Recent Film Photography Articles

Analog Episode One - Lifestyle Photographer Brooks Sterling Explains His Passion for Film on a Surf Shoot

Matt Mangham, the director of photography over at fortyonetwenty – a San Diego production company – has recently created a personal photography series titled Analog where he finds and tells stories that explore the current state of film photography. Episode one of the series follows Southern California lifestyle photographer Brooks Sterling as he heads out to a surf shoot with his trusty Nikonos underwater camera.

Gunther Holtorf Takes A 23 Year Long Road Trip And Documents The Journey

What started as an 18 month long tour of Africa, ended up lasting 23 year long but wonderful years. With his modest demeanor, we're finally hearing about his amazing journey across the World. He drove in a Mercedes Benz G Wagon and now has over 500,000 miles tacked on. The vehicle has traveled the equivalent of 20 times around the planet and the best part is that he took his cameras along with him! Gunther travels with 2 film cameras, including a Leica M6.

How Kodak Went From Industry Giant to Essentially Nonexistent

If you're older than about 30 or so, you probably remember just how unbelievably ubiquitous Kodak was at one time, making their eventual fall all the most extreme in retrospect. This great video takes a look at the fascinating history behind the rise and fall of what was once a titan of the photo industry.

How to Develop Your Own Black and White Film at Home: No Darkroom Needed

Shooting film is a lot of fun, but part of what pushes photographers away from it is the cost, a lot of which is tied up in developing. This awesome video will show you how to develop your own black and white film in your bathroom with a minimal kit and much lower costs than sending it out.

Isa Leshko's Portraits of Aging Animals

Philadelphia-based photographic artist Isa Leshko turned her camera onto aging farm animals, horses and dogs to create a powerful study of mortality and aging. The body of work, captured with medium format film, is currently exhibited at the Corden Potts gallery in San Francisco and was inspired by the caregiving process she underwent with her parents.

Learn Storytelling From the Masters of Film

We can learn so much about the art of storytelling through careful study of some of the pinnacles of the film. Blocking, subtext, shot framing: all of these and more are crucial to the conveyance of plot. Check out this video that breaks down some of film's most iconic and masterful scenes and provides great tips to incorporate into your own work.

How To Create The Lomo Photography Look In Photoshop

Lomo Photography or Lomography has gained quite the cult following in recent years. And it’s no wonder. These little Lo-Fi cameras, such as the Lomo LC-A, produce some really cool and compelling images. Aside from the Lo-Fi look of the Lomo, the other main feature of Lomography is the cross processing of the Color Slide Film. Check out the video below by SLR Lounge and then view the full post to see the Photoshop tutorial.
Shoot With Less to Create More Effectively

Let's be honest. While we as photographers have a troublesome relationship with gear at times, we could mostly do with a lot less of it. In yet another wonderful discussion, Nick Carver gives us his thoughts on hiring a wedding photographer, using less gear, choosing a rum as a digestif, and what it means to be a photographer.

You Get Four Shots: Patience and Payoff When Hiking With a Large Format Camera

Large format photography is its own beast, with all sorts of considerations and technical know-how needed to pull it off successfully, not the least of which being that the equipment is often simply unwieldy. Nonetheless, that extra work is not without a payoff, as the resultant images can be full of gorgeous detail. This neat video takes a look at a different way of going about landscape images.

Analog Options: Which Film Stock for Which Type of Photography?

Let's chant it from the rooftops: Film is not dead, whether as a medium in art or as the thing that makes instant photos at parties possible and will let you take pictures in places where digital cameras and phones aren't allowed in.

Testing the Limits of Kodak’s Portra 400

For those that don’t already know, film — particularly Kodak’s Portra 400 — has a fair amount of exposure latitude. And by fair amount, I mean loads and loads.

Kodak Announces Printomatic 10-Megapixel Instant Zink Print Camera

Continuing with its strong comeback in the still photography arena, Kodak recently announced a digital camera called the Printomatic that is capable of printing instant photos. The camera uses a 10MP sensor and saves images to a digital card, but built into the camera is also an inkless printer system that prints on 2" x 3" Zink paper using heat.

Why Shoot Instant Film? A Beginner's Guide Featuring Sandy Phimester and Robert Timko

For a while, things looked pretty bleak for the instant-film-loving community. Films that were once mainstays of the film shooter's arsenal (like Fuji FP-3000B) were discontinued and instant camera equipment production slowed to a crawl. Fortunately for us though, like other formats and kinds of film, instant film photography is seeing an unprecedented resurgence (both in niche, hard core film communities and popular culture). This guide is for you, the digital film guy, who's been sitting on the fence and wants to see what all the buzz is about. In this article I teamed up with two of the coolest instant-film-shooting photographers today, Robert Timko and Sandy Phimester.

