Recent Film Photography Articles

Stanley Kubrick Films Natural Candlelight With Insane f/0.7 Lens

Stanley Kubrick was one of the most acclaimed producers and directors in American cinematography (the Shining is one of my all time favorites). Back in 1975, Stanley directed the three hour masterpiece Barry Lyndon. From a photography standpoint, the film is most noted for Stanley's use of Mitchell BNC cameras mounted with NASA Zeiss f/0.7 50mm lenses.

Flirting With Disaster: Filmmaker Duo Flies Drone Inside Byzantine Church and the Result Is Beautiful

Flying a drone indoors is always a challenge. You have to remain absolutely calm and collected, and generally, I highly recommend not flying a drone indoors, especially if you're new to them in general. That's also the warning that Filmmakers Guillaume Juin and Joris Favraud give anyone wanting to recreate this feat. They are a pair of rather brazen drone operators if I've ever seen any, coming together to form their company BigFly. Normally, the risk of flying a drone inside of a structure is already high, but usually, the highest risk is to the safety of your equipment, as the ease with which your drone could come into contact with any number of disastrous endings is increased exponentially.

Kodak's New Half Frame Film Camera

2022 has been a triumphant year for film photography, and although we are yet to see big companies produce anything in the way of serious film cameras, we have seen a few exciting, plastic toy cameras hit the market. Kodak has now delighted the community with these stylish half frame cameras manufactured in collaboration with the Reto Project.

Walking Dead Star Norman Reedus Replaces Crossbow with Camera

Renowned actor Norman Reedus, best known for his portrayal as Daryl Dixon in the television series The Walking Dead, is also an international artist and photographer. Step inside the inventive mind of Reedus by taking a look at his recently published book, The Sun’s Coming Up… Like a Big Bald Head. It is filled with dark and gruesome images that exist somewhere between Reedus's reality and our own.

Super Compact and Medium Format? Why Not?

For those interested in a extremely compact medium format camera that shoots the most iconic format, 6x6, the Zeiss Super Ikonta 534/16 is here for you.

Did You Know You Can Archive Your Digital Photos on Analog Film?

Bit rot, or the slow deterioration in the performance and integrity of data stored on various forms of digital storage media, is a real concern for photographers. Over time, digital photos degrade and some even become totally defective. The best insurance against this problem may actually be analog film.

The Story Behind "Bliss" The Worlds Most Viewed Photograph

The iconic Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss" is widely considered to be the world's most viewed image. Though most of us are familiar with the beautiful image that has graced our computers at one point or another, not many are familiar with the story of how it came to be, and fewer yet that it is in fact a real image captured on film! Photographer Charles O'Rear shares with us the story behind how he created the image with nothing more than his Mamiya RZ67 and a roll of Fuji Film.

Get Thee to a Goodwill: How Buying a 35mm Point and Shoot Will Change Your Photography

I'm not one prone to hyperbole. I don't easily get caught up in gear hype. However, I can whole-heartedly say that my decision to purchase and shoot with a little army of film point and shoot cameras early last year was easily the best decision I made for both my personal work and my own growth as a photographer. When I say that picking up a $20 camera will change your life and your photographs, I mean it – and other photographers agree!

What Is This Mystery Japanese 35mm Color Film?

When I was in Tokyo recently I saw a mysterious 35mm color negative film I'd never heard of before. The only course of action was to buy the film, shoot it, and see what it was like. So how did it turn out and what film was it? Keep reading and find out.

Why You Should Be Shooting on Film in 2021

If 2020 has somehow given you an appreciation of tactile experiences and a slower pace of life, you might want to consider periodically leaving your digital camera at home in in the new year and start capturing the world on film instead. Here are a few good reasons why.

Cultural Tattoos Invisible in Wet Collodion Prints

A photographer has found an amazingly cool way to capture and honor the art of facial tattoos from the indigenous New Zealand culture the Māori. Using the wet collodion process, the subjects appear to have their ink magically removed in portraits hung next to modern digital photos creating a surreal before and after effect.

5 Ways to Get the Film Look From a Digital Camera

Film is enjoying an extended resurgence in popularity at the moment, but many of us do not own a film camera or wish to spend the money that goes into buying and developing film. However, with a bit of technique and know-how, you can get a pretty reasonable approximation using a digital photo. This excellent video tutorial will show you five different ways to do that.

Are Olympus Zuiko the GOAT Vintage Lenses?

Olympus has been assigning the Zuiko name to its range of high-quality lenses since 1936. Zuiko-branded lenses were made for SLR, rangefinder, and automatic point-and-shoot cameras in medium format, 35mm, and even half-frame formats. Assessing the best of anything in photography leads to vivid debate and lots of room for subjectivity. Here are my 5 reasons why I believe Olympus knocked it out of the park with their Zuiko range, and when you look at all factors are the best film lenses ever made. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.

