CineStill REDRUM 120 at Night with the FUJI GS645W in London

Jan Gottweiss -

A few years ago, I picked up a roll of CineStill REDRUM at Fotoimpex in Berlin. I bought it purely because I liked the packaging, without knowing much about it. On the way home, I did a bit of research on the film stock and checked out some work by photographers using red scale film. At the time, I wasn’t a fan of the look or the results this type of film could produce, so I tucked it away in my fridge and promptly forgot about it.

Recently, I stumbled upon that same roll of CineStill REDRUM and found myself suddenly eager to give it a try. Once again, I did some research, but this time, I appreciated the results more—especially when used for long exposures and night photography.

Inspired by this, I decided it was time to finally give the roll a chance. I packed my gear for a night walk with some friends around The City of London and hopped on the Tube. 

  • Fujica GS645W + Cable Release + Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/4 Filter
  • Peak Design Travel Tripod
  • Sekonic L-307X Light Meter

The first location of the evening was Bank. I loaded REDRUM into my Fuji GS645W, attached a mist filter and cable release, and set up the tripod.

I metered all the scenes at ISO 160 and f/11 using my Sekonic light meter. To account for reciprocity failure, I adjusted the metered exposure time by raising it to the power of 1.34.

Let’s take a look at the results! These are the first two frames of the roll. I didn’t stop the first exposure in time and thought I had messed it up, so I took another shot just to be safe. In the end, it seems both turned out quite well.

I moved over to the entrance of the Bank Underground Station and took a few more photos, experimenting a bit with exposure times and composition.

Before heading to the next location, I captured my favourite photo of the evening!

The next location was St. Paul’s Cathedral, always a fantastic subject for nighttime photography! I also captured a few shots along the way and in the park next to the cathedral.

Last frame of the roll was St. Paul's Cathedral with the Christmas Tree in front of it.

I’m really pleased with how this roll of CineStill REDRUM turned out! I didn’t expect much from it, so it was a wonderful surprise to get so many keepers from this roll.

Redscale film seems to work beautifully for this type of photography, especially during the winter season. The warm tones, orange lights, and festive decorations evoke the feeling of sitting by the Christmas tree, surrounded by the calmness and coziness of winter for me.

Cheers,
Jan - jan.onfilm