Behind The Scenes of Snow White And Huntsman

If you haven't seen the movie Snow White and the Huntsman, then you'll want to go see it after watching this video. Filmed with the Red Epic camera, the amount of detail that went into creating the Mirror Man is amazing. The guys over at The Mill Visual Effects Studio did many tests with liquid before deciding to use cloth instead. Cloth provided more control over making the sculpture appear seamlessly out of the mirror.

Some Helpful Tips for Shooting Better Film Photographs

Film is enjoying quite the resurgence in popularity right now, and with the used market flooded with affordable camera bodies and lenses, it's a great time to try it out for yourself. This great video will give you some practical tips to get you up and running shooting film.

The Power Of Film (12 Talks) From TED

TED Talks set the bar for inspiration no matter the subject, the playlist The Power Of Film (12 Talks) certainly does not disappoint.

The good people over at TED have pieced together some big names in the movie industry for this imaginative playlist. The tag line reads "Few things are as magical as sitting back in a theater with a hushed crowd to enjoy a film, but what you see on the screen isn't everything. Hear from visionaries -- from Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood -- on how to make movies."

The New Holga Digital Vs Polaroid 600, The Ultimate Camera Showdown

A few weeks ago I wrote a post mocking the new Holga Digtal Kickstarter campaign. Holga's PR team caught wind of my post and decided to send me the new Digital Holga. At the same time the Impossible Project sent me a Polaroid 600 camera with Impossible Instant color and BW film. Which is better? Let's find out.

Hipsters Rejoice! A Build-It-Yourself Plastic Camera

There's no denying the growing popularity of Lomo photography in recent years - especially if you've ever visited an Urban Outfitters. The motto for Lomography is, "Don’t Think, Just Shoot," - which is kind of ironic considering their newest offering requires quite a bit of thinking. The Konstruktor is a $35 build-it-yourself camera that should give hipsters a better understanding as to how their 'antique Instagram machine' actually works.

Ella Manor Is The Lady Gaga Of Photography

Ella Manor is a fashion photographer based out of New York City who approaches her photography in a rather unorthodox manner. Much of her work combines beautiful models and extravagant clothing with dreamy camera effects and often times double exposures. Her hybrid style lends itself to the unpredictable nature of Lensbaby lenses so much so that she has been labeled a "Photo Guru" by the lens company themselves. This video showcases her latest photo essay Power House and explains how she approaches her photography from both a technical aspect and also a visionary aspect. I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like this before but judging from the images on her website I think I like what I see.
[Video] What Did We Do Before Adobe Illustrator?

Before switching over to photography in college, I studied Graphic Design. I've always had an appreciation for typography and still do to this day. Today, changing size, color, typeface, etc. can all be done in a matter of seconds. Paul Collier, Letterpress and Typography Technician at Plymouth University shows us the beauty of what we did before Illustrator and InDesign. Click the full post to see the video.
Netflix Teases With Kodachrome Movie Trailer

Netflix is releasing "Kodachrome" soon. It's about the journey to the last Kodachrome development lab. It's out on April 20, and if this trailer is anything to go by, it's going to be good.

Pocket-Sized 10,000 DPI 35mm Film Scanner Announced

35mm film shooters will be happy to hear that German imaging company, Reflecta, has announced a new almost-pocket-sized slide film scanner that can scan up to 10,000 DPI. The ProScan 10T is advertised to have a DR of 3.9 DMax. Here’s the kicker - it comes in at a surprisingly low € 469 (just under $650).

Shooting With One of the Most Iconic Cameras in History

There are few camera series more iconic and recognizable than the Hasselblad 500 series, which has become a popular collector's camera that still commands a high price on the used market today. This great video review takes a look at a camera from the series and what it is like to shoot with seven decades after they first hit the market.

CineStill Releases Another Motion Picture Film Stock - 50 Daylight

CineStill released another motion picture film stock to the still photography world today, an ISO 50 film with a daylight white balance.

Using their "Premoval" process to remove the remjet coating on the film allows it to be developed by any C41 lab. With this new low ISO, fine grain, high resolution, ultra-sharp daylight balanced color film you can now shoot with the same coveted emulsion used by Hollywood directors and cinematographers in bright, high contrast daylight with wonderful results!

