RealitySoSubtle 6x17 and a Roll of Badly Stored Expired Kodak Ektar 100
Diving In: First Roll of Colour Through the RealitySoSubtle 6x17
Well, the time has come. After all the talk, planning, and slight overthinking, I’ve finally taken my RealitySoSubtle 6x17 out for its first proper spin with colour film. And what better way to ease myself back in than with a roll of expired Kodak Ektar — because nothing says “welcome back to colour” quite like questionable chemistry and unpredictable results.
The film had been badly stored, in the back of a bedside draw and not the freezer like it should of been, but sometimes you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. Besides, part of the fun with expired film is never quite knowing what you’re going to get — slight shifts? Muted tones? Wild colour casts? It's all part of the adventure.
So, with low expectations and high curiosity, I loaded up the panoramic beast and set out to see what would happen.
Stop One: Pevensey Castle
I headed out to the grounds of Pevensey Castle in East Sussex — a site with just a little bit of history behind it. Originally built by the Romans around 290 AD as one of their coastal forts, it was later refortified by the Normans after 1066 and has seen its fair share of action over the centuries. These days, it’s a peaceful ruin, perfect for some quiet pinhole experimentation — and, conveniently, not too far from home.
While wandering the grounds, I found a scene I thought would suit the sweeping frame of the 6x17 perfectly. After taking a meter reading, my trusty light meter app gave me an exposure of 3 seconds at f/233 and ISO 100.
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Stop Two: Fences and Framing
For the second shot, I wandered further around the castle until this particular view caught my eye. I framed the camera carefully between two fence posts, hoping to use them as natural framing. Knowing just how wide the RealitySoSubtle is — with its impressive 141-degree angle of view — I was optimistic it would just about squeeze in the full sweep of the fence running around the castle.
Then it was just a matter of waiting for the light to cooperate. Eventually, a break in the clouds sent a nice patch of sunlight across the scene — and I captured my shot.
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Stop Three: Chasing Waves
After that, I headed down to the beach. The grey clouds were rolling in fast, the wind was picking up, and I knew I had to work quickly before the weather completely turned on me.
For my first attempt, I set up a seascape — waves crashing around the rocks — hoping to capture some nice motion blur with a 4-second exposure. With any luck, the long exposure would give the water that soft, fog-like effect I always love with pinhole shots. Of course, the waves were crashing harder than I expected, and both me and the camera were soon getting soaked. Just to add to the chaos, the wind blew over my GoPro, which I had set up to film for my YouTube channel. Still, I managed to fire the shutter as a wave hit, then quickly grabbed everything and retreated to safety.
Unfortunately, as you can see from the resulting image… well, something went wrong. It’s a blurry mess. Maybe the wind shook the camera mid-exposure. Maybe a rogue splash landed right on the pinhole as I opened the shutter. Honestly, I’m not sure — but that’s all part of the fun (and occasional frustration) of pinhole photography.
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Stop Four: A Splash of Red
On my retreat back to the van, I spotted some abandoned boats — a familiar subject I’ve photographed many times before. But this time, one in particular caught my eye: a red speedboat sitting slightly apart from the others. Against the moody grey sky, that splash of red really stood out, and I couldn’t resist setting up for one last shot.
With the fading light and dark clouds above, I figured this scene might suit the expired Ektar nicely — maybe even give me some unexpected colour shifts to add a bit of character. I quickly composed the frame, took my meter reading, and captured the final exposure of the roll before finally heading back to the (dry) safety of the van.
The Results Are In
As you can see, the film wasn’t exactly perfect — though that’s hardly surprising given it was a badly stored, expired roll. On top of that, I had a bit of a battle loading the film onto the developing reel. Anyone who’s loaded film inside a change bag knows the struggle: the reel just wouldn’t grab the film properly. It kept curling, jamming, and springing back onto itself. And of course, the longer you wrestle with it, the hotter and sweatier it gets inside the bag, which only makes things worse. At one point, I was this close to giving up and binning the roll entirely — but eventually, with a lot of stubbornness, I managed to get it loaded.
You may have also noticed that a few of the images have numbers from the backing paper showing up on the negatives. I honestly have no idea how or why this happens — one of film photography’s little mysteries, I suppose.
That said, I’m actually really pleased with the results. Given the state of the film, I always knew things would be a bit unpredictable — but that’s part of the fun. The roll was developed using the CineStill C41 kit, my first time processing colour negative film in many years. It’s been great to be back shooting and developing colour again — unpredictable results, blurry waves, mystery backing paper marks and all.
In the end...
Even with the hiccups and surprises, it feels good to be back experimenting with colour. There's something strangely satisfying about embracing the unpredictability, rolling with the chaos, and seeing what comes out of the tank. And honestly? I can't wait to load up the next roll.
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