Category: Articles
-
5 Frames… With ILFORD FP4 PLUS (EI 25 / 120 format / Hasselblad 501CM)
When photographers first started to abandon film en masse, there were fantastic opportunities to buy equipment that otherwise would be out of my price range. This Hasselblad 501CM, and 80mm Planar CB lens was my first medium format camera. It remains my favorite. I particularly like its modular design, for a quick lens, finder, and…
-
Creating the world’s largest darkroom? One Shot: Inchindown
It was in late May 2019 that I was first sent a 30 minute rough cut of a video called “Tanky McOneshot”. The short film was the first stab at a documentary tracing David S Allen and Simon Riddell’s efforts at creating what might well be the world’s largest darkroom. It’s a grand statement but…
-
5 Frames… Of the French Alps on Rollei Infrared 400 (EI 25 / 120 format / Fujifilm GSW690III Professional)
On a recent trip to the French Alps I decided to try and shoot some infrared-sensitive film for the first time. I live in Central Scotland and we haven’t seen many ultra-sunny days this year… I decided to take the Fujifilm GSW690III Professional because the quality of the Fujinon 65mm f/5.6 lens is just stunning…
-
Essay: What happened to ‘Girl Gaze’?
The concept of a ‘gaze’ is not new to photography. In the 1970’s art critics and theorists like John Berger and Laura Mulvey made it their mission to retrace and analyse the history of the dominant gaze found cinema, art, photography. Ultimately, they decided that it was, and had been, a predominantly male one. In…
-
5 Frames… With ILFORD HP5 PLUS (EI 400 / 35mm format / Voigtlander Bessa R4A)
This project isn’t the most conceptually rich, but it certainly is full of life. I recently purchased a Voigtlander Bessa R4A and immediately headed down to the coastline with a roll of ILFORD HP5 PLUS and ‘mans [sic] best friend’, my dog Vito. I am used to shooting with old manual film cameras and was…
-
Packing light for the Congo: Two countries, one river, eight film stocks
My travel assignments require me to create strong imagery that can be quickly and seamlessly integrated into a digital workflow, which is why my primary work camera is almost always a digital body. While I love the consistently excellent results that I have been able to get with digital cameras, I have missed the beautiful…
-
5 Frames… With Rera Pan 400 (EI 400 / 127 format / Kodak Brownie 127)
Hi, my name is Martí Blesa, I’m a film photographer based in Girona, a small town near Barcelona (Spain). I love shooting film, mainly weird and very old cameras and study the differences and evolution of cameras, technology and formats as well as differences in emulsions. The formats I shoot the most are 35mm, 120…
-
5 Frames… From 1977: Mario Andretti and ILFORD HP5 (EI 400 / 35mm format / Canon F1)
Formula One racing had a profound effect on my life as a man and as a photographer. My superheroes weren’t Batman, Superman or Spiderman; they were Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Dan Gurney and Paul Newman. I grew up in the “Inland Empire” in Southern California. I was surrounded by race tracks: Ontario Motor Speedway, The…
-
Have a break… have a Kit Kat… film camera…
And finally for your end of week pleasure… after yesterday’s news, let’s file this one under “I need to book a flight to Thailand”. Yes, Thailand’s 11,000+ 7-11’s began selling promotional Kit Kat film cameras earlier this week. Single use, disposable cameras loaded with what appears to be a roll of 16 exposure Kodak ColorPlus…
-
New from ILFORD: 35mm and 120 ortho films, MULTIGRADE papers, camera and development kit – Q&A + tests/samples inside
One important voice has been missing from the crowd of new film announcements these past few years, that of 140 year-old ILFORD PHOTO. So, it was a pleasant surprise when the company began teasing the launch of four new products. What could they be? Speculation as to what these four images represented sent members of…
-
EMULSIVE Secret Santa 2019 updates: Sponsors! Gifting! Shopping!
UPDATE: Registration for EMULSIVE Santa 2019 has closed. There is a little over one week to go before registration for EMULSIVE Secret Santa 2019 closes, so it seems to be an appropriate time to remind those of you dragging your feet to sign up before it’s too late! While you’re here, there’s also a bit…
-
Film-to-go: an analog photography travel kit guide
This article is mostly made for photographers who are currently setting up their analog travel equipment. Experienced photographers will most likely already know most of the things I mention but you never know, you could learn something new 😉 Are you travelling solo? If yes, then travel photography is much easier for you, not needing…
-
5 Frames… With Fomapan 200 Creative (EI 200 / 35mm format / Canon A-1)
Such is the odd, pleasant surprise of the unexpected. Finding myself camera-less, purchasing a 10–pack of film days before making a visit to my homeland Costa Rica, all the way from Europe. I already had the spectacular news of my mother finding a film SLR in her house in near-perfect state. The finding was, as…
-
5 Frames… With ILFORD FP4 PLUS (EI 400 / 35mm format / Rollei 35T)
I’d always wanted one of those fancy little Rollei pocket cameras, but— for whatever reason— hadn’t ever bought one. On a recent whim, I took a “today is the day” -type moment, and followed it to its logical conclusion. Thus, a lovely Rollei 35T with a Rollei Tessar 40mm F/3.5 and non-functional (unnecessary?) meter came…
-
5 Frames… With Fujicolor Reala 100 (El 100 / 120 format / Mamiya C3)
After a great deal of thinking I finally got a TLR in my kit. A Mamiya C3, and Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/2.8 from a thrift shop in Mumbai. The camera had to undergo a good amount of servicing since there was a problem with the film advancing mechanism. After it had been serviced it was time…
-
Some more of my favourite film photographers
Last year I published a short list of analogue photographers who were valuable (at least to me) in some way; ones who offer either inspiration or education. The response to this was very wholesome, and people in the comments seemed to enjoy both the concept of the list and my selection. I thought it would…
-
Making colour prints in the darkroom: welcome to RA-4 printing
If you’re reading this guide, you’re probably new to RA-4 colour printing. Don’t worry, until recently, so was I. Over the past few months, I have spent a lot of time finding information about and practically learning the process. Since what I needed was scattered around the internet in small bits on different websites, forums…
-
5 Frames… With my first roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 (EI 400 / 35mm format / Nikon FE)
These five frames come from my first-ever roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 that, insofar as experience goes, was only my fourth roll of film. They are shot on a Nikon FE and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI lens from 1978, purchased by my dad when he was 27 years old—an immigrant from the Philippines to…
-
EMULSIVE September 2019: month in review
30 days and 37 articles. Here’s everything you missed on EMULSIVE in September, starting with a list of the “top ten” as decided by you and ordered by date of publication. Enjoy! …and here’s everything in order of publication Life gets busy. Here’s everything from September in one single list. Thanks for reading! ~ EM
-
5 Frames… With KosmoFoto Mono 100 (EI 100 / 35mm format / Leica M4)
I discovered this location – Dakota Crescent – whilst riding to my usual skate spots. It is one of Singapore’s oldest estates built in circa 1958. That is even before the independence of Singapore. The name itself is derived from Douglas DC-3 “Dakota” aircraft. The designs of these flats were close to that of towns…