Dunedin Railway Station in Kodachrome 64

So my tour of Dunedin in film presets ends at the famous Dunedin Railway Station, finished in the famous Kodachrome 64. Known for its fine grain, sharpness and colour the history and reputation of Kodachrome films is legendary.

Aramoana in Retro 80s

It was a lovely afternoon as I arrived in Aramoana, a small coastal settlement on the western side of the entrance to Otago Harbour.  I spent the afternoon walking along the beach, climbing over rocks, up sand dunes and enjoying the local wildlife. This photo that I took overlooking the beach, the mole and beyond to Taiaroa Head was finished with a black and white film preset called Retro 80s that was made by the Rollei company.

The Rollei company was founded by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Germany in 1920. Their vision was to create a new type of roll film for cameras. Over the preceding years the company grew until eventually acquiring a worldwide reputation. In the 1950s and 1960s it became a high-quality brand with a unique photographic style. In 2009 they released the Retro 80s film which quickly became one of the favourite black and white films for international photographers.     

Dunedin Botanic Gardens in Royal Gold 400

I continued on my journey to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens where I spent a few hours wandering the various trails, paths and walkways. This photo from my walk was recreated with the Kodak Royal Gold 400 film. The Kodak Royal Gold 400 film was promoted as the world’s finest grain, 400-speed colour print film. It was stated to provide a balance between fine grain, sharpness, and colour for exposure in daylight or with flash.   

The Dunedin Gasworks Museum in Kodak Elite 100.

My next stop on my tour of Dunedin was the Dunedin Gasworks Museum and that’s where I headed now. Located in South Dunedin, it is one of only three known preserved gaswork museums in the world which makes it a significant heritage site. The gasworks which operated from 1863 to 1987, were New Zealand’s first and last gasworks.

This photo of the Dunedin Gasworks Museum is made from a Kodak Elite 100 film preset. In the late 1980’s and into the 1990’s the cross-processing of negative films came into fashion. The cross-processing of film came about by intentionally processing film in the wrong chemicals to create interesting and sometimes unpredictable shifts in colour and contrast. In this process a colour slide film could be developed as if it were a colour negative film and vice-versa. One of these films was the Kodak Elite 100.

Otago Museum in Fujifilm Superia

Next, I called in to the Otago Museum for a look around where I took this image. I finished with a recreation of the Fujifilm Superia 200 film. The Fujifilm Superia 200 first appeared on shop shelves in the 1990’s. This was a very popular film and was a great starting point for photographers due to its ease of use. It worked well outdoors in daylight and indoors with flash. The Superia 200 featured enhanced colour reproduction, sharpness, fine grain and a green base with tinges of blues and reds. Before the digital age when film was still king, Fuji Superia 200 was the great competitor to the Kodak Gold range.

Olveston in Polaroid 669

Next stop is the historic home of Olveston. Located near the inner city of Dunedin, the large Jacobean style home was built for David Theomin and his family between 1904 and 1907. This is the dining room of the grand house finished in the Polaroid 669 film. 

The history of the Polaroid camera is really interesting. So, I might save the details and write more in depth another time. In brief, it was invented in 1943 by American Edwin Land. Initially, a Polaroid photo was created in monochrome but evolved into colour in 1963 when Polacolor was invented. Over the preceding years, many models of the Polaroid were designed and so films for the camera changed accordingly. One of those was the Polaroid 669 which produced a photo print in 8 x 10cm.

Toitu Museum in Ektachrome Infrared

Today my photographic tour of Dunedin using colour film presets stops off at Toitu Early Settlers Museum. While I was there, I took this photo of the train Josephine which started life on the Dunedin-Port Chalmers Railway in 1872. This image is finished with settings that create the Ektachrome Infrared EIR E6 film. When it was manufactured, it was one of the standard colour infrared films of its time which created a dramatic red look in photos. The film, which was made in small batches and was discontinued in 2010 due to declining sales.

Speights Brewery in GAF 500

This is the legendary Speight’s Brewery in Rattray Street, Central Dunedin. In 1876, James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson set-up their brewery on this location where it has been based ever since. In 1880, Speight’s won a gold medal at an International Exhibition in Australia which started the brand, Speight’s Gold Medal Ale. 

The effect for this photo was recreated for a forgotten film in history called GAF 500. It was a very grainy film from the 1960’s and 1970’s. The GAF company began in 1886 as the Standard Paint Company of New Jersey and after several amalgamations in 1928 they changed their name to General Aniline & Film—GAF for short.  In 1967, GAF introduced a revolutionary new 35mm high-ISO film called GAF 500. At the time the GAF 500 was twice as fast as any other film on the market. It was a film that customers either loved or hated.

The University of Otago in Agfacolor Neu

My journey around Dunedin in film presets brings us to the University of Otago in Agfacolor Neu. I was hoping for a nice bright blue sky, however unfortunately the last few days have been very overcast and grey.

The Agfa company introduced the Agfacolor Neu film in 1936 for both amateur and professional photographers. The Agfacolor film was an early rival to the Kodak company as they competed to become the first to launch a method that would make colour photography with slides easy and cheap to use. Agfa Color Neu was the first commercially successful colour film that was accessible to mass audiences. In 1978, Agfa ceased production of colour film that was based upon the originally designed process used in the Agfacolor film.