Back in January of this year, I shot my first roll of Kosmo Foto’s Agent Shadow. I’d backed the film on kickstarter, and was eager to run a roll through my camera. I loaded a roll in my Nikon F3HP, and brought it with me when my wife and I brought Alaina to downtown Stuart one cold afternoon.
Kosmo Foto Agent Shadow 400
I’m not going to get into the specifics about this film because this is the first and only roll I have shot so far. This was my test roll to get an idea what it looks like when I shoot and develop it myself. I will save the details on the film for a proper review in the future.
Agent Shadow on a Cloudy Day
Just to set the scene a little, this day was very overcast and cold. Perfect conditions to shoot a moody, black and white film. I love this kind of weather and try to always be out taking photos on them. Alaina was only 3 months old at this point, so it was her first winter, and first time at our favorite spot in downtown Stuart.
As mentioned before, I shot this roll with my Nikon F3HP because at the time I was doing my review on that camera, which you can read here. I developed it for 9 minutes and 30 seconds in D-76 stock solution. I agitated 10 seconds every minute to keep the grain minimal because I had a feeling this film would have a bit of grain. There is nothing wrong with a lot of grain, it is just not my style.
My Results
As you can see from my results, there’s not a ton of grain, so I am glad I went with D-76 over HC110. There’s a nice amount of contrast as well.
Below you can drag the photo to compare Ilford Hp5 400 pushed to 800 to Agent Shadow 400.
You can see when compared to HP5 pushed to 800, a film I predominantly use, Agent Shadow has a lot more contrast and “grit” as I like to call it. This film is meant to have character like the old motion picture films, and it definitely does.
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Below Agent Shadow is compared to Kodak Tri-X and you can see that Agent Shadow has more tonal range while Tri-X has a cleaner look.
Final Thoughts
I like what I see so far from this film. While Ilford HP5 is my go-to black and white film, I have always gone to Kodak Tri-X when I am looking for more contrast. As of today, Tri-X and Agent shadow are the same price, while HP5 is a dollar less. I will probably stick with my go-to, but I still have several rolls of Agent Shadow that I plan to push and properly review before I make that decision. As of right now, I really like the character of this film.
I hope that this info has helped you in some way, if not I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Let me know in the comments if you have or plan on shooting a roll of Kosmo Foto’s Agent Shadow, or do you have your own go-to film that you’re loyal to? I love to hear from you.
Until next time, stay motivated and keep shooting.
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I like Agent Shadow. The concept behind the name and the briefcase box with graphic novel is well thought out and does indeed hark back to Film Noir and Spy Thrillers of the 1950’s and 1960’s. I still have my briefcase box and graphic novel but the film has long been enjoyed. I recently bought another three rolls for a project I’m involved with and I’m looking forward to seeing what my fellow collabs produce with theirs.
Nice! Me too I have my briefcase and comic.
Really interesting results. I’ve never heard of it before but I do like the contrast and character. If I ever get into developing I’ll need to consult you first about which developer(s) to use. Graininess isn’t really my style either, so I’d prefer to minimize it as much as possible. I can’t wait until you do a full review!
Thanks Lance. Yea the faster developers like Hc110 or DDX are good for pushed films but they do give more grain