The Darkroom is arguably one of the leading mail order labs in the country at the moment. Their team has been very proactive in engaging with the film community, eager to interact with photographers on social media, and working to meaningfully contribute to the community with information and education through their occasional blog posts. But the company recently launched a new project that I’ve found quite helpful: their Film Index.
Continue reading…February 2020
Review: Bergger Pancro 400 Black and White Film (120)
Since getting back into film photography, I’ve been on a mission to try pretty much every filmstock out there. It was that mission which motivated me to order a few rolls of Bergger Pancro 400 from B&H Photo and Video in New York City a few months back and give it a try. I was suitably impressed.
Continue reading…Trip Report: New York Photo Trip and Conversation Starters
One of the things I enjoy about shooting film, especially in busy places, is that cameras like a Hasselblad or pretty much any TLR are always conversation starters — ice breakers that result in anything from strange looks to engaging chats with total strangers. They also invite a lot of smiles, pointing, fascination, questions, and comments like, “Cool camera!” And when you’re shooting film in a city like New York, all of that can be as much fun as the actual picture taking.
Continue reading…Review: Kodak Duaflex II Medium Format Film Camera
It seems to me that for decades, Kodak had a successful, two-part business model.
- Sell photography itself as a lifestyle, a necessity for documenting some of life’s most important moments.
- Sell products and services that support that, ensuring a robust recurring revenue stream.
For a very long time, it worked quite well for the company.
When it came to cameras, it appears that part of Kodak’s strategy was making as many different cameras as possible, with a range of sizes, styles, feature sets, and price points. Most were centered on ease of use, as evidenced by the venerable Brownie series, or the more recent Instamatic series. An oft-forgotten family of Kodak cameras was interesting in its own right as well: the Kodak Duaflex.
Continue reading…Inspiration Found: What to Shoot When You’re Out of Ideas
We all have moments when the creative well seems to run completely dry, moments when you feel like you’ve exhausted every idea you’ve ever had for picking-up a camera, and shooting something.
I have these moments — a little too frequently. I decided to start capturing every interesting idea that popped to mind, and cataloguing each one here, in hopes that it will help others too. This article will be updated over time, so feel free to bookmark it and revisit regularly for new ideas. Last update was September 12, 2021.
Continue reading…Why Process Film at Home?
Since getting back into film, I’ve slowly invested in the hobby with the aim of lowering the overall cost and having a bit more control over the creative process. That led, of course, to processing and scanning film at home. After processing dozens of rolls at home (all quite successfully, I might add), I have the operational experience both to calculate and talk about cost, and to reflect on the benefits I’m seeing — some of which were unexpected.
Continue reading…