Search results for: 'le lens those'

Whether you are new to film photography or picking it up again after a number of years, it is very easy to get started and a rewarding activity regardless of your level of expertise. Introduction to film photography To get you started we've created a series of animations that will introduce you to the world of film photography. These short 60 second animated videos cover a range of topics and terminologies to quickly get you up to speed. From f-stop to film types, these videos are the perfect entry point...

Starting Out As a relative newbie there is a lot I still don’t know or understand the history of photographic film types and the various process do’s & don’ts.  I’m OK with this and let me tell you why. There are countless books, articles and resources to help me learn as well as a very supportive film community.  It is important that I do my homework but it is also important I don’t let all this information overwhelm me. Learning For me the main and only way to learn is time behind t...

Zone focusing is arguably one of the quickest and most effective methods of focusing your camera. With a little forethought, practice and pre-visualisation of your shot, it's a method that can reduce problems like shutter lag. Ensure your images are sharp every time. And help you take photos more surreptitiously. It doesn't rely on automation and, in most cases can be put into practice before you've brought the camera to your eye. I believe it's a core skill and a method that everyone who takes photograp...

Where the Hasselblad love started long, long time ago, I can still remember how— Hang on, let me start again… When I were a lad, mankind did something utterly astonishing: men walked on the moon. For a 13-year-old science geek, staying up till <mumble> o’clock in the morning to watch this historic event was possibly the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. For a 13-year-old budding photographer, the cameras that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were wielding held a strong...

#Family This time of year is all about #family. These were our favourite #family themed shots from those that you shared on last weeks #ilfordfridayfavourites @simonmurphy7 Warmer times in Crete. #ilfordfridayfavourites #family #hp5 #simonmurphyphotographer   @redshift_ #ilfordfridayfavourites #believeinfilm Here's a shot of my Son Harry taken with XP2 film and a Canon F1 with 100mm f2.8 ssc lens   @phall715 Daughter at the Dessert Cafe, 2017. #ilfordfridayfavourites #family FP4...

The first time around... I enjoy photography especially black and white.. I've taken a wide variety of subjects and images over the years including sport, travel, documentary and landscape. I learnt with 35mm film cameras before moving to 645 medium format and then digital. For B&W I learnt to develop and print whilst at school and this has continued ever since with a darkroom constructed in my loft. This was decommissioned in 2007 when I started shooting digital and I eventually took a sabbatical from...

An Interest in Large Format Large format is an immensely rewarding and enjoyable way to make a photograph. It can also feel overwhelming when you’re just starting out, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. This article is for anyone with an interest in large format. I got into 4x5 because I wanted to challenge myself, and to try something new. Over the last two years it has become my favourite way to take a photograph. There’s something special about slowing down and being so deliberate with each...

Crumble We always enjoy finding out the stories behind some of the images that you share with us and we couldn't resist asking David Allen about this image. Technical Info Film Used: Ilford HP5 PLUS Format: 120 (6x7) Camera: Mamiya RB 67 Pro-S Lens: 90mm/3.8 Mamiya Sekor Exposure time: 1/100 Other equipment: Changing bag with an extra 120 spool. Location: Top—Philadelphia, PA | Bottom—Bradley Beach, NJ Firstly, tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to s...

Violin Technical info Film Used:  ILFORD HP5 plus 400  Format 120 (6*6) Camera Hasselblad 503CW  Lens: Planar 80mm f/2,8 CF lens and Makro Planar T* CF 120mm f/4  Exposure time Double exposure (f/5,6 1/30s) Location: Petrozavodsk (Russia) Tell us the story behind Violin. What inspired you to shoot it? I have been working with the Karelian State Philharmonic for many years. The Philharmonic invites world famous musicians for concerts and festivals, and I shoot portraits of those musicians fo...

We're all continually striving to improve and to take that one perfect shot. For this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites we asked you to choose your #favouriteshot from those that you have taken over the last 12 months. @carusb It’s pretty hard to choose my #ilfordphoto #favouriteshot for my first #fridayfavourites but I think it has to be Loch Etive in the rain (yet to see it in good light!)...   ©Michael Leupold - WAWEL - CRACOW - POLAND -Camera & Lens - Canon AE-1 program, FD 50...

Making the Most of Life Around Me I don’t really remember a period of my life when I wasn’t making photographs. My mother got me my first point and shoot camera when I was about five. It was an ‘Action Man Spy Camera’ that took small 110 roll film. I loved the idea of blending in with a camera, trying to document what was going on around me without actually disturbing anything. I still love that. Isaac Lismore Australia When I was a teenager, I developed a great appreciation of skateboarding...

We recently had the pleasure of turning the tables on one of the stalwarts of the film photography community when we asked Em if he'd be the first of our interviews in the 'Lockdown Sessions'.  We're so glad that he agreed. What made you set up Emulsive.org and what were your initial plans for it? My-first-roll...-Of-35mm-film-Fuji-Superia-X-TRA-400-by-EMULSIVE EMULSIVE started as an idea in early 2015. I thought I should put up a blog where I could post a few photos and blog about stuff that I'd lea...

For the second of our Lockdown Session interviews we cornered another well known face in the film community, Hamish Gill. (We're just glad he could fit us into his hectic schedule)! Section 1 - The Beginning Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? Image by Hamish Gill shot on HP5+ That’s a tricky question. The above image is the one that immediately came to mind. I don’t darkroom print myself, but I did print at a workshop at AG Photographic a few ...

Image Title: Weathering the Shallows Technical Info: Film: ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC Paper Format: 5x7 paper, trimmed to fit a standard 5x7 film holder Camera: Deardorff V5 5x7 field camera Lens: Fujinon W S 210mm f5.6 Exposure: ISO 6, f22, 15 seconds Filter: Polarizer Movements: Full front fall Location: McCraney Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada   TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SHOOT IT? Each August a few friends and I canoe-camp in ...

We've been following Dan Rubin's photography for a while now so were really pleased when he agreed to take part in our Lockdown Sessions. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU?   Shinagawa Station, Tokyo, 2016. Ilford HP5+ @ 400, Leica M6, Summicron-M 50/2 (Scanned by Canadian Film Lab) This was my first full day in Tokyo, on my first visit to Japan in 2016. The memory of wandering through the station during rush hour...

Early Experiements Many, many years ago I experimented with uprating HP5, I was a student and it fitted the look I was after at the time. In those days, information was difficult to find and I relied on advice from friends. As a student, the mysteries of film and processing were fascinating and strange. I tried all sorts of things, but didn’t know what was really going on. I knew that uprating meant setting a higher speed (ASA in those days) on your light meter and then giving it a longer development tim...

