Can you push Velvia?

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I am a beginner with LF and have mostly shot Polaroid 554 and type 55. I am about to start using Velvia quickloads. Given the ISO 50 and LF dof issues, I'm wondering if you can push Velvia 1 or 2 stops. I know that Provia 100F does this well, and I may try it.

Suggestions?

-- Steve Seitz (sseitz@bellatlantic.net), August 12, 2000

Answers

I'd imagine that if you find that you need to push Velvia on a regular basis, you might want to be using Provia F in the first place.

-- K H Tan (kahheng@pacific.net.sg), August 12, 2000.

Velvia pushes quite nicely to about 1+2/3rds of a stop. Two stops maximum. It doesn't look at all like Provia.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), August 12, 2000.

Astia is also worth considering ; cool and natural colours, good latitude. Best of all, no reciprocity failure until you get past 32 seconds, according to the Fuji data sheet.

-- fw (finneganswake@altavista.net), August 12, 2000.

At +1.5, it looks very close to normal to me. At +2, the grain becomes very noticeable (even without a lupe) and the shadows somewhat turn brown. I don't push on purpose, except for low light situations when the exposures become ridiculously long.

-- Q.-Tuan Luong (luong@ai.sri.com), August 12, 2000.

Velvia can be pushed successfully and with excellent results. In 35mm, Arthur Morris does this regularly & we just had a gallery show in Brigham City, Utah at our city Museum Gallery, of Wild Bird Photography. Arthur & I were the two main photographers & we both had images of 16x20 from 35mm. His were Velvia pushed one stop and were razor sharp. A nice testament to the film, excellent lenses and impeccable technique. So yes, Velvia can be pushed and your images can look stunning while doing so. While there are a lot of other film choices on the market, Velvia pushed has its own look, one you may or may not like. It is already 'disneychrome' or 'cartooncolor' without pushing. It is a touch more so with the push. But if your taste & likes go that way & the subject matter can take it, go for it. You might find it an excellent match for your shooting style.

-- Dan Smith (shooter@brigham.net), August 13, 2000.


Coming back on Dan's remarks about the exacerbated colors of pushed Velvia, this is something that can be used when the subject is a little too dull to come out nicely on conventional film. I have had some interesting landscapes that way.

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@smile.ch), August 13, 2000.

Any magazine photo's I see where Velvia is pushed is usually 1 stop. BTW, I accidently pushed a roll of Astia 2 stops to 320 and was extremely impressed with it. If my test with Provia pushed doesn't beat it, it's Astia from now on.

-- Wayne Crider (waynec@apt.net), August 13, 2000.

Thanks for the great advice - I'm taking my 4x5 on vacation next week with both Velvia and Provia F - I'll let you know the results.

-- Steve Seitz (slseitz@bellatlantic.net), August 13, 2000.

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