Pushing Film Explained

[bbqgiraffe]

I've pushed Kentmere 100 to 800 in hc110, surprisingly good output, not as grainy as I was expecting

[focalplane]

I always promised my mother I’d never become a pusher………………..grin.

[JenniferM]

I mostly shoot at box speed, in the past I did push film on some shoots purely due to the poor lighting, I got pretty good results. More recently due to the increasing costs of Kodak film, especially here in the UK, I've been finding it rather difficult to justify buying the quantities of Tri-X that I used to, it's my absolute favourite film and I've chosen it over cheaper options for many years. I've since decided to give HP5 Plus another try, I've had a love-hate relationship with it over the years since I always found the images rather flat and lifeless, especially when compared to my beloved Tri-X, but since I know HP5 has a great reputation in regards to its pushing abilities I decided to start shooting it at 1600. I love the look of it at this speed, it's the first time I've pushed a film solely for the purpose of asthetics and I think it gives HP5 a bit more of a Tri-X-like 'punch'. In 120, the grain is still fairly subtle, shadow detail is still good, the added contrast is beautiful. So I'd definitely recommend pushing certain films solely for the look, HP5 is probably the best candidate here.

[gregwardecke]

Good topic. Do you think people push because someone on YouTube talked about pushing film?
Back in the day when the fastest thing going was Tri-X I pushed film maybe 6-8 times. Never turned out well when printed.