Does Kodak Want You To Buy Film? It Doesn’t Seem So

The popularity of film is on an undeniable upswing. As a result, prices of cameras have crept up and up to a point that one might think that at least film itself can provide some stability. Think again.

Lightroom Film Presets: Full Totally Rad Replichrome I, II, and III Review

Totally Rad are the producers of the film emulation presets titled Replichrome. Currently there are three sets of presets, Replichrome I: Icon, Replichrome II: Slide, and Replichrome III: Archive. The initial inception of the Lightroom presets, now known as the Icon Series, came with the intent to get it right. Not to create stylized versions of film but to create accurate depictions so that the digital images with the film presets would appear as close to actual film as possible.

Patrick Brown's "Trading to Extinction" Project

Black bear bile, rhino horns, shark fins and other endangered wildlife and their illicit trade account for more than $10 billion annually. For the past ten years, documentary photographer Patrick Brown has explored this story, shooting from the jungles of Cambodia to the markets of Guangzhou. The work is now collected in the book “Trading to Extinction,” published by Dewi Llewis and released to coincide with this week’s global summit on illegal wildlife trade hosted in London.

Use My New Ultimate Film Processing Price Guide to Decide Which Lab Is Right for You

A few months ago, I started a passion project of mine: FilmObjektiv.org. Film Objektiv was started with one goal in mind: to get more people shooting film. We do this by renting film cameras at low prices for longer periods of time, by providing prints at a low cost, and also by serving as an online and educational resource to help film shooters find everything they'd ever need. It's this last part that still needs some work, but it's well on its way with this new pricing guide for film labs across the country. Still, I could use your help.

[Video] Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend, Stunning Commercial

It goes without saying that besides the Superbowl commercials, we can pretty much expect the same run of the mill advertisements. Whether it's cartoon bears with toilet paper stuck to their butts, or of babies talking like grown adults, this commercial really blew them all out of the water. Advertising film director, Bruno Aveillan, (along with a crew of about 50 people) spent two years putting together this epic 3.5 minute journey celebrating the 160 year history of luxury jeweler, Cartier.

Fstoppers Analog Review: Nikonos V

Fstoppers Analog Review is a quick throw down on some of photography’s greatest equipment. In a world where we are constantly defined by the rapid progression of technology, these posts are intended to remind us about our love for the fundamentality of capturing life in silver and light. Each week we’ll review another piece of pivotal photography equipment, discuss the history, review its capabilities, and share our results! This review will go to the fabulous Nikonos V, a waterproof 35mm camera with a history as deep as diving itself. This handy sidekick will blow you away with its capability!

Rare 1923 Leica Prototype Sells for Eye-Watering Price

I have a reasonable collection of vintage cameras, so I can see the allure of them, and particularly a rare one. However, if you wanted to win an auction of the rare 1923 Leica that recently went up for sale, you needed the deepest of pockets.

Polaroid Feature-length Documentary: 'Instant Dreams'

"Instant Dreams" is a feature-length film about Polaroid that explores the magic of this defunct format, the pioneer of instant imagery, and documents the search for the lost chemical formula. Premiering at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam a few days ago, the film discusses what it meant to produce imagery that is physical, unique, and, as one of the subjects puts it, "an artifact of time."

Film Photography Sees Surprise Renaissance Among Young Generation

Film cameras are making an unexpected comeback, experiencing a revival in popularity among teenagers and young adults. Vintage cameras like the Nikon F3, Canon AE-1, and Pentax K1000 that were collecting dust in basements are now selling like hot cakes on auction sites and at vintage shops. But this analog resurgence faces challenges around film scarcity and cost.

Top 10 Most Effective Movie Editing Moments of All Time

After watching a great film, it is rare that we give conscious credit to the editing (which is actually a silent compliment to the editors). However, how the film was cut creates most of the powerful feelings we get while watching and is a major contributor to our final thoughts on a film. CineFix has put together what they believe to be the top 10 most effective editing moments of all time, and it's certainly worth noting the editing mastery at work.

Look "Through the Ground Glass" in a Short Film About Large Format Photography

Through the Ground Glass is a beautiful short film by Taylor Hawkins that features large-format photographer, Joseph Allen Freeman as he — very candidly — talks about the process, frustrations, difficulties, and joys of shooting with large-format film. Even if this type of photography isn't your cup of tea, this video is worth a watch.

Warning: NSFW for language.