South Of Taiwan With Kodak UltraMax

3 min read

When I bought my Nikon F3, the store owner also suggested I get some 400 speed film – the UltraMax 400. Obviously I had not shot film since I was a kid, and had no idea what the difference between film stocks would be, but I wanted to try different ones.

I shot this roll mostly walking around Tainan and Kaohsiung, which are two of the biggest southern cities in Taiwan.

This film stock is advertised as more of a “consumer” grade film, but is probably one of the most under-appreciated film stocks out there. Not many people talk about it, but it is actually great for general purpose photography. It is quite balanced and doesn’t have any specific cast (at least when used in daylight).

The above shot is one of my favourite so far in my film photograph journey. I don’t think the composition is good, but I do like how the red truck was stopped in front of the Confucius temple in Tainan.

Most of the shots so far have been with the 35-105mm zoom lens that came with the camera, but in Kaohsiung I managed to find a 50mm f/1.4 lens which has become my favourite. I found it at a lovely old man’s camera repair shop, which is unfortunately closed as of 2023.

After using the f/1.4 lens I did find a couple of shots with strange artefacts – a dark right side of the image. It seems that my camera might have a “sticky shutter” at higher speeds. This has only happened on less than a handful of shots in the last couple of years, so it’s not a big issue. I also avoid shooting at 1/2000 because of this.

The last few shots are from Anping. It is a must see if you are in Taiwan! It is a great historical and traditional location to explore, with lots of food to try. The old market street and surroundings are amazing for street photography.

As mentioned before – UltraMax is great for daylight shots, but it does become a bit more difficult to balance during the nighttime. It still holds up, but it is not balanced for warmer light. That being said, it is still completely usable! I still think this is one of the most versatile “affordable” film stocks out there (nothing is affordable nowadays). After reviewing my film photography notes I realized that this is the only roll I’ve shot with this film stock. This made me pick up the couple of rolls I have stashed in the fridge and use them the next time I reload my camera.

All shots were made around August-September 2021.