Today, we’re featuring a wonderful travel story from film photographer Curtis Heikkinen. Here is more from Curtis about capturing Mount Hood on film…
I travel quite a bit to Mount Hood here in Oregon. I especially like snowshoeing in winter above the famous Timberline Lodge. During one winter trek on the mountain, I brought my Leica M3 loaded with Kodak Portra 400 film. I had read that shooting film in sub-freezing temperatures could be tricky as film can become brittle. So it was with some trepidation that I set out to capture winter above 6000 feet in the Oregon Cascades on Oregon’s highest peak (11,200 feet above sea level).
I was so pleased when it became apparent that the Leica M3 and Zeiss 50mm lens could handle the adverse conditions quite well. I was careful to advance the film slowly so as to not tear it. Shooting in very cold conditions is sometimes uncomfortable. Taking off my gloves to manipulate settings and press the shutter button was at times an adventure in discomfort. But when I received the results from my lab, I couldn’t have been more pleased. I really liked how the Portra 400 rendered the winter scenes. I made sure I gave the film plenty of light to keep the snow as white as I could. It is so easy to underexpose snow.
All I can say is that if you want a great photography experience, get your film camera out in the snow and cold. It may not be the easiest or most comfortable shooting, but it sure can be satisfying.
Analog cameras and films used: Leica M3 (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon)
Connect with Curtis: Website | Instagram
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