EP235: Warship Rock — Konica C35 AF 38mm f2.8 with Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294 (E-6 Cross-Processed)

Roll #235 — cross-processed slide film, never disappoints

Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294, cross-processed (E-6) (那時慢 repackaged version)
Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024/10/9
Camera: Konica C35 AF 38mm f2.8

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This roll was shot in early October 2024, when Taiwan was still sweltering. With clear weather on our side, we made the most of it and took the kids hiking almost every weekend. This time: Warship Rock in Beitou, a place I'd long wanted to visit. From the photos I'd seen, it looked genuinely dramatic — a rocky summit with a sweeping view over greater Taipei. Maybe worth coming back for the night view sometime.

This is my second roll through the Konica C35 AF 38mm f2.8. The first roll was a focus disaster; I gave it another chance, hoping for better results. Same story — missed focus not just in low light, but at infinity on bright sunny days too. I gave up on the camera after this.

Out of 38 frames, 7 were out of focus — nearly a 20% miss rate. I'm not posting the failed ones. I don't have the patience to write captions for blur.

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#1
The deep blue reflected in the water — in a city, probably only cross-processed slide film can capture color like this. A neighbor told me this little stream was crystal clear fifty years ago. People swam in it. That was then.

 

#2
Cross-processed files are always large — the grain structure is too rich to compress easily.

 

#3
A breakfast spot near home that I've been going to for years. They opened around the time I entered the workforce, and they've been doing the same thing ever since. I've changed jobs several times.

 

#4
Today's destination: Warship Rock in Beitou. The summit is beautiful, and far less crowded than Xiangshan.

 

#5
A genuinely unusual angle.

 

#6
At Warship Rock, you have to find your own spot to shoot from.

 

#7
The heat was intense that day — if you weren't under an umbrella, you were going to get burned.

 

#8
Descending — endless stairs, legs aching, no trekking poles. Rough.

 

#9
The MRT station's skylight design — the Konica C35 AF 38mm f2.8 has a comfortable field of view.

 

#10
Compared to 35mm, the 38mm focal length has a subtly different quality — something that elevates the frame in a way that's hard to articulate. Among manual-advance point-and-shoots with a 38mm f2.8, my only recommendation is the Olympus C-AF, with its all-metal body and superior build.

 

#11
I spent a long time looking at this frame, unable to put into words what it gave me. Maybe the rough-yet-glossy tile. Maybe the sharp-yet-blurry chairs. Maybe that color that isn't quite red. Cross-process your everyday surroundings and you'll keep being surprised.

 

#12
This one too — different textures fused together by the grain.

 

#13
Around Taipei City lately, old and new buildings constantly stand side by side — urban renewal in progress. Property prices can't climb indefinitely when the city keeps regenerating. That's what I believe, anyway.

 

#14
Urban renewal, ongoing, waiting.

 

#15
Including this one specifically to show what infinity-focus miss looks like. I was trying to photograph that fan-shaped metal barrier — the kind designed to stop people from climbing over — and the camera focused somewhere else entirely.

 

#16
This is roughly what a fungus-infected lens looks like.

 

#17
Maximum life pressure, rendered from below with the flash on.

 

#18
The person who took the previous shot. The 38mm f2.8 still renders space beautifully — depth without distortion.

 

#19
Flash on in low light — the sense of space collapses immediately. I've never understood why so many people insist on flash the moment it gets dark.

 

#20
After school, took my son to get a haircut.

 

#21
As someone who gets annoyed by bicycles on the sidewalk, I ride in traffic with the cars and scooters.

 

#22
Rain on the windshield, light starting to ignite.

 

#23
Sleeping in the living room tonight. Fortunately, camping gear makes this kind of arrangement a lot more comfortable — the cot especially.

 

#24
Nearly out of film — gave the Konica C35 AF one more chance in low light. Remarkably, it came through.

 

That's the full roll — Konica C35 AF 38mm f2.8 with Kodak Ektachrome 100D/5294, cross-processed. Thanks for reading.