No this isn’t a lament on technology being the focus of our lives here. It’s about photography.
I don’t know if it’s Bay Area folklore or truth, but according to my photography teacher, the Kodak film color palette is based on the colors that appear in nature here in Palo Alto. So for Kodak film, the default green should be the same color green you see on the hills here in Silicon Valley. I would think that would be the winter green color and not the dead summer green. Anyway, according to this story the reason why they chose Palo Alto was because the Kodak Color Lab was based here. It makes sense, because what will you test the colors of your prints against? Well the colors that appear in nature of course.
As Kodak based their colors on what was around them, so did Fuji. Fuji’s palette is based on the colors of Kyoto. This would explain why when I first tried their film I finally was able to capture the green of Vancouver properly. From the photos that I’ve seen, the colors of Kyoto and Vancouver seem fairly similar.
But one thing that my teacher said gave me pause, and that was that all the film in the US is now all based on the same color palette – Kodak’s. All the film producers have gone towards that palette because that is what consumers want or expect. So all you’re left with is basically one choice of film that has super saturated reds. But I guess your average person with a point and shoot isn’t all too concerned about that. I haven’t tested the Fuji film here yet, so I don’t know if the greens will be less vibrant than the greens of the film that I bought in Vancouver. Also one thing I noticed when we moved down here is how much brown and tan is in nature around here. Maybe that’s why some people think Kodak film producers better colors for skin tones.
Who knows if this is just another Silicon Valley myth or truth. I have no reason to doubt it. I just couldn’t find any proof of it on the internet. And you know if it’s not on there, then it can’t be true!
If anyone can point me to a webpage or proof that verifies these statements, please drop me a line. I searched for it, but couldn’t find any proof.
