Scan of a Sunset on Fujichrome 35mm film

Tonight I was at my office scanning some of my old slides. Those of you who have only used digital cameras may not know what I'm talking about. Before digital cameras, I used different types of 35mm film. I used black and white, color negative, and slide film. Color negative film was used by most consumers. It was cheap, and you could take it to any drug store to have it processed. When you returned, you would get a set of prints along with your negatives.

Slide film, more accurately known as transparency or reversal film, is a special type of film that produces a positive, not a negative, when its developed. In other words, you didn't pick up prints and negatives, you simply picked up your developed film. You could hold your developed film up to a light and there were all of your pictures, in beautiful, rich color! You would cut your film into individual frames and load each one into a plastic holder called a slide. Slides could be put in a slide projector and shown on a big screen, you could have prints made at a special lab, or they could be scanned.

This particular image is from a slide I shot 7 or 8 years ago. I was on I-95, returning home from a photo shoot. I saw this amazing sunset, pulled over to the side of the road, and took this picture. This image has not been adjusted or modified in any way. This is exactly the way the slide looks when you hold it up to the light.

Nikon FM2 with Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens. Fujichrome Velvia film, ISO 50. I didn't record the exposure.