Another funky C41 Film from Harman. But who would use this?
Harman handed me their latest secret and asked for my thoughts. Naturally, I obliged—mostly because it’s hard to say no to mystery film.
So what is it?
The lab boffins at Harman have clearly been spiking the water cooler with something interesting lately. Their latest creation isn’t just a new film recipe; it’s a total chemical rebellion they’ve dubbed “Switch.” Personally, I imagine the Harman team cackling over bubbling beakers as they cooked up this color-shifting sorcery.
Harman calls it “creative.” I call it a high-stakes game of color roulette.
According to the official brief, HARMAN SWITCH AZURE is “fun, playful, and experimental.” Translation: physics is taking a nap. Blues flip to orange, yellows morph into a vibrant azure, and reds decide they’d rather be purple-blue. It’s the kind of film that looks at a landscape and says, “I can do crazy.”
Naturally, I had to see if my brain could handle the shift. Armed with a Fuji GW690III , a fresh batch of Bellini C41 chemistry, and a roll of the secret sauce, I headed to the beach to hunt for unsuspecting colours.
With a GoPro strapped around my neck bobbing about I walked our local seaside town for colour and here is a screen shot from the GoPro against what the new film gave me.
Here are the remaining photographs I took. I chose a 6×9 camera as it gave me only 8 shots and I wanted to be selective rather than pepper spray the whole area. To be honest there was not much colour about as it’s winter here and many of the shops that sell colourful tourist gifts are closed.
What do I think?
It’s certainly different! Just watch out for tanned skin tones. They could end up looking like a Smurf!
I’m not sure if there are any other films similar to this. I wasn’t keen at all to be honest until I opened my mind and wondered why, if any reason, I would buy this film. I jumped into photoshop to see if I could replicate the look and even with my many years of photoshop experience, I couldn’t. Close, but not exact. I was thinking along the lines of book covers, record sleeves and also large canvas wall art in coffee shops and other public places. Maybe even indoors!
I actually wouldn’t mind sending one of my negatives off for a quality canvas to be made and gift one of my friends business premises. Or maybe for home. But I do think for impact the canvas would need to be large as a 16 inch canvas I feel would have little impact for this kind of whacky look.
When you open your mind as a creative photographer I think this film has many applications to present to a client or even for personal projects such as your own book of Switch photographs. It offers something different from the norm and I think that is where Harman is coming from with this film. Sort of saying “Here you go film community. Here is something for you to play with. Go out and get creative”
So, there you have it. Another colour creative film from Harman. Switch Azure. Grab a roll and see what you think.
