Big Bend National Park - Velvia 50 a Good Choice? - Ektar 100?

[loccdor]

Velvia and Provia can trend slightly purplish

I found that all the Fuji slide films get more purple the longer they're expired. Velvia, Provia, Sensia, Astia... everything. It's not my processing as I included fresh Ektachrome E100 in the batches as a control and those always come out close to neutral.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Well Alan, I'd hardly call Outdoor Photo a high quality color example, more the sugar coated altered look, sticky sweet postcardish stereotypes of nature rather than the real deal. And what one can get away with in a magazine often fails miserable if one tries to scale up to a large actual print if the contrast level in the original chrome is just too high anyway. The quality of scanning itself factors of course. But there's damn little wiggle room with Velvia.

loccdor - yes, once Fuji chrome films start getting old, the highlights in particular start crossing over purplish, especially with pull processing. There were a few instances where I took deliberately took advantage of that tendency when I was buying outdated 8x10 Provia. If I thawed, shot, and processed that promptly, it still came out normal. But older film shifts faster than fresh film once opened. And I'd keep around a few over-ripe sheets just for such purposes.

 

[Dr. no]

Velvia and Provia can trend slightly purplish, but so can actual Southwestern desert evening light, Koraks. I've seen that with my own eyes countless times. But I don't appreciate how many try to over-the-top post-tweak it in PS;
why gild the lily?

Some may be age and manufacturer, but most of it is desert light. It can be as surreal as a Magritte painting. I have dozens of failed attempts to capture the experience for every frame that comes as close as those.
Yes, color negative film has better latitude and easier to get something usable, but when the E6 film works out, it's magical. (I wish I had been around for MF/LF Kodachrome)

I hope OP shows us some examples...

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

I found that all the Fuji slide films get more purple the longer they're expired. Velvia, Provia, Sensia, Astia... everything.

At very long exposures e.g. multi-hour star trails, these films will run purple anyway.

 

[dave olson]

Use a haze filter for heat distortion, lens hood. Wear a hat with a big floppy brim. Plenty of water. I shot with Fuji Velvia 50. Be very careful hiking in the heat, it does kill people.

 

[Jon Buffington]

I have shot extensively in BBNP. My most used films were Ektar and Portra 160. I preferred portra as it handled the highlights better (lower contrast tamed in the bright, harsh sun) but Ektar was lovely as well. I also shot a good bit of B&W film there as well, both TMX and TriX. I also shot some velvia 100 and really liked it. I am sure you can find a bunch of my images with these different film stocks in the "post your landscape" thread in the Photographic Composition and Aesthetics forum on here, the landscape sub forum. I posted a ton from over the years at BBNP. All 35mm.

 

[dave olson]

First, I loved using Kodachrome, 25, 64, and 125; those were the days. When Kodak discontinued Kodachrome, I began using Fuji 50 and 100 for transparencies. I did primarily editorial work on an assignment basis. The editors or art directors accepted Fuji as a replacement for Kodachrome. I was also represented by a stock agency, which I supplied from my own stock files.
I have been to Big Bend twice, both times in late fall, never in the summer. Be aware that hiking conditions vary from flat to steep. Water, water. People try to hike Big Bend in summer, without sufficient water or clothing with very adverse results.