Category: Articles
-
Benefits of ample exposure in black and white film photography: Or, let there be light
Detail of a component on one of the very few operating steam locomotives in the United States, Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Portland, OR. Hasselblad 503CX, Zeiss Planar f3.5 100 mm. Kodak T-MAX 100 developed in HC-110.
-
5 Frames… Of Fuhr’s Huette: a hut built under a fallen rock on ILFORD HP5 PLUS (EI 400 / 120 Format / Rolleiflex SL66)
Shortly before Christmas 2020 my friend Erik visited me and we went on a photo trip to Fuhr’s Huette in Idar-Oberstein, a small hut built under a massive fallen rock in 1702. I chose the Rolleiflex SL66 with the Zeiss Distagon 4/50 because of the narrowness at this place. And for film, the well-known ILFORD…
-
5 Frames… Of a slice of Amsterdam and Zaandam on Lomography Lomochrome Purple XR 100-400 (35mm Format / EI 100 / Canon Canonet QL17 GIII)
Once I learned about LomoChrome Purple, I had this idea in my head of using that film to take a photo of the famous “Lego” house in Zaandam. It’s this wonderfully unique building that looks like various traditional Dutch houses stacked on top of each other. More significantly, the facade is mostly green. People who…
-
Introducing NoColorStudio no.99: Satellite reconnaissance film from Europe
Recently NoColorStudio had released a new film stock — the experimental no.99 satellite. I wanted to talk more about the inspirations on this film release and its previous uses. The starting point with this release was an interesting conversation about various film stocks with a fellow photographer. We were mostly talking about the grain of…
-
Film stock roulette: How I choose the best film stock (for me) for my new photography project
When deciding whether to use expired film or fresh stock on a personal project, it’s worth considering some practical issues. In this article, I use two personal projects to illustrate how I’ve made my choice for the best film stock for my photography projects. That “my choice” part is important. The purpose of this article…
-
Elevating the humble cyanotype…with a UV-enlarger!
I’ve been shooting black and white film for over 18 years, and since a few years ago, I have had my own darkroom set up in the basement. I love to do some uncomplicated printing on RC paper every now and then. When I built my own XPan-format panoramic camera, I was confronted with a…
-
5 Frames… Of sepia transparencies with Fomapan 100 Classic on a Homemade 4×5 camera + a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 150mm f/4.5
Last winter I built myself a 4×5 camera, mostly from plywood and aluminium. I bought a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 4.5/150 for it on eBay, which was made in 1939 but already has an anti-reflex coating. My go-to film is Foma Bohemia’s Fomapan 100 Classic and I have shot about 100 sheets of it. I…
-
5 Frames… Of North Carolina 209’s Luck gas station on Kodak T-MAX 100 (35mm / EI 100 / Canon EOS 3 + Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM) – by Bill McMannis
The Luck gas station is a roadside landmark on North Carolina 209 is the crossroad of Luck. It is the halfway point between Hot Springs and Lake Junaluska. Despite no real parking area, this is likely the most photographed building on NC 209. In this case, I had my wife let me hop out of…
-
5 Frames… From my first roll of Washi S (35mm Format / EI 50 / Minolta 9000AF + Sigma 24mm f/2.8)
On a sunny Saturday at the end of March 2020, I had the idea to try out Film Washi S, an ISO 50 sound recording film in the field. I love sunny Saturday mornings. A few days before, I had already made some shots in the house in my Minolta 9000AF, mounted with the Sigma…
-
Say hello to the NoColorStudio initiative and their unique film stocks
Greetings! I am Arnas Špaka, founder of the NoColorStudio initiative. Word is slowly getting around about the new film stock that NoColorStudio produces, but as we’re not that well known yet, I am here to talk a little more about it.
-
Anatomy of a long term documentary project – by Simon King
Storytelling is an essential part of society and shapes the way we experience everything from the obvious mass media in cinema, books, music and advertising, to more subtle things like the way a restaurant might present its menu, or the way a lawyer may present a case. Stories shape us from childhood and become what…
-
My Quest to make art for the living room wall – Part 1: Iterating contact prints
In this article, I talk about my progress so far on my quest to make art for the living room wall. In this, part 1, I cover making an initial contact print, and through my process of iterating test prints to a “final” outcome. I put “final” in double-quotes because, well, you’ll see! I hope…
-
5 Frames… Of birds on a 1000mm lens and Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 (35mm format / EI 400 / Nikon F601QD + LZOS MC MTO-11CA 1000mm f/10) – by Wenhong
More than ten years ago, I came across a book entitled “Birds in Our Midst” by Chew Yen Fook published in 1991. This book is a photo essay about the birds in Singapore. Of course, in 1990s all photos were taken with film cameras equipped with manual focus lenses. I revisited this book recently and…
-
My First Roll… Kodak Gold 200 in a Pentax ME Super and SMC Pentax-M SMC 50mm f/1.7
I got into photography sometime around the beginning of the pandemic, I still don’t know what it was that made me stick with Pentax as my go-to brand but I saw a used Pentax ME Super being sold and I quite liked the profile and control layout but I was also going in blind. With…
-
The new Intrepid Hardwood 4×5: Only weighs 1/46558th of an (American) football field!
Launching at 5pm GMT on November 15th, 2021 (about 2 hours from the time of writing) is the long-awaited hardwood edition of the Intrepid 4×5 field camera — something requested by customers of the UK-based large format camera and darkroom accessory company since its first Kickstarter way back in 2016. The new cameras, initially limited…
-
Documenting Miami on a Leica M2 and 35mm Kodak Ektar 100 film
Back in January 2020, before the pandemic started, I traveled with my family to Miami Beach. We stayed at a hotel in Collins Avenue, in South Beach. As I would be doing a lot of street photography, I carried my Leica M2 with a Summaron 35mm 1:2.8. Despite the fact that most of my work…
-
Caveat emptor, buyer beware: Restoring a Flexaret IV
If you have had a look at my article on the Goldilocks of camera designs you will have realised that I am a bit of a fan of the Twin Lens Reflex (TLR), a type I have used for around half of my 60 or so years in photography. Unfortunately, in my declining years I…
-
5 Frames… Back in San Diego after 5 years (Kodak Color Gold 400 / Pentax K1000 + SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2)
I made these photos while working over the course of a few days in San Diego, my old city. I went on a quick solo visit there this past June, my first trip away from home in over 15 months and the first time I’d been back in 5 years. In between clients, I would…
-
5 Frames… Biking on Akansas’ Mount Kessler with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye and on Kodak T-MAX 400 (120 Format / EI 400) – by Jesse Camacho
Living in Arkansas, I’m always in awe of all the nature surrounding me. I can get in my car, drive, and without a doubt, end up at a hiking trail or lake. I guess that’s why they call us the “Natural State.” I took on mountain biking not too long ago. I do all of…
-
An interview with Branco Ottico and their ROBA APPOSTA B&W reversal process
I first came across Branco Ottico while making Cyanotype prints. They had made the world’s largest contact print (about 24m2/258sq ft). I was interested in knowing more about them and I noticed they had chemicals for B&W development and the B&W reversal process, too. I thought it might be worth a go! We visited Branco…
Recently published
- Ultreia: Making pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
- 5 Frames… In the pits at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit on FP4 PLUS (35mm format / EI 125 / Nikon L35AF) – by Nik Stanbridge
- 5 Frames… Of my boy (skeleton) Jeffrey on Polaroid Color SX-70 film
- New film day! Say hello to HARMAN Phoenix 200, a brand new mid-speed colour film
- My First Roll… With a Yashica Mat 124G
- The Contax 645: Not just a wedding camera