Introduction I often see echoed this absurd idea that somehow film photography is more “pure.” Anyone who has ever been a part of a film photography Facebook group has surely come across a post along the lines of “how much editing in post do you think is OK with film?” And, without fail, there will be at least one response from the analog bourgeois which goes something like “if you’re going to edit *that* much, you might as well shoot digital. Why are you even shooting film?!” Sadly, we of...

Shooting Infrared film Infrared photography has always been a unique and niche art form, allowing a photographer to capture images seemingly from another dimension. I say niche because capturing that "perfect" image requires a different approach to pre-visualizing your scene, an understanding of the limitations of infrared and the ability to adjust your settings effectively for changing conditions.  For these reasons many photographers are reluctant to give IR film a try. This article will not only demo...

Is it really 10 weeks since we started this series? It feels so much shorter than that.  If you have an Instagram account we are sure that you will recognise our 10th interviewee Jahan Saber, if not by his name then by his tag @doyoudevelop.  Jahan was nominated to take part by Dan Rubin in week 6 and we're so glad that was happy to get involved. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? There are so many, so here’s a recent ...

I don't think it will be long before we need to change the title of this series! We really hope that you are enjoying finding out more about some of the members of our community. This week, for our 11th interview, we have Simon King. He is probably best know for is street photography and teaches short course on it at UAL. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? I really find it difficult choosing favourites, so I have to give a bi...

Although we love setting you themes each week for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites we also really enjoy giving you the freedom to share whatever images you have shot on our film with a theme free week now and then. @MrRobertTimothyHere's my #Ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites trio - behind the scenes. From an editorial shoot with Charlie, the bloke from the Guess jeans ads. I go through the negs and we mark (on the sleeve) which to scan. Then clean up, crop and final tweaks. #ilforddelta400   kunis...

In our 14th and possibly final Lockdown Session (before we move to a new format), we are bringing you Kit Young who was nominated by Ashley Carr back in week 9. We've followed Kit for a while on Instagram. He's a fantastic darkroom printer and is always happy to share how get gets to the finished prints from his negatives. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? There are a lot, so I’ll pick this relatively recent print o...

We have loved finding out more about photographers in our community over the last 3 months in our Lockdown Sessions and hope that you have too. As we move towards less restrictions here in the UK, we felt it was also time for a new focus (sorry).  So we are launching the new series 'In Focus' this week by interviewing professional portrait photographer Craig Fleming. Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I love this shot that I took it...

Music. bonding and booze Clitheroe is a small market town in Lancashire, famous for its witches, good food and drink. And, (maybe) having the smallest Norman keep in England. Each September, it hosts the Ribble Valley Scooter Rally - a gathering with music, vintage clothing stalls, and a ‘ride-in’ of several hundred scooter enthusiasts. Previously known as the Ribble Valley Mod-Weekender, the event is a melting pot of different sub-cultures; Mods, Skinheads, Scooterboys, and every other conceivable spl...

We taking a closer look at Brett Hillyard this week who was nominated by Robbie Jeffers in our Lockdown Sessions back in week 12. BACKGROUND Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? One of my favorite images over the last couple weeks is from a portrait session I had with Jeff Yokoyama. He goes by“Yoki” and his retail store “YokiShop” is located in Newport Beach. His shop is filled with eclectic art and cool custom clothes that he designs in the bac...

There has been a great response and lots of fantastic images shared with us for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #shotonsheet theme. d_atk "Signs" shot on ILFORD HP5+ sheet film with a Polaroid 110A camera. The mean sign is not far from my home in Tonawanda, NY. The cool signs were taken in Alexandria, VA.#shotonsheet #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #shootfilmbenice #allthroughalens #sunny16podcast9h @satotheshooter Handmade 4x5 camera / Super-Angulon 65mm f8 / Ilford HP5 Plus #ilfordpho...

A rest day? Sunday the second of June (2019) was supposed to be one of the very few rest days I allow myself to have from photography. I find it very difficult to allow and forgive myself from taking a break from being out shooting, and after a very intensive few days I really did owe it to myself to spend a day indoors resting my eyes and mind. I managed this for the morning but when I discovered that there would be a gathering of Sikhs in Trafalgar Square I knew that this would be a much better use of...

Lina Bessonova is a passionate film photographer and darkroom printer. She shares her love of photography and printing on her popular YouTube channel as well as through workshops and lectures. One of her recent videos shows how easy setting up a darkroom can be in a small space. BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? This image is from my very first roll of 120 film (Delta 100). The other 11 frames are average beginner pictures which make one h...

Made at our factory here in Mobberley, our Kentmere films are often a more economical option than our ILFORD film range and are great for those starting out in film as well as photographers wanting to experiment with different film stocks. You shared a huge variety of shots for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #kentmerefilm theme. @CamShaw74 #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #kentmerefilm Austin Healey Sprite, taken at Event City in Manchester. Kentmere 400 pushed to 800 and developed in ILFORD D...

John Whitmore is a 'sometimes' event and  black and white documentary photographer, a Darkshed owner, darkroom printer, YouTuber and Sunny16 podcaster.  We're really pleased that he took some time out of his busy schedule to become the 24th 'In Focus'  interviewee. Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? In some respects photography could be explained as one massive scientific research project, capturing data to show the state of atoms and ho...

It's week 25 in our In Focus interview series and this time we set our questions to Arkadiy Shlein who was nominated by Lina Bessonova back in August. Arkadiy is a Russian large format photographer and analog printer with a classical style. BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? I’ve got so many favourite photographs that I don’t have a single one hanging at home (yes, couldn’t decide :). This is one of them. I photographed this beech gla...

It's been over 6 months since we launched our first Lockdown Session and in that time we've spoken to many fantastic photographers and darkroom printers. Continuing in that vein, we're thrilled to share this week's In Focus interview with Nashville based, music and portrait photographer Laura E Partain. Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you. This photograph is now about 5 years old and I’ve shot many, many images on Ilford films since. Howeve...

Team photographer in quarantine I started shooting film when I was 14, that's more than half of my life! Since then it’s always the same excitement to finally see prints and scans. Somehow I never seriously dived into analogue indoor sports photography until corona. For the past four years I’ve been the team photographer of the HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and they asked me to join them for the final tournament to finish the first basketball division in Germany. Ten teams, one hotel, quarantine till ...

