"Xpro" redirects here. For the Social media application, a currently known as "XPro", see
TweetDeck
.
Cross processing
(sometimes abbreviated to
Xpro
) is the deliberate processing of
photographic
film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film.
[1]
The effect was discovered independently by many different photographers often by mistake in the days of
C-22
and
E-4
. Color cross processed photographs are often characterized by unnatural colors and high contrast.
[2]
The results of cross processing differ from case to case, as the results are determined by many factors such as the make and type of the film used, the amount of light exposed onto the film and the chemical used to develop the film. Cross processing has been used in a variety of photographic and cinematographic practices, most notably rising in popularity during the 1990s. Similar effects can also be achieved with digital filter effects.
Processes
[
edit
]
Analogue
[
edit
]
Cross processing usually involves one of the two following methods.
[3]
- Processing positive color
reversal film
in
C-41
chemicals, resulting in a negative image on a colorless base.
- Processing negative
color print film
in
E-6
chemicals, resulting in a positive image but with the orange base of a normally processed color
negative
.
However, cross processing can take other forms, such as negative color print film or positive color reversal film in
black and white
developer. Another form of cross-processing involves processing
ECN-2
motion picture film in C-41 still picture chemistry, although doing so requires removal of the
remjet
layer before processing. This results in a higher contrast than normal, but without any effect on the colors.
The results of cross processing differ from case to case, as the results are determined by many factors such as the make and type of the film used, the amount of light exposed onto the film and the chemical used to develop the film.
[3]
Digital
[
edit
]
Cross processing effects can be simulated in digital photography by a number of techniques involving the manipulation of contrast/brightness, hue/saturation and curves. However, these digital tools lack the unpredictable nature of regular cross processed images.
[4]
These digital techniques are most often executed in photo editing programs such as
Photoshop
, but can also be reproduced through filters in apps such as
Instagram
or
VSCO
.
[5]
Cross processing in artistic practice
[
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]
Cross processing was most prominently used in fashion photography in the 1990s.
[6]
[7]
Some notable pioneers of the fashion photography craze include
Nick Knight
and
Anton Corbijn
.
[5]
Cross processing has been used as a cinematography technique in various movies beginning in the 1990s. Some of these movies include
Clockers
,
U-Turn
,
and
Get on the Bus
.
[8]
Newton Thomas Sigel, who used the technique for the "Demon-Vision" sequences in
Fallen
,
noted in a 1999 interview that "working with cross-processed film is a tricky thing", and that it is more difficult than working with still photographs.
[9]
Popular reception
[
edit
]
It is overall unclear when cross processing became a prominent technique, with some believing that it began to rise in popularity in the early 1970s.
[10]
By 1995, the technique was best known for its use in fashion photography. The rise in popularity is occasionally attributed to being an act of rebellion against the rise of
digital photography
, as cross processing was a very manual process that left much to chance.
[5]
When cross-processing became more commonly used in the 1990s, development labs that offered the service for film were sparse due to film companies considering it to be a conflict of interest to process film using a competitor's technique.
[11]
However, a major consequence of the rise of digital photography was that custom film labs that provided analogue cross processing began to shut down, and by the end of the 1990s cross processing fell out of popularity.
[5]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Agfa CT Precisa 100 film, shot at EI 80 then cross processed with C-41 chemistry
-
200 ISO Lomography Slide/Xpro film, processed with C-41 chemistry
-
200 ISO Lomography Slide/Xpro film, processed with C-41 chemistry
-
Kodak Color Plus negative film shot with a
Holga
, processed with E-6 chemistry
-
Fuji Sensia slide film cross processed with C-41 chemistry
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
CHILD, JOHN (2017).
STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY : essential skills
. FOCAL.
ISBN
978-1-138-47231-0
.
OCLC
1007930292
.
- ^
"cross-processing | More than Photography"
. 2013-06-16. Archived from
the original
on 2013-06-16
. Retrieved
2023-01-26
.
- ^
a
b
Galer, Mark (2002).
Location photography
. Focal Press.
ISBN
0-240-51669-9
.
OCLC
48932514
.
- ^
Davis, Harold.
Practical Artistry : Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers
.
OCLC
1152554324
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
KIM, BEIL (2020).
GOOD PICTURES;A HISTORY OF POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY
. STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.
ISBN
978-1-5036-1232-7
.
OCLC
1151897271
.
- ^
Prakel, David (7 January 2021).
The Visual Dictionary of Photography
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-1-000-21285-3
.
OCLC
1238680431
.
- ^
P.K. (1995). Try cross processing.
Popular Photography.
,
59
(4), 46?50.
- ^
Prince, Stephen (2004-01-01).
"The Emergence of Filmic Artifacts: Cinema and Cinematography in the Digital Era"
.
Film Quarterly
.
57
(3): 24?33.
doi
:
10.1525/fq.2004.57.3.24
.
hdl
:
10919/25812
.
ISSN
0015-1386
.
- ^
Holben, Jay (November 1999).
"Unusual developments"
.
American Cinematographer
.
80
(11): 101?104.
- ^
Drafahl, Jack; Drafahl, Sue (April 2003). "Cross-Processing".
Petersen's Photographic Magazine
.
31
(12): 36?39.
- ^
Probst, Christopher (November 1998).
"Soup du jour"
.
American Cinematographer
.
79
(11): 82.
External links
[
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]