Street Pan 400 is a B&W film that was reputedly originally used in Belgian traffic surveillance. Resurrected and put back into production in 2016, it’s a film with good contrast and an extended red sensitivity which gives good performance on hazy, cloudy days… which is great, considering much of this trip was covered in overcast and rainy skies. Lines are sharp and crisp and the darks are an inky black, this is what I like my B&W’s to look like, and I developed it using Kodak D-76 to enhance that crispness.
Saratoga Springs, NY is a favorite haunt of mine. It’s a lovely small city founded in 1776, about a half hour north of Albany, known foremost for the Saratoga Race Course (opening in 1863 it’s one of the oldest in America), the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and the natural mineral springs. My partner is a big fan of the springs and their high mineral content, and wanted to visit and sample from the many free-flowing spigots found throughout the city. We timed our visit to coincide with a Tears For Fears concert at SPAC (it was tremendous, thanks for asking), wandering around the city the next day to sample stinky water and take photos.
It’s stinky. Farty stinky water from sulfur in the form of the gas hydrogen sulfide, which degasses from the water quickly, leaving no trace but for that eggy smell. The native Mohawk tribe used these springs for hundreds of years before European colonization. They and the new European settlers thought the springs to have healing properties, and the springs feed into health spas as well as 21 publically-accessible springs, sheltered by pavilions. No two springs taste exactly alike, each spring has its own distinct mineral makeup and resulting flavor profile.
The Street Pan performed well. This was my first time using it, and it won’t be my last. It worked well in the overcast moments as well as in the wide-open sunny moments, and sells for $2 USD cheaper than Kodak Tri-X.
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Lovely images.