Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
The noise surrounding Ektachrome’s return has been quite fascinating. A lot of people are getting very excited, and also very impatient about it coming back. Originally announced at CES 2017 Kodak later said a “limited supply” would become available for testing with general availability in 2018.
Things are a bit behind schedule, though. And we’re only now hearing of the first test rolls going out.
I’ve never had the chance to have a good look around an active film lab. I’ve been developing my own film at home for years now, and film labs have mostly died out since then. But there are still a few out there, and they seem to be making enough to stay in business, too.
Jay P Morgan at The Slanted Lens had the opportunity to get a good behind the scenes look at what goes on inside one of them. The Richard Photo Lab in Valencia, California. And, fortunately for us, he filmed it.
The other day, I posted on here about The Standard 4×5 large format 3D printed camera. I was a little sceptical about The Standard at first until I saw that the project files would be released into the open source world upon completion of the campaign and deliveries to backers.
Now, another new 3D printed large format camera has popped up on Kickstarter. The Cameradactyl. This one, though, won’t be releasing the files and doesn’t quite leave me with the same warm fuzzies.
Film is definitely back on the rise, to the point where Fuji may even be bringing some of theirs back. While most of the films available today are C-41 negative films, E-6 transparency film (also known as slide film) is still available, and quite popular for certain things. But how do you know when to use which? And what are its limits?
That’s what Jay P Morgan explores in this video. What is transparency film? What is its dynamic range? How does it compare to standard C41 negative film? Why and when would you choose slide film over negative film? He compares Kodak Portra, Fujifilm Provia and Fujifilm Velvia to find out.
This is an odd one – but very cool. Fujifilm has spent the last few years systematically killing off all their film. Apparently, though, they’re considering starting up production of some black & white film stocks again.
There might be a little lost in translation here, but the news was posted to Yahoo Japan (from ITMedia News). They say that Fujifilm is considering bringing back some of their discontinued films due to popular demand.
I love that large format seems to be coming back in fashion. I really do. In the last couple of years we’ve seen some great new large format cameras come into existence, like the Intrepid, and the Chroma – the latter of which we saw in person at The Photography Show.
Now we have a new one, The Standard 4×5, which is made from 3D printed parts. It’s is being billed as a DIY 4×5 large format camera that you can build yourself – which is a really awesome idea. It’s being funded through Kickstarter, and the prices aren’t that bad, either (even though the early birds have already sold out).
The 90s was a strange time for photography. It began with a lot of new and advanced film camera technology and ended on the cusp of the digital revolution. In between, though, various companies attempted to bridge the gap, dragging film kicking and screaming into the digital age.
One such product was the APS film format. Slightly smaller than 35mm, it held a lot of promise and potential for photography, especially more casual photographers. And you could even put your film rolls into the Fujifilm AP-1 photo player and see a digital slideshow on your TV screen. In this video, YouTuber Techmoan takes a look at this technology and his struggles with it.
We live in such a strange world. As major camera manufacturers abandon their analog cameras, young companies such as MiNT build new ones. Today, they just released new details regarding the InstantKon RF70 instant camera. It features a classic design with full manual control, and you can pre-order it now for $849.
Sometimes, we see something that we want to make a photograph of. But we don’t just want to grab a quick snap and go on our merry way. We instantly have a vision in our heads. We know how we want that final image to look. But we can’t. We don’t have our gear with us, or it’s the wrong type of weather or time of year. Whatever.
That’s how photographer Nick Carver felt when he stumbled across this liquor store while visiting his future in-laws in Santa Barbara. Instantly he fell in love with it and knew he had to photograph it. He’s been waiting a long time to do it, but he finally has, and he documented his process of shooting it on super wide 6×17 medium format film.
I’ve been wanting to try this experience for a long time now and finally got the opportunity to shoot a roll of expired Agfa Precisa CT 100 then got it crossed-processed in C-41 chemistry by my lab Nation Photo.
Precisa is probably one of the least known slide films that exists (at least it was to me) and I honestly had no idea how it would perform, knowing that it expired somewhere in 2005. After investigating a little, it appears that Precisa is actually a repacked Fuji Provia 100F but it costs half the price!
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
