Recent Film Photography Articles

KEKS Announces New Leica Rapid Advance

Several days ago, KEKS—a company you most likely know from their line of hot-shoe mounted light meters—announced their release of the new KEKS Rapid-Winder for classic Leica bodies. Designed to fit the M1, M2, M3, and classic MP, this accessory is a recreation of the original Leicavit MP and is designed around the same internal structure and materials.

A Hands-On Look at the New Polaroid I-2

Polaroid is an iconic brand in photography and has been since the late 1940s! Now, Polaroid has a new camera released, and it has a lot of pros, but potentially one large con.
Greenpeace España Put a Pianist on a Floating 'Glacier' in the Ocean for This Film

In this moving film, Italian Pianist and Composer Ludovico Einaudi performs his piece, “Elegy for the Arctic," while on a floating platform in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The moving and haunting film and music are augmented all the more by a fortuitously timed moment that captures everything Einaudi is trying to convey.

A Tutorial on Dodging and Burning Film Photos

You have probably heard of dodging and burning before, holdover terms from the film area that describe the process of making areas of an image lighter or darker to emphasize different parts. If you're interested in working with film and creating your own prints, this great tutorial will show you just how it's done.

The Photographer And Story Behind The 1990 TMNT Movie Poster

Have you ever wondered about the photographers and process behind iconic movie posters? Some of Azriel Knight's most vivid nostalgic memories are over the striking movie poster for the blockbuster film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[Video] Why You Might Need a Mattebox

For any of you DSLR video shooters out there, you might not know why you may need some of the equipment you often see on some of the larger rigs found on major studio sets. Well the guys over at Cinevate show you exactly why you might need one of those tools called a mattebox. Matteboxes are essentially barn doors for your camera lens and allow you to control flares and the subtleties of light that make a good film into a great film. Cinevate also shows you how using different filters can really make parts of your movie stand out. Read the full post to see some side by side examples so you can really examine the differences closely.
Genius, Madness, and Obsession: How the Instant Camera Was Invented

You could be forgiven for believing that the requirement for instant gratification is a rather new affliction. However, it's more likely that swift results were gated behind technology and that the few inventions that provided it were well placed for unprecedented success, like the instant camera.

Your First Photos Will Be Bad, but That's Alright!

Photography is a high. The magic that some of those first images a photographer takes is difficult to put into words. The joy that comes from image-making hooks you, and often, there is no turning back.

Newest Installment of 'Joyride' Video Series - What's Next?

If you ask many filmmakers, or any video production companies, coming up with video ideas and concepts is not always the easiest thing to do. Especially when you're trying to make a series. However, through abstract story telling, Penzoil has successfully made a video series that so far, has kept viewers coming back for more with each iteration of the series. The first, a powerful trip through a city, the second a high speed trist around a race track before breaking back onto the streets, and with this last one, a high velocity excursion through the desert.

How to Perfectly Expose Film

The nuances of film exposure can be tricky, especially when you’re just starting out, but getting a grasp on these basics will dramatically improve your work.

How Erik Kessels Discovers Art and Story in Amateur Photography

In this short documentary video from TIME, Dutch creative Erik Kessels explains his interest in amateur photography, including where it started and what he sees in it. What started as simply buying discarded family photo albums has now stirred an interest with the mortality of an image, where with the proliferation of sites like Flickr and Instagram, photographs now have a much shorter lifecycle. This culminates in a very interesting exhibition, featured at the end of the video.

How To Mix Lights on Location

Being a photographer means being able to adapt to any given lighting situation to create images that are remarkable. In this video, Sophia Carey shares some of her insights with a behind-the-scenes look at a night portrait shoot on film.

10 Tips for Shooting Polaroids This Fall

Are you even a photographer if you’ve never taken a Polaroid? If you’ve yet to experience the magic of instant photography, or if you’ve been away from the game for a while, there’s good news. The film being produced by Polaroid over the last couple of years is more consistent than it has been for a long time.