How One Photo Changed Everything (a fish tale)

Sunday seems like the right time to tell a big fish story, so I was happy when I stumbled across director Kibwe Tavares's, "JONAH". It's a visually impressive fiction that begins with every photographer's worst nightmare (a stolen camera) and becomes the tale of how one photo changed everything. Well, one photo and some masterful visual effects executed by Factory Fifteen and Jellyfish Productions. Watch the follow-up, "JONAH MAKING OF" for a peek into how it was all achieved.

DJI Inspire Pro and X5 Camera Review - An Absolute Game Changer

I recently had the pleasure of picking up one of the first final production models of the Inspire Pro and X5 Micro 4/3 Camera, and immediately took it to one of the most beautiful photography destinations in the world to test it out: Meteora Greece. I spent the better part of a week there getting the hang of flying and capturing both photos and videos and I was able to come away with some stunning results. This review is meant to showcase what I was able to capture and give you an idea about the capability of the new X5 Camera and the key differences between the Inspire and...

Minolta Maxxum 9 Retrospective: A Great Camera That Arrived Too Late

When I was working in the photo industry in the late 90s and early 00s, Nikon was king. Canon was already a close second or even considered the leading brand, depending on which photographer one spoke with. Both companies offered a robust selection of lenses, advanced camera bodies, and excellent autofocus systems. And then there were the outlier brands, like Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax, all who made some wonderful cameras, but were not nearly as popular as tools for professionals. Minolta was, perhaps, one of the most adventurous camera makers.

Look How Ridiculous The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movies Look Without CGI

It's truly incredible what they can do with film today, especially with the advancement of visual effects and motion graphics. When I first heard they were remaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I was incredibly sad; all those years growing up watching the original live action films featuring the puppets crafted by Jim Henson's. It was brilliant and really well done for a movie of its time. Then came the almost 100% CGI filled epic by Michael Bay himself, yet it works and it's fun.

What Is a Leica M Camera Good For?

As a film photography enthusiast, I am a firm believer that gear is a long way down the list of important factors in image-making.

How Ansel Adams Captured Images as He Saw Them

In this video essay, Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter explains some of the techniques Ansel Adams used to achieve his technical and esthetic mastery. Using visualization and some other relatively easy to learn techniques, Adams learned to bring what he saw in his mind's eye to his photographs (yes, I said "easy to learn," but hard to master). It was Adams' commitment to taking photographs, with intent, that made him a master artist and led him to develop the tools he needed to bring his images to fruition.​

How to Take Photos Without a Lens

The lens is obviously one of the most fundamental pieces of photography gear along with the camera, but strictly speaking, you do not actually need one to create an image. This interesting video will take you behind the scenes of a neat photography process that lets you take photos without even using a lens and show you the workflow and results.

Why Do Photographers Hate Photoshop?

According to what I've been noticing in a lot of the comments posted here on Fstoppers, there seems to be plenty of photographers who absolutely hate Photoshop. So lets have a bit of a discussion.

Technology has become part of everything in our lives. Cars get better and better. Phones have become portable and are now the size of a credit card.

Large Format Is Still Completely Unrivaled: Canon 5DS R Versus 4x5 Large Format Film

Over the last couple of months, I've been getting to know a photographer called Adam French who lives in the same city as me. French is a photographer who primarily shoots with a large format film camera. I was utterly blown away by some of the work he produced, and I asked him if he'd be interested in working with us on a YouTube video.

Steve McCurry Shoots the Last Roll of Kodachrome Film

"All good things must come to an end." It's a common theme throughout this special by National Geographic in which we follow Steve McCurry on his quest of shooting the last roll of Kodak Kodachrome film ever made. It's a pretty daunting and heavy assignment to be sure - one McCurry is no stranger to. That fact is even more apparent when we learn that it was McCurry who asked for the final roll.

f/138: Taking Pictures With No Lens at All

Lenses are obviously some of the most talked about pieces of photography equipment out there. However, there's one type of photography that requires no lens at all. This neat video follows a photographer as he spends a day shooting landscapes with a pinhole camera.

Why It’s Still Important to Shoot In Black And White

I’ve just read a comment from a photographer who said it’s time to stop shooting in black and white. He claimed we don’t see the world in black and white and it was something only done in the past due to the limitations at the time and it’s time to move on. Here’s a number of reasons why I think it’s critical to shoot black and white from time to time, and how it can help nurture your photographic eye.

Should You Still Be Chimping?

