So when the Portra Pushed Pack was released I couldn’t help but feel like this was right up my alley. Also that I shoot mostly landscape and nature work in which the shadows play an equally important character to me as the light. I suspect that is just due to the fact that I like a bit more moody image, even when it’s light and airy.
While I’ve loved the presets Mastin Labs had previously put out in their Fujicolor, Ilford and Portra packs the one thing I always found was that I was needing to adjust a bit on each image for the contrast and punchiness in the image. I really do love my Fujifilm X gear though and that’s where I’m happy to stay. I like to play with it a bit here and there, but it’s just for fun. Now I realize that Mastin Labs presets were created to help hybrid film and digital shooters give a consistent feel to their photos, but I don’t really shoot a lot of film. It was a beautiful mix of terrific color and toning that didn’t LOOK like it had been processed. That shift started to happen for me when I made the switch from Nikon to Fujifilm X cameras a couple years ago, but then I found Mastin Labs. There was just something so refreshing about the way their presets made me feel about my own work.
By stripping away the extravagant and over the top post processing I felt I was able to enjoy the true image again instead of just seeing the post processing effects. But what never felt like a gimmick was a classic and clean edit with a focus on clean colors that help bring back a feeling and soul to the my photos. Don’t get me wrong, over the years I have experimented with HDR/ToneMapping, Orton Effect, and all other crazy post processing techniques, but I always found that after a short time they just weren’t satisfying, they felt gimmicky. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time out exploring with my cameras and in the last couple of years have started to notice a more focused shift in my photography (no pun intended) and a desire towards the simplified, clean and classic photograph. A place I can go to just center myself and find balance in life when things get hectic. Growing up and living in North Eastern Minnesota, being outdoors and just exploring is literally my happy place. I’m one of those photographers that enjoys shooting a little bit of everything, from portraits and weddings to real estate, but in my heart I always find myself back in nature. But to get there I feel like I should explain. First why not a little history for you because this isn’t going to be a traditional review as much as it will be just a journal entry, mind dump of my thoughts about Mastin Labs Portra Pushed Pack. But be warned, I don’t really have much bad to say about them! I’m not being paid to say nice things about them, I’m going to give my honest opinions about the Portra Pushed Pack from the viewpoint of a landscape photographer. A little while back the awesome people over at Mastin Labs set me up with their all new Portra Pushed pack to let me put it through it’s paces.
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