We haven't been able to travel much lately but everywhere has local landmarks and places of interest. For this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #sightseeing theme we asked you to share your shots of well known landmarks. Even if they are only well known locally to you! @uberpikey Shot on 8x10 HP4 (yes, you read that right) Moudy Hall at Texas Christian University last night. Developed in ascorbic acid, sodium carbonate, and IPA with cloves steeped in it.   @bsanfordjr Regions Field in...

Known for his fantastic images of urban and skate culture. (If you're not following him already then you should be). Rafael González is the 30th interview in our In Focus series. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I have so many photos I really like it’s so difficult to choose one specific but this one is one of my favourites I must say, I shot it during a skate session with my friends, nothing planned just cruising around th...

We're heading back to October last year when Arkadiy Shlein nominated Oleg Kasko to take part in this series after following his Instagram feed. Oleg is a photographer and passionate darkroom printer and advocate from the Ukraine. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I like this one because when you look at the photo you see a boat surrounded by white like milk, water. Although in fact it was taken at night. I decided I would leav...

Nashville born Joseph Patrick or Photojojo was nominated by Laura E Partain back in October of 2020. Known for his creative shot choices and great use of light, we're excited to find out more about him. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? This is one of my favorite shots. Here it was a combination of a few things coming together perfectly to create an image that perfectly aligned with my vision. The model is a friend I met the ye...

This week's #carsonfilm has to be one of the most popular #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites themes that we've had. I'm obviously not the only one with a love of shooting cars! It's taken a long while this morning to choose just 5 from the huge number of images that you have shared with us, and we've enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you poloczanski_mikolaj Zakynthos #hasselbladxpan #xpan  #ilfordphoto #ilfordxp2 #bnw #bnwphotography # #24x65 #filmnotdead #enjoyfilm #shootfilm #myfavouritefilm #fridayfavou...

Number 37 in this series, which started a year ago as the Lockdown Sessions, sees us finding out more about Michael Watson. Nominated by Ryan Loco, Michael is a photographer based out of Des Moines who primarily shoots musicians and pro wrestlers. Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? Favorite is tough, I’ve shot most of the important moments or biggest opportunities of my life on HP5 for over 10 years. There are portraits of my parents that are really ...

In this blog article, Kit Young provides insight into his latest book, Where the Rain Clouds Gather (OD Books) , which was made entirely from scanning hand-made silver gelatin prints. The Concept At times the past year has raced past in a haze. Streets have emptied and we have retreated to our cocoons. Cooped up. Waiting for the storm raging outside to subside. The images in Where the Rain Clouds Gather, my second publication, appear as if from a dream state. Moments in time, brought to life in the dark...

'The way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light' or #filmbokeh was the theme for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites.  @BlkWhiteFilmPix Moved around to capture a bit of #filmbokeh at Shakespeare and Company in Paris on #ilfordphoto Delta 3200. Made the picture with a 35mm lens wide open at f1.4 #fridayfavourites     @AnonymousESQFL Replying to @ILFORDPhoto Shot on #ilfordphoto HP5+ using my Nikon FE and Nikkor 50mm f/2 K. #filmbokeh #fridayfavourites   ...

We've admired Tom Kirkendall's beautiful pinhole images and darkroom prints for a while and were thrilled when he agreed to take part in this series and allow us to find out a little more about him in this, our 38th In Focus interview. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? My favorite photo??? Now that is a difficult decision. In the words of Ansel Adams “It is the one I have not taken yet” But if I am pressed to make a decisio...

A chance encounter We started to make this work roughly ten years ago, after a chance encounter on a photo sharing platform. This led to a mutual appreciation of each other's work and we found that we both saw the potential of the landscape to resonate with inner experience and make it visible. We were both using a camera called a Holga. An incredibly simple plastic medium format camera known for its low quality lens which produces a very dreamy aesthetic, frequently including lens flares and vignetting...

The first roll It is January 31st, 2020. I’ve arrived in London to document the events surrounding the UK leaving the EU. Many groups were converging on Parliament Square for this historic day. My usual workflow was interrupted when fellow documentary photographer Simon King called me aside and handed me a Nikon FG, 55mm f/3.5, and a roll of Kentmere 400. This was the first roll of film I’d exposed in my life. Unaccustomed to the mechanical redundancies and psychological immediacy that film offers, ...

My better half When my friend, who knows little about cameras, presented me with the 35mm Olympus Pen FT, it was a total surprise. Quite literally as a gift, but moreover, the camera’s function was what was most surprising. When I picked up the Pen FT for the first time, I observed how light the compact camera was. I immediately put my eye to the viewfinder and was confused. I silently thought to myself, “This is so weird…” I had never encountered a viewfinder that wasn’t horizontal. I had to lea...

SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? I have many beautiful prints from an Ilford negative. One Ilford film that always interests me is the Ortho 80. Being less sensitive in the reds it renders reds as dark or sometimes black giving interesting results. This is a print of a light switch in my home. The light was casting an interesting shadow across the wall. The black area is a shadow from a picture frame. It’s so simple but I jus...

This week's interviewee, Wesley Verhoeve has been on our radar for a while so we were thrilled when he was nominated to take part in this series making him our 44th interview. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? It’s so hard to pick a favorite image but I will let recency prevail and select a recent top favourite image that made it into my photo book “Notice”. I photographed a giant leaf in a suburban backyard in beautifu...

A well know part of the film photography community, especially on Twitter where she goes by @justgispy  We were thrilled when Margaret Fitzgerald agreed to be the subject of this week's In Focus interview. Section 1 Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I can't really say that any one photo I've taken over the years is my favourite, but this one is very memorable. Rolleiflex-TLR,-Ilford-HP5--Church-of-St.-Philibert,-Tournus,-Burgundy I...

There are so many of Ari's images that we have admired over the past 12 months so asking him to take part in this series was an easy decision. We're just glad that he said yes! Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? As we age, time becomes more and more valuable. Every new second is a bigger portion of our future life than the one before. Time is the only thing we cannot buy more of, but we can freeze it with photography. A photog...

A regular contributor to the film and analogue community and always helpful and encouraging to other photographers out there. This week's In Focus interview is with "photographer” Morag Perkins who, "just takes pictures". Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I’ve chosen this one because it’s represents a process that has been very special to me recently. Over the last 2 or 3 years I’ve found a way to use photography to ...