In digital photography, chimping is when you take a photograph, look at the LCD screen, and then adjust your exposure settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) if they are a bit off. In this article, I will tell you why you shouldn’t be doing this.

You’re Making a Mistake if You’re Not Telling Your Friends to Start With Film

Photography is a dream job for many, and everyone thinks we’re so lucky to do it. To that extent, they also all “would love to get more into photography.” While we get pretty good at sifting out which of our friends are actually serious about that goal, here are a few suggestions for how to get over the biggest barrier to entry by starting with film.

The Joy of Shooting With the Mostly Forgotten Medium Format TLR

Most photographers are familiar with three types of cameras: the DSLR, mirrorless, and rangefinder. However, a fourth type, the TLR, offers a completely different and rather fun medium format film shooting experience. Though they have largely been overtaken by other designs, you can still find them on the used market, and this great video shows you the experience of shooting with one.

Low Budget, High Scale - Incredible Action Sequence With BTS

Whether you’re a photographer or you focus on video, this article highlights the high octane visual set piece created by Slaughterhouse Pictures, who successfully combined principles of both stills and motion work to create high impact visual media with zero budget and very limited resources. Read the exclusive FStoppers article and watch the BTS video to get some simple and highly effective little tips that you will be able to apply to all aspects of your own work.

[Mindfreak] Staring At This Black And White Sony Ad Will Make You See In Color

I love optical illusions, and this simple trick used in a Sony Cybershot ad was one I had not seen before. Click on the full post to see this image large. Then stare at the color triangle in the middle of the model's nose for 30 seconds. Then stare at a white wall or screen and blink rapidly! You should see the model take her clothes off in near full color! The brain is a strange strange machine indeed!
The Drawback of Film Photography

Film photography has enjoyed a notable resurgence in the last few years, and while it can offer an enjoyable and different experience over digital, it is not without its drawbacks. The cost is the most commonly cited con to the format, but there is something arguably more crucial to consider. This excellent video essay discusses the issue and what you should consider before you pick up your film camera.

Film Isn't Vegan: Why You Should Potentially Reconsider Shooting It if You Care About Animals

Film photography is enjoying a bit of a resurgence at the moment, with many people flocking to it for reasons ranging from the abundance of cheap used equipment, to the enjoyment of the process, or the look of the results. And while film can certainly be both a fun and rewarding way to shoot, it is important to be aware of its downsides as well, one of them being the fact that it is not friendly to animals.

Gh4, Gh3, 5d3, 7d, and C100 Shootout

Andrew Dean from HillBillyGripTruck.com posted his updated video shootout of the Gh4, Gh3, 5d3, 7d, and C100. The results were pretty cool and we were able to get a nice side by side view of quality from each of the cameras as they were all setup to be relatively close in settings. On top of making sure settings were close, all of the cameras shot at the same time in the same exact lighting situation to make sure they were all brought an equal scene to work with.

How The Film ‘Anomaly’ Is Changing The Game For Us All (BTS And Interview With Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm)

Last week saw the release of ‘Anomaly’, a film that is redefining the approach and model for independent, narrative film making. Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm outlines how he managed the project as it grew from “a 2 minute art film” into the astonishing 38 minute-long final masterpiece, and provides key takeaways for all of us that we can apply to our own stills or motion projects. If you have any interest in what's coming over the horizon for cutting edge, independent, visual media production, this is for you.

Making Light Leaks in Lightroom [With Free Brush Download]

There's something special about taking a picture on film. That said, film also lent itself to a lot of error: a botched exposure, missed focus and light leaks could all serve to ruin an otherwise lovely image. There are few things more frustrating then getting a roll back from the lab with an error note on the envelope. Occasionally the results were a novelty, perhaps adding interest to an otherwise boring image but all too often light leak was nothing but a bother. So why would anyone want to replicate it in Lightroom?

4 Composition Techniques for Better Film Photographs

Composition has rules that transcend all visual mediums, but playing to the equipment you're using can still be helpful. In this video, one photographer walks through his favorite techniques for better film photographs.

mamiya-rz67-medium-format-camera

Medium-format cameras have long been in the hands of working pros because of their combination of ease of use and incredible image quality. While large format was always the king of resolution and dynamic range, it is difficult to work with on location and cumbersome. Today, medium format is a little different. Phase One and Hasselblad have both released 100 MP options, allowing for unparalleled image quality.

Affordable Versus Expensive Lens: Is There a Noticeable Difference?

I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t go through some amount of indecision when it comes to picking out a new lens to get. One major factor in decision making is the cost of the lens. Some are affordable, others are better but less affordable, and others are out right expensive. In the end, is there a noticeable difference?