeremy,
I really like popping to Barbican. There are so many ways to look at it. Hopefully when you’re down next you can come along to one of the photowalks. It’s been a while since we last met up!
Graham Line
December 9, 2018 at 7:42 pmYes. I always follow the instructions (ISO, processing) the first time I try a new film. After that, there are many ways to adjust.
Robert_
December 10, 2018 at 8:15 pmI’ll definitely shoot it again (as long as it’s still available) and hopefully I’ll give it a little push!
Ivan Mendex
December 17, 2018 at 11:08 pmVery interesting poin of view
Big hugs from Santo Domingo guys
Robert_
December 27, 2018 at 3:37 pmThanks Ivan. How’s Santo Domingo today?
Adam Laws
January 5, 2019 at 1:49 pmHow have I only now seen this Robert? Great article – looking forward to meeting up soon.
Rob
June 22, 2020 at 2:55 pmAdam. Hey. No idea! What do you think? Does it make you want to order a tuna melt?
First roll: Fujicolor Industrial 100 - Kosmo Foto
June 21, 2020 at 3:33 pm[…] One-roll review on 35mmc […]