A regular contributor to conversations on film and analogue photography and always happy to share her knowledge and support other photographers. This week's In Focus interview is with Paula Smith. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? One of my favourite images. This was taken in New Zealand on a crisp sunny winter’s day. The light was beautiful and I loved how it picked up the chicken wire on the jetty. It brings back great memo...

Allysse Riordan is our 58th In Focus interview. An image maker, writer, sound artist, and microadventurer (not necessarily in that order). Allysse's work takes us on a journey in a particular space and time, noticing the small details of life, meeting strangers, exploring new landscapes, and delving into their inner world Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? It is difficult to choose one favourite image. They shift and change as ...

My Graflex RB series B is an inspiring and challenging camera. It promises great results but doesn't give them easily. Graflex RB Series B A lesser-known Graflex Graflex is an American camera manufacturer well known for its 4x5” press cameras, such as the Graflex Speed Graphic. Those are large-format range-finder cameras that were popular in the 40s and 50s. This Graflex, on the other hand, is an earlier single-lens reflex camera and one from which Victor Hasselblad drew his inspiration. My Graflex ...

Spring is here, and summer is around the corner. What better time to share your #countrysideonfilm for this weeks #fridayfavourites. @j_harvell During a stormy day in the #highdesert @ILFORDPhoto #ilforddelta 100 taken with a Horseman 45FA. #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #countrysideonfilm #stormyday   @simon_diamond So the theme for #fridayfavourites is #countrysideonfilm... I might have some more of those!? Pentax ME Super Takumar 40mm F2.8 @ILFORDPhoto Ortho 80 #believeinfilm   ...

Always watchful As a woman, out and about taking photographs on my own, I try to take care not to put myself at any unnecessary risk. I’m always watchful of anyone taking the wrong kind of interest in me or my gear. I shouldn’t have to worry about things like that but sadly, that’s how life is. When I go out, I don’t have any expectations of what I’m going to shoot that day because I never know what, or who, will turn up. Blending In Through my passion for street photography, I am very inter...

Small Fishing Village My Name is Austen Goldsmith I live on top of a hill on the outskirts of a small fishing Village in Cornwall. When a big storm approaches it means many things. It means I will have a bad nights sleep listening to the sound of the roof tiles rattling above my head. It also means that I will have a day off from my work as a fisherman. Most importantly it means I can pack a few rolls of film into my rucksack, figure out when the light will be best and what beach will have the best opportu...

Monika Danos is our 60th In Focus interview. When not taking care of daily life, her love for trees and gardens means that she can be found chasing shadows with her pinhole camera, or printing in the darkroom. Patterns and lines that are created by light and shadow influence her style of work. Photography and the cyanotype prints gives Monika the opportunity to share what she see's in nature and in her daily life. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us wh...

When I told my friend that I was going to write a piece explaining why I chose to shoot the Pride event in Salem, Massachusetts in black and white, she just laughed and told me to get on my soapbox. I'm not sure what a soap box is but if it helps me explain why I think that black and white film is incredibly important as a medium and not “old fashioned” as some think, then I'm on it. Bring me a soapbox! How it Started This started when I posted a photo on Instagram of a couple sharing a kiss at the ...

Introducing our 61st In Focus interview with Torz Dallison. Torz started shooting when she was a teenager, but it wasn't until she started developing and printing that she became hooked. Through her work, Torz explores life's traditions and connections which reflects on her own personal stories and events. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? The Robin - 2019 This is the central image to my project The Robin. I began the proje...

We speak to Jim Mortram, who is this week's In Focus interview. Jim is an award-winning Social Documentary Photographer and the creator of these photo stories: Small Town Inertia. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? This portrait with Carl, as always for me, was made with HP5 Plus pushed to 800. When I first met Carl & began collaborating with him on sharing his story he was in a bad place. We would talk often but it was mayb...

Our theme was #leavesonfilm - For this week as long as there is a leaf or leaves in the image you were good to go! I adore how each and every one of you captured leaves in your own unique way. @PhlStrchn Replying to @ILFORDPhoto Leafy track, Perth. Ilford FP4+ 35mm, Yellow Filter, Canon EOS1000. #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #leavesonfilm   @filmfarkus Shot with a Rolleiflex 3.5f on Ilford Delta 100. One submission for fridayfavourites. #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #leavesonfilm  ...

Our 63rd In Focus interview is with our ILFORD Master printer, Andrew Sanderson. Andrew has been a professional photographer for over 35 years, and has established an international reputation as both practitioner and teacher of the photographic medium. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? Walk,walk,walk. HP5, Nikon F3. My favourite picture changes quite often. Usually it is the last print I made where everything came together ...

Last week's theme for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites was extra tough, so we decided to scrap that theme and move on to #Forbiddenfilm for this week. We wanted to see those sneaky shots you took when you shouldn't have your camera! @PhlStrchn Replying to @ILFORDPhoto I wanted a shot framing an artist, painting and subject. A bit later I asked/gestured if it would be ok and was told it was all "Prywatny - Private". Near Most Tumski - Tumski Bridge, Wrocław. Ilford XP2 Super 120mm, Zeiss Ikon Nettar #ilf...

Some of the reasons that make me want to come back every year Barcelona has undoubtedly become one of my favorite destinations to visit during spring. Its perfect Mediterranean weather, the skate sessions with my friends at some of the best skate spots in the world, the long walks around the city photographing its streets and architecture, the launches of new exhibitions in different galleries, its gastronomy, and of course, the concerts and festivals that take place during that time, such as the Primavera...

The year 2000 The first time I photographed skateboarding was in the year 2000, following around a boy I liked with a disposable camera. My equipment and film stocks have gotten better over the last two decades, and my girlhood crush has been replaced by a deep passion for capturing the unique poses of skateboarders and their culture and community. Dancer suspended in space I don’t know the names of most of the tricks the skaters I photograph are attempting. I’m half-listening when someone tries to...

Perhaps best known for his role in the Netflix show The last Kingdom, we talked to James Northcote about his film photography for our 64th In Focus interview this week. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? This is a shot I took during the final season of the Last Kingdom. After Season 2 I started tying a point and shoot on the inside of my costume so that I’d always have a camera with me wherever I was. It didn’t matter if I w...

Shooting 35mm film Sprockets with Kentmere 400 and a medium format TLR Including sprockets in scans is nothing new but has increased in popularity recently. While the inclusion of sprockets showing the film name looks great, as the photographic emulsion covers the full 35mm width of the film in your cassette, it is actually possible to expose your image beyond the standard 24x36mm frame and cover the entire sprocket area with your image. I thought I’d give this a try with my TLR, so read on below to f...

