Ektachrome is such a special film. The vibrant tones are so beautiful to behold, and unrolling the film to reveal the color positives is always such sight to see. So what do you do if you can’t find it anywhere, and if you happen to sift through the Kodak desert to find that it is $20 a roll?
Well you’re in luck! Grab a roll of Silberra. Silberra is a great alternative to Ektachrome, but the trick is to process it as E-6 instead of C-41.
Typically, there is an orange base to color negative (C-41) film that allows for the correct calibration of blacks on standard color printing machines, however this ultimately prevents it being cross processed to E6 without making everything green. However in Silberra, the orange layer of the film is quite thin which allows cross processing to produce similar imagery along the lines of E100. The results produce stunning atmospheric blues that perfectly capture the current wintery season we are in.
Yet if you chose to process Silberra traditionally, it presents lovely warm tones that give a gorgeous vintage aesthetic. Gives me Wes Anderson vibes.
Silberra 160 processed as C-41 Photos taken by PictureManBob
The fact that this film can be processed as C-41 and E-6, makes it super versatile, and at $15.00 a roll, makes it more affordable than Kodak’s Ekatchrome or Fujifilm’s Velvia . Come get you some!
