I never shot Fujichrome Velvia for portraits, except, apparently, when I did.
I have absolutely no recollection of making some frames I found in a box labelled “1998. Blue Banana Lounge.” That’s the name of the restaurant. The guy is in chef’s clothes and I think the woman is front-of-house.
I’ve been down a transparency rabbit-hole for a few weeks now. I’ve rummaged through about 200 boxes of 135 mounted transparency film that I shot for a wine magazine in the 1990s. I’ve now digitised anything I think is worthwhile (about 100 frames) and ditched the rest.
Anyway, about 90% were shot on Fujichrome Sensia 100 (a consumer version of Provia 100) and the balance on Velvia 50. I would never shoot a portrait on Velvia.
So this is a mystery to me. Usually the memory comes back to me when I see the shots, but not this time. The drill was that for each edition the editor would give me a list of a few restaurants, or vineyards, or winemakers, and I would phone them up, make an appointment and do a couple of portraits and interiors. I got paid per gig, and I had to cover my own costs so I’d try to get three jobs on a roll, and make it efficient time-wise and do as many as I could on one day. I used to shoot them either before they got busy for lunch, or in the quiet time between lunch and dinner.
This roll only has two jobs on it; The Blue Banana Lounge and some night time exteriors of another restaurant.
So what happened? The best I can come up with is that I knew the Blue Banana Lounge was groovy, and I wanted to have a play. I was doing this for money, but mostly just enjoying the experience, learning, and trying to have fun. I was looking at all sorts of photography at the time and I especially recall I had a music magazine (Spin, perhaps?) with PJ Harvey on the cover, so maybe this day I was just pretending I worked for Rolling Stone. Who knows?
The shots were pretty heavily directed by me. In the main photo I’m standing on a chair and telling them to look serious. At least I’m assuming that, because in the frames leading up to that they’re smiling and those shots are pretty lame. I’m assuming I got them to go serious, thought it looked better, snapped them and then stopped. They weren’t professional models of course and I reckon I’d learned by then to stop after I thought I’d got a decent frame and hope for the best.
Technically the shots would’ve been made over the course of about 15 minutes. I always tried to get in and out of people’s day quickly so I didn’t disturb them too much. The shots were handheld using available light. The camera was my Nikon FM2 with the motor drive attached and the lens the 35mm f2.8. I know this because at the time I only had that lens and the 105mm f2 .5.
I pretty much always used to shoot wide open for these portraits, because it was usually a struggle to get enough natural light indoors. Looking closely the sharpness of the second image is not that great, but it does not bother me. In the main shot maybe the contrast and the catchlights in the eyes make it look sharper than it really is. Neither of these two would be the ones I submitted to the editor, because I didn’t get those back, but whether or not I ever saw them in print I have no idea.
And what then, do I now think of these? Despite the in-your-face colour and contrast I actually like them. For some reason the insouciance, the fresh faces, the dyed and spiked hair on this too-cool-for-school pair seems to suit the look of the film.
These two images have stayed with me since I rediscovered them. Perhaps they hold my attention only because they’re evidence of something I made one afternoon and yet have no recollection.
It’s nicer for me to think though, that here was an odd experiment that kind of paid off. Thanks for reading!
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Alexander Seidler on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Gary Smith on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
I've never shot Velvia or ever been paid for my work so who am I to comment?
I like the second one, maybe enough to see what it looks like desaturated.
I am having a bit of a Nikon love affair these days (although not with my FE, rather with the D810 - love that OVF).
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Russ Rosener on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Jeffery Luhn on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
That's not really odd you don't remember the shoot. As photographers, we often recall the places we've been and the people we've encountered through a viewfinder memory. So much of my life was 'missed' because I had my camera glued to my face. When I see old photos, especially negatives, I frequently have only a vague memory of the experience. I believe that my lack of sleep during my working years plays a big part in memory loss. The good thing, which happened to you, is when we say, "Hey, that was a pretty good photo!" And your shots were good.
A fun project would be to find those people and give them a print. When my wife and I planned our visit to Greece in 2015, I dug through my old negatives and made 5x7 prints of the nearly 50 portraits I'd taken of people on Mykonos...in 1971! Mostly old people. I contacted someone at the town hall before leaving for the trip and mentioned my plan. They suggested that I bring the photos to the town office and have a photo show. We arrived early in the morning and pinned all the prints up on several cork boards. The 'show' started at noon. About 40 people showed up, and one very old person actually remembered having me pose them! What a thrill! Most everyone in the shots was dead, but their families were excited to see the photos, and even more excited to get the prints. It makes me happy to know that all over Mykonos my pictures are on the walls of white washed homes. A much better legacy than the thousands of commercial photos I took of forgettable products, boring buildings, food shots for menus, and staged shots of CEOs with fake smiles.
Keep digging in your files and posting pix!
Jeffery
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
Comment posted: 11/11/2025
rup on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
David Pauley on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
Ibraar Hussain on A Portrait on Velvia 50
Comment posted: 12/11/2025
The main photo has so much punch and impact - can see the feeling in the catchlights
Superb
I like velvia portraits - depending on the skin tone of course
Comment posted: 12/11/2025