Our 65th In Focus interview is with film photographer and laboratorist Amanda Monasterio, who used multiple exposures in their work to represent feelings and temporality. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? My favorite image ever photographed with ILFORD is definitely this one and it's from my project called "Asterismos" (Asterisms). This project draw parallels between the imaginary of being and inhabiting a body. My ancestors, t...

Our 66th In Focus interview is with Danish photographer Lea Elm who is a writer living in England. Find out why analogue and instant camera's became an epiphany within Lea's work. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? World - Museum -Liverpool - 2019 - HP5+ It was hard to pick just one but I decided on this one taken in 2019 on my first, and so far only, trip to Liverpool. Rachel Brewster-Wright (of @LittleVintagePhotography)...

For our 68th In Focus interview, we speak to landscape photographer Bill Brooks. Bill enjoys photographing the landscape. He is particularly interested in how it has been affected by those who have gone before us and how it impacts the lives of those who occupy it today. His work is influenced by painters and writers as well as other photographers. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? A recent favourite is Sullington Yew, from my ...

'The Uphill Battle', by photographer Joe Shapiro received a lot of attention when we shared his image over on our Instagram. So we decided to contact him to learn more about his process. Image Title The Uphill Battle Technical info Film Used ILFORD Delta 400 Format Medium Camera Pentax 67ii Lens SMC Pentax 67 1:2.8 90mm Exposure time 1/500 f5.6 (if I remember correctly) Other equipment My hands and eyes Firstly, tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot it? To the ...

Join us while we chat with self-taught photographer Khoi Minh Nguyen, who is our 70th In Focus interviewee. Khoi tries to approach his photography as a still image in a movie and uses this medium to document life. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? Hasselblad 503cxi - ILFORD SFX 200 The image of my mother is my most proudest moment I had made last year. It felt like I was making work that I have been trying to make for a lon...

Postcards From The Past Would you like your pictures to still be looked at, and maybe even revered, in fifty years from now? One likely route to such success is to document our ‘built environment’ - the buildings that surround us all. From Eugène Atget’s time onwards photographs of our town and cityscapes have become objects of fascination and information for later generations. And buildings really do come and go remarkably quickly - even great ones - and in just a few years our photographs of them ...

This week we have seen a wide variety of images for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites, with the theme being themefree. Thank you to everyone who has submitted. Take a look at our top picks:   @PhilBixby. Well, this was one of the favourites of my pics at the recent #yorkopenstudios - Everything Leads Back To You shot on #ilfordphoto Delta Pro 400 and Nikon F4 #fridayfavourites.   @hullisbeautiful. Shot last summer with @yaslacerdax on ILFORD HP5 Plus ?️ #pentax645 #pentax67_105mm #ilf...

Our 69th In Focus interview is with poet, former university instructor and high school teacher Lorraine Healy. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I took this image in January 2022. We had been having a lot of fog that was lasting longer than the usual early morning ‘til sunrise. I knew where I wanted to go. This place, Indian Slough, is some 70 minutes away from my house. I could tell when I got there that the sun was beginnin...

Introducing our 15th interviewee and one of Film Finishing's newest team members, Paul Cliff. Who are you? What’s your job title at HARMAN technology and how long have you worked here? My name is Paul Cliff and I have been with the company since February 2023. Tell us a little about your day to day role. I work on our 120 roll film spooling machines. I love everything about it. It’s been like taking control of a classic car, learning all its idiosyncrasies and intricacies; it’s an absolute mar...

'Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of volumes brought together in light'. Le Corbusier, 1920 Concrete Photography Brutalism as a style has received bad press. When we first hear the term, we all feel a logical rejection. The handbooks go on to explain that it comes from the French term béton brut, although the inventors of the term undoubtedly played on confusion, leaving an after-taste of je m’en fous, of bloody-mindedness, not giving a damn, in short. As a movement, as an a...

We love grain and after seeing the images that you shared with us for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #ilikegrain theme, we can see that you do too. @n3gabeatsThat time when I didn’t want the grain in the photo, but when I saw it I really liked it. The photo was taken on HP5 #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #ilikegrain @thewhitedarkroom Repost as a contribution for @ilfordphoto's #fridayfavourites #ilikegrain. And well, I do! And who does not? ? Printed on 13x18 #ilfordphoto Multigrade...

The Love Affair I didn’t even really like racing when we planned our trip to the Monaco Grand Prix. Not racing, not Formula 1, not any of it. But I did have a very long ongoing love affair with the south of France and any opportunity to spend time along the Mediterranean was a go for me. Something Was Unlocked As my husband Mark and I were planning this trip to celebrate a milestone birthday, something happened to me in the lead-up; something was unlocked. It’s Mark who has the life-long love of ...

We caught up with the incredible Jane Meling to unveil the secrets behind her breathtaking panoramic landscape masterpiece! Join us as we unravel the secrets in our exclusive 'How I Got this Picture' series. Image Title River Of Light TECHNICAL INFO Film Used ILFORD FP4 Plus Format 120/617 Camera Linhof Technorama 617s III Lens Schneider 250mm Tele-Xenar Exposure time 1 second Other equipment Gitzo Explorer Tripod, Lee 100 red filter Location Ober Goms, Geschinen, Valais, Switzerland F...

Is a Photograph a Photograph if it Was Not Made with a Camera, Lens, or Negative? The ethereal color palette and expressionistic qualities of the work I have been making with ILFORD's photographic paper seemingly resemble the representations of light and color as seen in many landscape paintings (think J.M.W. Turner, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole); however, the work in my on-going project, I Thought You Left / I Wish You Were Here, are lumen prints—a form of camera-less photography where objects or a neg...

Film: ILFORD Delta 100 - Camera: Minolta X-370s - Cemitério dos Prazeres, Lisbon. Hatching The story of my involvement with film photography is also a story of rebirth. I was first born and raised in Brazil, in an arid and hot region known by the motto “land of light”, but I was then born again under my current name, Laura, just a few months before moving to Lisbon, Portugal. As any transgender person should know, having your new identity accepted by previous family members, acquaintances, can be an...

Perhaps best known for working at The Darkroom Lab, this week we talked to Trev Lee about his film photography. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? ILFORD FP4+ One of my all time favorite shots on ILFORD film was captured on FP4 Plus 125 with a Nikon FM3A and Ultron 40mm. It is a shot I have taken before on HP5+ a couple months prior - I love the texture of the tree which is framed by the squiggly lines of a a bicycle rack bu...

