TIL pushing film can save a disaster shot

I was always a stickler for shooting at box speed. I thought pushing film was just a way to get grainy photos on purpose. Then last month I was shooting a friends wedding at a park in Austin and the light dropped way faster than I expected. By 6pm I was stuck at 1/15th of a second with my 50mm lens and couldn't flash because of the ceremony rules. So I just cranked my HP5 to 1600 and shot the rest of the roll anyway. When I developed it in HC-110 for an extra 3 minutes the negatives came out thin but totally printable. Now I keep a roll of Tri-X in my bag just for low light and push it two stops all the time. Has anyone else found a favorite film for pushing or do you stick with one speed no matter what?

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2 Comments

the_mason3mo ago

Nah, I'd rather just bring a flash and deal with the consequences.

7

sethc123mo ago

What kind of consequences are we talking here? Like a fine or getting thrown out?

3