It's not often I shoot 35mm colour film these days, it's even less often I shoot a colour film I adore and I really should change that. I love to shoot Kodak Vision 3 250D, a 35mm cinema film that I buy from Nik & Trick Photographiques based here in the UK. I enjoy using this film not just because of the cinema quality colours it produces, the price is also a factor. It's cheaper from Nik & Trick than other Kodak films such as ColorPlus and Gold. It's the developing process that comes with a high price, but it's worth it for a treat every so often.
The first time I shot Vision 3 250D was during the Cherry Blossom season in 2020. I bought it on a recommendation from Skyler King, a photographer I follow on you tube. He wont shoot any other colour film and I wanted to find out why. I bought a couple of rolls from Nik & Trick for a very reasonable price and waited for the right moment to try it out.
That came during the spring of 2020 when I shot a full roll as I walked amongst the blossoming Cherry trees near my home. I sent it back to Nik & Trick for developing in the proprietary chemicals for cinema film, the ECN-2 process. You can develop Vision 3 250D in standard C41 chemicals, but for this film to shine you really do need to use the right stuff. The results were outstanding and I have been smitten ever since.
It had been a while since I shot Vision 3 250D and a sunny day in late summer of 2023 gave me an excuse to use it. It had been in my mind for a long time and it was a now or never kind of decision. I was due to visit my daughter and knew we would be going for a walk at some point whilst I was there. I loaded a roll into my OM-2 and set off for my daughters home in Yorkshire.
I shot half of my roll whilst walking from the railway station to my daughters house. The first signs of autumn were appearing as bright berries adorned the hedges along my route. I also took a few photos of the War Memorials in the town. One is a beautiful garden area where people can go and sit and remember their loved ones that perished in wars from WW1 right up to the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The other is a beautiful monument in the town's cemetery.
I shot the second half of my roll at the local beauty spot, Brickyard Ponds. Bolton Brickies is a place I have spoken about a few times on my blog. It's a small place, but you forget you are in a town when you step into the oasis that occupies the former brick works site. The clay pits are now ponds that are full of fish and there are footpaths around the site that are enjoyed by the local community. It didn't take me long to finish my film and when I arrived home I put it in my fridge to await developing.
It was 2 months later when I shot a second roll of Vision 3 250D during my walk around the City of Chester with my friend, Keith. It was a Kodak kind of day and again I had loaded a roll into my OM-2, a camera I used a lot in 2023. Chester may be full of Tudor Revivalist architechture, but it also has a lot of sandstone buildings.
The Cathedral, dedicated in 1541 and built from locally quarried sandstone, occupies a lot of the north eastern quarter of the original Roman Fort. It also had quite a few wreaths of poppies laid at the stone cross during the Remebrance Service near the Cathedral entrance. It didn't take me long to find compositions as we wandered through the city centre and I finished my film in quick fashion.
I sent my 2 rolls of Vision 3 250D back to Nik & Trick in December for developing. I am very happy with the quality they produce with the ECN-2 process using Bellini chemicals and they take great care with it. There's also a queue for this popular service, so I knew I would have to wait a while and I received my scans between Christmas and New Year.
Both rolls of film were shot in very different conditions, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the one shot in Chester. Yes it was very shaded, but the colours are bright and nicely saturated. The roll shot in bright sunshine in Bolton Upon Dearne also has bright, nicely saturated colours, but the light was superb there and it shows. Both rolls were shot using Aperture Priority on my OM-2. The light meter is accurate and I was happy to let the camera take some of the strain as I hunted for compositions at both locations.
Here's a few of my favourite shots from both rolls of Vision 3 250D. I am very happy with the results and can't thank the team at Nik & Trick enough for their services. ECN-2 is not a cheap process, but it is well worth the expense. If you fancy giving yourself a treat, give Vision 3 250D a try, you're worth it. You can visit Nik & Trick using the link below. As always I have put these photos and more in albums on Flickr that you can visit using the links below. I hope you enjoy them.
Kodak Vision 3 250D - Bolton Upon Dearne
Kodak Vision 3 250D - Chester
Nik & Trick Services Photographiques
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