“You learned the Mr. Miyagi way” Hi, Carlos here, my story with film photography started in the mid 90’s. I learned from one of my neighbours, a former engineer that dropped his career to become a professional fashion photographer He had a nice studio, he was very technical and made me learn all the technicalities before I could even take photos. It was not much fun at first as I was a teenager eager to get out and just shoot photos. Well, my first assignment was to read The Zen in the Art of Archery...

You may already be familiar with his work from his regular contributions to popular photography websites like 35mmc and Casual Photophile. We're excited to introduce our 79th In Focus interviewee, Sroyon Mukherjee. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? My favourite images tend to be of friends and family, but I’ll share an image that I like for its own sake (as opposed to purely personal or sentimental reasons). I...

The struggle for life Black-and-white photography captures so much emotion, and nothing is more emotive than the struggle for life.  This insight led to the project GRAPPLERS ON FILM, where I use a number of vintage film cameras to capture the struggles of ordinary people training in the grappling arts of Judo, Wrestling and Jiu Jitsu. Zenza Bronica - ILFORD XP2 Submission For those not involved in the grappling forms of martial arts, the goal is to get a hold of your opponent and then force them to...

So, from the official ILFORD Photo website: It’s wide exposure latitude makes it a great choice for beginners, those returning to film as well as the more experienced professional users. With wide exposure latitude, ILFORD says that you can meter HP5+ from 400 to 3200 ISO1. Great, it's like you have it all in one roll, which is exactly why I love this thing so much. It can handle sunny days and midnight shots, of course, depending on which ISO you tell your camera (or hand-held light meter) you have th...

The best thing about our theme free Friday favourites weeks are that we get to see so many different genres of film photography all made with our products. This week was no exception. Check out our favorite images below! @PanamStyle PanF+ #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites @Jeandron Basking in the sun, outside of the historic Stockport Market Hall. (Intrepid 4x5 mk3, Fujinon 90mm 5.6, f45 1/15 sec, Ilford HP5+, red filter) #filmphotography #largeformat #film #Analog #blackandwhite #ilfordphoto #monochro...

Back in August 2000 Last time I have attended a night concert was back in August 2000, Bon Jovi playing at the old Wembley Arena. Great times, really great; but as with all good times, that concert was the last one for me. Life got in the way, and what with this and that, I stopped going to such events. Still have the stub from the BJ's gig, though. With Some Reluctance But life has a funny sense of going round in circles and so I got to experience again the thrills of a night concert. My daughter (1...

In our latest 'How I Got This Picture' interview with Ross McDaniel, find out what led him to try something different to capture Arches National Park. Image Title Monolith TECHNICAL INFO FILM USED Kentmere Pan 400 FORMAT 35mm CAMERA Nikon F5 LENS Laowa 15mm F4 EXPOSURE TIME 30 minutes at f/4 Other Equipment Tripod, Remote shutter release LOCATION Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah, United States, Earth FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SHOOT IT? ...

Say Hello Few people feel comfortable striking up a conversation with a person they haven’t previously met. I refrain from using the word “stranger” because the way I see it, we’re all fellow humans, potential acquaintances, possible friends. And who says they’re any stranger than I am? After all, I’m the one going up to people I meet in public asking to make their portrait. A camera in hand really is a magical device that allows us to meet almost anyone, anywhere. To approach them. Say hello. ...

Discover how Zach Nichols created this stunning long exposure shot in our 'How I Got This Picture' interview. We have noticed, if it's not a double exposure, your next favourite has to be nighttime long exposures. IMAGE TITLE Fire Tower Starlapse TECHNICAL INFO FILM USED ILFORD HP5+ FORMAT 4x5 CAMERA Chamonix LENS Nikon 90mm f/4.5 Nikkor-SW EXPOSURE TIME 45 – 50 minutes OTHER EQUIPMENT 1 Can of Atmosphere LOCATION Just outside Hot Springs, South Dakota. FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY...

La Santísima Tragedia Fanesca: A Celebration of Cultural Syncretism Through Fashion and Photography. Fanesca: Una celebración del sincretismo cultural a través de la moda y la fotografía. Latin American Society Fanesca is an evocative body of work created by London-based photographer Lucho Dávila, exploring cultural syncretism and the evolution of identity in contemporary Latin America. Through this ongoing autoethnographic project, Dávila reflects on his Spanish and Ecuadorian heritage, cap...

We're thrilled to announce that 'Natural World' the ILFORD Photo 2025/26 student photographic competition is now open for entries. Natural World -  The brief The Natural World includes all living and non-living things that exist in nature, not made or caused by humans. Plants, animals, humans, soil, water to name just a few. From global warming and over consumption to pollution and preservation, capture the story of our planet through your lens. Show us the Natural World as you see it. Our planet has...

Best known as grainydays on YouTube, our next In Focus interview features Jason Kummerfeldt, who has been shooting film for seven years and shares his journey through photography, from the bad to the good. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? This image is one of my all time favorites and one of my own few pieces I have hanging up in my cramped no-wall-space apartment: I shot it on my Mamiya 7 on ILFORD XP2 if I remember co...

Our next In Focus interview features Justin Lockey. As well as being  the lead guitarist of the indie rock band Editors, Justin is also a photographer, writer, director and producer. When he’s not doing any one of those things he’s asleep, or messing around with cameras, or reading about lenses and optical formulas. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? I took this in Venice last year, I was playing around with a rolleiflex ...

The excitement is electric It's a typical Wednesday morning in the tattoo shop I work at. I am trying to stay out of the way but with all three tattoo artists at The Black Veil in Salem, Massachusetts needing the printer behind the desk at the same time, and with me being (also) behind the desk, it's hard to all fit. "I'll just wait over here until you guys are done" I say, and I scoot out of the way to a bigger spot where the floor of the shop opens up into the sitting area. We do the same dance every mor...

A Timeless Story This editorial came from a desire to tell a timeless story. Through mood and atmosphere, using the expressive tools of analog photography, I wanted to create a visual world that felt both intimate and slightly surreal.  One where the character and setting merged to suggest a narrative without spelling it out. Working with ILFORD FP4 Plus allowed me to craft this vision with precision and texture, embracing the constraints and beauty of natural light and medium format film. Each Frame M...

