Shooting Trichromes on Color Film as Triple Exposures In-Camera

[nograin_nogain]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been experimenting with trichrome photography for a while now, usually using three separate black and white negatives through RGB filters and recombining them digitally.

On a recent trip, I decided to try a different approach and shoot trichromes directly onto color negative film as in-camera triple exposures. The goal was to see how viable this is outside of controlled conditions, dealing with movement, changing light, and alignment while traveling.

These were shot on a Mamiya 645 Pro on Ektar 100. As expected, subjects like water, foliage, and people moving between exposures introduce noticeable color separation artifacts. I did have a few frames with registration issues, but overall I was surprised by how workable the results were, especially given the constraints.

I’m curious how others here think about trichrome or color separation work in general, particularly when done in the field or while traveling. And if anyone has tried similar work on color film specifically, I’d be interested to hear how it went.

I also put together a short video walking through the process and results in more detail, for anyone interested:



I’ve attached a few representative frames below. Happy to answer any questions about the setup or process.

 

[Dan Fromm]

I'm puzzled. What is the point of shooting trichromes with color negative film? The technique was invented to make color photographs using black and white film.

 

[nograin_nogain]

I'm puzzled. What is the point of shooting trichromes with color negative film? The technique was invented to make color photographs using black and white film.

Hey Dan,

You’re absolutely right about the origins of the technique. I’m not trying to recreate traditional trichrome color photography so much as explore what happens when that separation logic is applied directly to color negative film.

Part of the appeal for me is keeping the entire process in-camera and fully analog. Because the color layers are already co-registered on the film, it avoids the need for digital channel alignment afterward and allows me to work through more frames on a roll while staying within a consistent exposure strategy.

Shooting it this way also lets the film’s own color layers interact across the multiple exposures, producing color behavior and artifacts that are difficult to arrive at through standard trichrome workflows. It also preserves the option of making optical prints later on, which is important to how I think about the work.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Thanks for the explanation. I'm still puzzled, but you're the only person you have to please.

 

[loccdor]

That's a clever way to get the Harris Shutter effect without dealing with registration issues. It's also, at the current time, less expensive than using B&W film, generally speaking. If the main reason for shooting trichrome is to get the Harris Shutter, it makes sense.

 

[koraks]

That's a clever way to get the Harris Shutter effect without dealing with registration issues.

Precisely.
Another, more subtle effect is that the color response will be different from the film as used without a filter. Due to the cumulative effect of the different filters, some parts of the spectrum will receive less emphasis. I can imagine this can also be exploited for a somewhat bewildering, unsettling or confusing effect.

 

[lamerko]

I’ve thought about that as well, but with the idea of shifting the red channel toward the near-IR range using a 720 nm filter. For film, I chose Kodak Aerocolor 2460 - the spectral sensitivity diagrams are a bit confusing, but I think there might be sufficiently extended red sensitivity, similar to black-and-white aerial films. However, I only recently managed to get hold of all the filters - unfortunately, in Europe this is a bit difficult. Not to mention that out of three orders, two turned out to be very problematic…

 

[loccdor]

I did try a few trichromes with the red channel replaced with 720 IR. On Aviphot 200. That's one case where the B&W version is significantly cheaper than color, at least if you compare it to Aerochrome. I hadn't heard about any IR sensitivity from Aerocolor.