A Modern Approach to Film Photography With Flash

Of course, flash photography existed long before the transition to digital. However, most modern film photography is shot in natural light, whether out of an aesthetic desire or because working with flash and film is a bit of a lost art. Nonetheless, just like digital, flash can open up a lot of creative possibilities, and this excellent video tutorial will show you a modern approach to doing so.

Free Wedding Cinematography Workshop With Vanessa & Rob

If you've always wanted to get into wedding cinematography then this is your jump start. Starting at 9AM tomorrow, Monday December 3 creativeLIVE will be hosting a FREE Wedding Cinematography workshop With Vanessa & Rob. Together, they've got a career's worth of film-making knowledge and will be packing it into this three day course.

[BTSV] Blast from the Past: Creating a Nat Geo Cover in the Studio

National Geographic recently released this video of the creation of one of their cover shots. While there is no exact date on it, I'd bet that it was shot sometime in the early 2000s or late 1990s guessing from technology being used. Some real ingenuity was at work here, as evidenced by the custom-built pneumatic jaw, the hand-cast Tyrannosaurus skull, and not to mention what appears to be at least ten cameras all triggered at the same time via laser in an effort to capture the decisive moment.

[Video] Behind The Scenes With The Writer And Director Of 'The Artist'

By now, most of us have at least heard about the box-office hit known as The Artist. In case you haven’t, it’s a near-silent film that was met with critical appraise and even managed to win a few Oscars this weekend. In this video, we get a sit-down chat with the writer and director of The Artist, and a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the movie. As a casual movie fan, I can say that upon my first viewing,

Help Todd: The Journey Of A Lost Roll Of Film

Sometimes you come across a video that just makes you feel good, and this is one of those videos. Brooklyn resident Todd Beiber was out cross country skiing in Prospect Park during the huge blizzard which brought in 2011. During his ski adventure he happened to spot a canister of undeveloped 35mm film. Being the photo enthusiast that he is, Todd developed the film on his own and vowed to track down the owners of the lost roll of film. What he found was very similar to the Vivian Maier's story: a bunch of great images that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. So after watching this video, I feel like it is only appropriate for Fstoppers to help Todd find the owners of this roll of film. Will you help him as well? Hopefully we will get a wonderful follow up video of Todd hanging out somewhere in Europe :)
[Video] How To Take A Photograph On A 4x5 Camera

10 years ago shooting on a 4x5 camera was pretty common among professional photographers. Today, many young photographers not only haven't seen a 4x5 camera but they have probably have never even heard of one. In this video Simon Roberts takes us through the steps of using the camera, editing the images, and the printing the final file. How do you guys feel about shooting on film and then processing the images digitally? Does that defeat the whole purpose?
The Reward of Being an Artist in Residence

I have had the opportunity of working as an Artist in Residence for the National Park Service four times. The last residency was for Buffalo National River in Arkansas. In the spring of 2020, I got a call from one of the managers for the National Forest Service in Wyoming, wanting to know if I would be interested in coming to Wyoming to do a residency there in Bighorn National Forest, which I was glad to do. So, in early September 2020, I loaded up my gear into my Bronco and headed to Wyoming!

How to Photograph a Longform Photography Project

As the adage goes, “you have to run before you can walk.” This also applies to photography. Once you’ve learned how to consistently make a good image within your camera, what is the next step?

Is Film Still Relevant in Filmmaking?

A photographer or filmmaker's equipment is probably one of the most hotly debated topics, as anyone familiar with photography forums can tell you. There are arguments both for and against either a "fully stacked" or a "minimalist" approach. Dan Mace takes both in this video.

Could an Instant Camera Make You a Better Photographer?

There’s something about the analog process that will slow down your photography, making you more thoughtful about image creation. What if you take it one step further and push yourself with an instant camera? Could it make you a better photographer?

Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 Versus Instax SQ6 Which Is Better?

Fujifilm Instax cameras are some of the most popular instant cameras on the market. In some sense, Fujifilm Instax cameras have revived instant photography. With all the different-sized film and types of cameras available, it can be difficult choosing the right one for you. Here is a comparison that might be of help.