The biggest weekend TRNSMT is arguably the biggest weekend of the year for music in Scotland, and yet this was my first time shooting the festival. I was very excited to be shooting it, especially for bands like Fontaines D.C., Confidence Man, VLURE, and Wet Leg. Ordinarily I’ll be shooting individual gigs, photographing one artist, on one stage, over the space of maybe an hour. So while my subject was essentially the same this weekend, it was a very different workflow, with a lot more performances to s...

We're now 10 interviews into this series and its been fantastic to hear about so many community darkrooms and the work that they do. This time we're heading to Turkey to speak to Fotohane Darkroom. Let’s start easy. Tell us A little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started. The project is called Fotohane Darkroom. It’s a mobile and analog photography workshop based in Mardin, in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. We work mainly with Syrian, Iraqi, and Turkish Kurdish child...

A black and white journey into the depths When I leave home for a day of diving, I always feel a mix of excitement and detachment. A moment alone at dawn, when everyone is still asleep, becomes a kind of quiet ritual: methodically packing my gear, performing last checks, loading film and setting off towards a world apart. My photography was born from a simple desire: to share those moments — their quiet magic, and the subtle mix of lightness and oppression that comes with the depths. Swallowed by ...

How it all began “So what’s your next project?”, my friend David asked me over lunch one day in the spring of 2024. Unprepared for the question, my focus still on my second book, Fragments, which had just been published, my answer was quick and nochalant. “I think I’m going to dig out my 4x5 and shoot some street portraits of total strangers”. I surprised even myself with the answer. It was as if I was sitting in his chair and hearing that response for the first time. I can remember the conv...

One year ago I was chosen as a winner of the Ilford Community Grant for my project “ePhemeral”. As a dance photographer this was a gift for me, because it gave me the chance of contacting great dancers of different styles and movement dynamics to work with. For me it also meant a vot of confidence in the value of photographing movement, life, and fleeting moments through the analogue medium. And last but not least, it gave me the chance of exploring a new technique, Film Swap. Keep on reading and disc...

Photographic Paper FAQ's Which paper product is best/suitable for photograms.  All of our ILFORD photographic papers will easily produce photograms, so the choice will depend on which surface finish you prefer and whether or not you want fibre or resin coated. Resin coated paper is lower cost, easy to process and dry flat and would be a good choice for starting out. Does reciprocity affect paper? Paper products are designed for much longer exposure times than film and are less sensitive to reciprocity...

ILFORD PHOTO offer the biggest range of black & white films on the market today. While this is perfect for experienced film photographers who love having a choice, we appreciate that it can be a bit confusing for people new to film photography. If you are looking to try film photography for the first time and are wondering where to start, then you have come to the right place. We should start by pointing out that there is no ‘wrong’ choice when it comes to ILFORD films. They are all fantastic,...

What are film developers? Film developers are a photographic chemical that turns your exposed film into working negatives as part of a processing workflow. (You will also need a stop bath and fixer - for more information on how to process your film or which chemistry to choose read our guides). We offer a broad range of film developers that are designed to exploit the different characteristics of our films. Developers are available in either powder and liquid concentrate form and have a range of charact...

Safety data sheets for ILFORD photochemicals when made up for use These safety data sheets relate to the products after they have been prepared for use in accordance with our recommendations. Because we do not supply these chemical solutions ready for use, we are not obliged to provide these SDSs. However, we do so in order to help users, especially those in schools and colleges, to use the products safely and assess correctly the risks involved. These are European SDSs and are provided in English only.The...

I always loved celluloid pictures. Maybe I was drawn in as a baby, while the 8mm camera whirred (and the handheld light blinded). Maybe it was being so thankful to my big brother for lending me a 35mm rangefinder and showing me how to use it at age 10. Might have been the Minolta-16 he gave me (as a graduation present?). What a sweet little 16 that is, and I’ve still got it. Can you get those cartridges now? I envied his Pentax Spotmatic as I shot 8mm motion pictures on the point and shoot family camera,...

I’m a passionate film photographer. There are plenty of us about and indeed plenty of reasons for choosing film as a medium. Many of these reasons are quoted ad nauseam by any and every film photographer. One of the biggest problems I have with digital photography is that it's given film photographers a soap box to waffle on about how much better film is… Yawn… I’m going to make some assumptions about the audience of this blog, and as such I’m not going to repeat all of the justifications usually ...

What are paper developers? Paper developers allow the latent exposed image to become visible to the naked eye and form part of a processing workflow along with a stop bath and fixer.  Read our guides, for more information on picking the right paper for you or which chemistry to choose  When shopping for photo chemicals always check the application. We produce a range of photo chemicals including stop baths, fixers, toners, wetting agents as well as paper and film developers. Film developers are speci...

All ILFORD Inspires content has a common goal: To inspire people to try traditional analogue black and white photography by showcasing the power and potential of this highly creative medium. New York Silver Stories Working with the talented team at Exploredinary, this series features four short documentaries telling the stories of silver gelatin darkroom printers in New York City. The Bronx Documentary Center - Turning Negatives into Positives Founded by Michael Kamber, the BDC is a non-profit aimed at ...

HARMAN TECHNOLOGY LIMITED – WEBSITE TERMS OF USE IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE These website terms of use are the terms and conditions under which you may use our website ilfordphoto.com (the Website). Please read these terms carefully. As part of the registration process you will be required to confirm that you have read and understood these terms. If you refuse to accept these terms, you should not complete registration to this Website and should immediately cease ...

Please refer to the American MSDS page for those not yet available here 2000RT Machine Paper Developer 2000RT Fixer-Replenisher 2150XL Film Developer  2150XL Fixer Bromophen Developer Part A Bromophen Developer Part B HARMAN Selenium Toner HARMAN Warmtone Paper Developer Hypam Rapid Fixer ID11 Developer Part A ID11 Developer Part B Ilfosol 3 Film Developer Ilfostop Ilfotec DD Film Developer Ilfotec DD-X Film Developer Ilfotec DD Starter Ilfotec HC Develope...

For this weeks #ilfordfridayfavourites we asked you to share your images inspired by #music These images were our favourite picks from those that you shared in our Gallery, and on Twitter/Instagram and Facebook ©Adam Szczubkowski The_Franklys_at_the_Lexington_London_July_2017 Delta 3200 @craig58 Making #music #ilfordfridayfavourites Elton John @paris Maison de la radio  Ilford HP5+ ©Philippe Hamon 1983. Ellen‏ @TheFeelofFilm "Fender Amp" #ilford #delta3200 #ilfordfridayfavourites #m...

