Portraits on film, by Florin Țepârdea
"I found people that shoot film and that was "the click" "
Tell us about yourself.
Hello, my name is Florin Țepârdea and I live in Bucharest. For six years, I've been working as a Linux and Windows System Administrator at a small company that provides Outsourcing IT for several companies in Romania.
Nikon F70 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Kodak Tri-X 400
When and how did the film journey begin for you?
Before I begin to tell you about my debut in film photography, I will let you know that in November 2014, I bought a DSLR camera, a Nikon D7000, and I started shooting on the streets. As exploring the internet for photography groups, I found people that shoot film and that was "the click" (this happened 3 months ago).
I was amazed when I saw the clarity and the grain of film photos, so I started to shoot my first black and white film (Kodak Tri-X 400) with a Nikon F70.
Nikon F70 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Kodak Portra 400
What type of film do you usually shoot and what made you choose it?
I love the color negative 400 films. My favourite are Fuji PRO 400H and Kodak UltraMax 400 (it's like Portra, but grainier), the grain and the skin tones are awesome. And for the black and white, Kodak tri-x 400 is my best friend.
Nikon F70 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Kodak Tri-X 400
What camera makes you click?
There are two, actually, Nikon F4 and Nikon FE2.
Between black and white and colour film which would you choose?
Very hard decision, but I will choose the color film. I like black and white photos, they're dramatic, mysterious and have a great impact, but I like more the coloured ones, especially for outdoor portraits.
What lenses do you use?
I use 50mm Nikon lenses (f/1.4 manual focus for the FE2 and f/1.8 autofocus for the F4). I would like very much to try a 100mm lenses for portraits.
Nikon F4 + Nikon 50mm f/1.8 + Fuji Superia 200
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Fuji PRO 400H
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Kodak Portra 800
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Kodak Portra 800
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Kodak Portra 160
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Kodak Portra 800
Nikon FE2 + Nikon 50mm f/1.4 + Fuji PRO 400H