Film Friday: Kodak Ektar in 35mm (Expired)

For today’s Film Friday, I selected Kodak Ektar in 35mm, which expired in August last year.

I had bought these before expiry from Parallax, possibly back in 2019. I noticed recently colour film has a shorter expiry date in comparison to black and white film.

Fantastic Four Films: Ektar is Excellent

I let the four remaining Ektar rolls sit comfortably in the fridge for over a year, slowly approaching its expiry date. I did have a few plans on using them this month for a summer series, but sadly the idea fell through for now due to heavy work commitments.

Shooting with out of date can be exciting, great for experimenting around, especially colour film with the unexpected colour shift and unpredictable results.

I have shot with many expired films throughout the years, some outcomes came out better than I had anticipated, and some with the colour being completely washed out.

All in Dates: Expired in August last year

Last September, I had ten rolls of Ektar that I took with me to Switzerland, all shot on my Olympus XA2. Originally bought them from AllPhotos Ltd, via eBay, at discounted from the old price.

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Zurich in Summer: The lake and sunflowers at the nearby botanical garden

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Lucky Lugano: Lake Lugano was great to photograph; the blues in these scans came out really well

The results from those rolls were amazing; the colour was saturated, bold and smooth. Mind you the films had been in a drawer for a year after purchase. I had initially thought keeping film in certain conditions would have an effect after developing.

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By Lake Geneva in the early evening

I was so satisfied with the scans (I’m yet to print them from the negatives) that I often admire them, looking at the colour quality – Ektar’s strongest selling point, expired or in date. Possibly the best film outcomes of 2020.

I’m sure the four Ektar rolls in the fridge would produce the same results as the Switzerland ones. I’m confident they will, maybe I could keep them in a little longer until next year?

Take care and stay safe