I’ve been thinking a lot about why I love to shoot Ilford FP4+ film, and it usually comes back to days like this – days that begin with rain on the flatlands and a quiet hunch that the hills are holding something better. In Olinda, that hunch often pays off. Rain below tends to mean low, slow cloud above, and sometimes the cloud drapes itself so perfectly across the ridgeline that you feel as though you’re walking into a completely different world. On this particular morning, it was thick enough to taste and near impossible to see the road 20 metres ahead. The sun did make a couple of half-hearted attempts to glow through, but mostly it sat back and let the fog do the work.
Why I Love to Shoot Ilford FP4+ Film for This Kind of Light
FP4+ is absolutely my default in magical weather. Compared to HP5+, it leans into contrast – deeper blacks, cleaner highlights, and a slightly witchy temperament that never feels forced. In fog, that extra contrast brings a kind of crispness to the softness, as if the scene is simultaneously dissolving and becoming more itself.
I rated it around box speed, nudging toward ISO 100 and occasionally underexposing by half to a full stop. Fog tends to bleach everything anyway, and FP4+ holds shadows with surprising generosity. Once I’d taken a few frames, the exposures settled into a rhythm: f/8 @ 8 seconds. When I wanted a more vignetted look, I opened up to f/2.8 and simply climbed the shutter speed three stops to one second. Simple math, instant vibe.
My setup for the day was absurd – Bronica SQ-B, 80mm f/2.8, Nikon ZR for the BTS video, plus the two Leica bodies (SL2 and Q2 Monochrom). The Monochrom made a single image. The Bronica did the heavy lifting while the SL2 acted as my uncertain-about-CPL light-checking sidekick. Overkill? Absolutely. I look like a turtle with this camera bag on but hey, I also look prepared for anything.
Using a Circular Polariser With Ilford FP4+ Film
A circular polariser on a foggy, rainy day might feel like an odd choice until you try it. Most people associate CPLs with bright skies and waterfalls, but on black-and-white film they do something subtle and satisfying: they cut reflections off wet leaves and logs, deepen tones on bark, and lend a quiet crispness to the image.
Fog can be a leveller. Everything becomes beautiful at once. The CPL helped carve out just enough separation to make deliberate choices.
Composing in a Witchy Landscape
This little pocket of Olinda is familiar to many visitors – part fairy village, part Blair Witch prop room. People build stick huts and small dragon-nest structures, and on a fog-heavy morning you’d swear the forest is in on the joke. I wasn’t thinking about avoiding clichés or worrying about what might read as cheesy. I’m writing the strangeness in my head and letting that guide my vision. I looked for where the fog thickened, where it thinned, where branches converged, and how the soft light fell across the huts as if someone had rehearsed it overnight.
Shooting film automatically makes you selective. It becomes a game of subtraction – what can I remove without losing the story? Does this detail earn its place, or is it just there because the fog makes everything look good?
Interrupted by a Birthday in the Woods
Walking in, I thought I heard voices and nearly turned back, not quite ready to people yet. Ya know, fog has a way of making solitude feel like part of the assignment but as I wandered into the more open spaces, the spot was empty, or so I thought.
A small, soft “Hello” drifted through the trees. For a moment, it felt like it could’ve belonged to one of the forest’s imaginary residents. I shook it off and continued framing my next image.
“Hellooo!” I heard again. A girl – maybe six or seven – popped into view to proudly announce her birthday party. Humans. In my fog. Her timing was perfect and terrible. My focus scattered. The quiet broke. The spell lifted. Then the early party arrivals started trickling in and I packed the Bronica with two frames left and slipped away before a dozen more small voices arrived.
Why I Love to Shoot Ilford FP4+ Film for Final, Serendipitous Frames
The last two frames found their home in the pines, just a few steps from the car. I’d photographed a different patch before, but with the fog draped between the trunks, the scene felt newly enchanted. The final frame might be my favourite from the whole roll – a gentle-but-sharp witch-forest mood that FP4+ seized without hesitation. The last two frames could’ve help portraits of the birthday girl, but I bailed on that once the party arrived, but I just needed the roll finished for the video. And somehow, serendipity lead me to maybe my favourite image of the roll.
Camera Care When Everything Is Wet
Nothing about the Bronica is weather-sealed, but because it’s mostly mechanical, I worry less about rain and more about finding the moment. Still, I’m not reckless. I keep a microfibre cloth handy to shield the camera between shots and wipe away stray drops before metering or focusing. With lenses, I try to acclimatise them to the cold – bag open, slow transition, patience. Once home, the gear comes out immediately: dry cloths, open bag, desiccant packs, and a promise to myself to not abandon a damp camera overnight again.
Why Fog Makes Better Photographers
Bad weather is where you learn who you are with a camera. Rain, fog, overcast skies – they force you to look differently, to meter more thoughtfully, to simplify compositions, and to trust your instincts. Shooting in conditions you love is a reward, sure, but shooting in every condition is where preference becomes craft.
And if anyone asks me why I love to shoot Ilford FP4+ film, it’s because of mornings like this – mornings where contrast becomes character, softness becomes mystery, and the quiet walk into a familiar place feels entirely new.
Bonus video: BTS
Want more? Here’s the bonus behind the scenes video of what this morning felt like. And, to add to the magic, watch the video to see how two Lyrebirds brought their own vibe and, unfazed by my presence, played and danced throughout the moody mountain.
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