An appreciation of Ilford FP4 The greatest pleasures can be taken from the simplest of things. An appreciation of something old that gets passed by while everyone tries to keep up with the crowd or the relentless progression of technology.  For me Ilford’s FP4 is one of those little pleasures. The RAF I was a photographer in the Royal Air Force from 1986 -1995.  At my RAF unit we had little choice of film stock.  It was FP4 and HP5 for black and white. Being stationed at a headquarters unit mean...

Road trip? This Spring three friends and I piled ourselves and a months worth of gear into a 29 foot RV, and hauled it, and 4 snowmobiles into the Chugach mountain range near Valdez, Alaska. During one month we drove roughly 10,000 miles, shot 30 rolls of film, broke 2 snow machines, destroyed a few pairs of skis, and between the four of us broke the world record for hotdogs consumed (unconfirmed). It was challenging at times, but if we’d wanted an easy trip we would never have come this far north...

It is my opinion that some photographers mistakenly regard ILFORD HP5 PLUS and its predecessors to be a somewhat cheaper, lower quality response to Kodak’s Tri-X. I hope to demonstrate in this review that this assumption simply isn’t the case. There’s much more to HP5 PLUS than meets the eye – something that regular shooters of this film will be more than aware of (you folks can leave now, nothing new here). For those of you who haven’t shot this film before, this review will give you my tak...

An experiment in chemical possibilities When I took up a camera after a few years’ hiatus in 1990, I was surprised to discover that I could no longer get a black & white film developed through the nearest camera shop, never mind through the local pharmacy.  If memory serves, I was told it would cost $40 for a single film. Naturally, I returned to processing my own film just I had done when I first took up a camera in the early 1970s. The world had moved on, and colour film was the default medium f...

Our first #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites of 2019, so we should start by wishing all of you a happy new year! Let's hope that 2019 is filled with friends, fun and plenty of film. We didn't set a theme for this week, and after seeing the results I think we'll do this again throughout the year. you shared a huge variety of shots with us. but we finally managed to whittle our favourites down to these five(ish). @donkittle Cinesphere movie theatre in Toronto, Canada #ilforedphoto #fridayfavourites #lfordf...

By this time next week we will already be into February, I'm not sure sure how that happened!  It's been fantastic to see so many of you sharing your images with us on social, so for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites we asked you you to share those that you've #shotthisyear @tmway84 Tires & Oil #FP4party Day 4 Camera: Nikon F5 & 28mm Film: #ilfordphoto #35mm FP4 125iso & #Kodak D76 1+1(10min) #believeinfilm #photography #filmphotography #fridayfavourites #shotthisyear   ...

On April 15th in London, and many other locations around the world, a series of protests and demonstrations took place as an act of rebellion against systems of pollution and excess, which are causing rapid changes in the climate of our planet. I was aware that this rebellion would be taking place having attended a march a few days previous. I was excited to continue shooting in this environment and did not yet realise the scope of their action to unfold, or how rewarding it would end up being photographica...

The Photography Show 14-17 March There's not long to go until this years Photography Show at the NEC in Birmingham and it's going to be a great one. (If we do say so ourselves)! There is going to be a far greater analogue / film presence at the show this year as the organisers have agreed to the inclusion of a dedicated ‘Analogue Spotlight’ area which will include some pods for smaller brands and a spotlight speaker area for those brands to do demos. Come and see us! We will be there on stand B93 ...

In late 2019, we invited the global analogue film photography community to take part in our latest survey. This time we focused specifically on darkroom printing. The survey ran for 1 month and had an incredible 5,439 responses from 87 countries around the world.  A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to offer your insights and share the survey for us. Why darkroom printing? We have seen sustained and continuous growth in film for a number of years. However, darkroom printing has not yet cap...

Selfish process? It can sometimes feel that many steps in my photography process are selfish. Some of these I can take as positive, for example the way I now truly photograph for myself and not to please others. (Aside from client based assignments), as was the case when I was locked into the social media game at the start of my photography experimentation. Other times however it can feel that I’m not doing enough to use my photography somehow to produce some visceral change in the world, despite my curr...

The future of photography The year 2020, it sounds very futuristic to me. So, what does that future look like for photographers? Well, no doubt technology will be getting more advanced than ever and we will see huge leaps in digital development this coming decade as the megapixel war continues. There will likely be be new initiatives and more collaborations with smartphone companies. Will the digital SLR camera start to disappear? Will mirrorless take over? Or will there be a new hybrid on the market...

Balance Like many photographers these days, I balance a busy day job alongside a family life. I try to be good a community member, share my thoughts and experiences and sometimes, perhaps, inspire one or two. In the background I have long held an aspiration to become a successful professional photographer, something i'm still working towards. Like all of us I suspect, finding something to focus on, photographically, can be a challenge when life is so busy. The majority of my casual photography currently...

Inherent bias Photography has long been used strategically as a tool and method of capturing and sharing slices of truth, small morsels of reality, inherently containing the bias of the photographer. By making decisions about what to shoot, how to shoot, what to edit, how to edit, and what to share with the viewer, photographers have historically held a unique position of being able to weaponize the art of photography by crafting and even manipulating truths. In the United States of America specifically, p...

We are back! Following the recent easing of the coronavirus lockdown measures here in the UK we are excited to report that life is starting to return to our Mobberley site with our machines and staff being phased back in to operation. A lot has changed in the world in the 10 weeks since we announced the temporary site closure. The number of people who have been impacted by COVID-19 here in the UK is tragically high making our decision a justified and necessary precaution. We would like to offer our t...

My dream camera I was introduced into photography when I was just a teenager by my uncle Massimo —· AKA zio Max. That’s how I have acquired basic knowledge about film photography, and developed the skills that helped me to start a career as an independent —  and self-taught — filmmaker. Filmmaking and video production became my main occupation, while photography remained a deep passion, which kept coming back from time to time in my professional career. In the last few years I have been too...

We asked you to show us what you can do with the slowest speed film in our DELTA Professional film range for today's s #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #shotondelta100 theme. @jenthompsonart A few shots taken with my Pentax 645 on Ilford Delta 100 film #believeinfilm #filmisnotdead #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites   @henry_balen Eiffel Tower glass wall 2019 #fridayfavourites #ilfordphoto #shotondelta100   @UrbaniteAlaska River in a gorge a few hundred meters from the Monarch Mine ru...

For our first #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites of 2021, we asked you to take a look back over the last year and share your favourites shot on our black and white film using #bestof2020.  I've been looking at these all week as they've come in and still struggled to pick just five today. Thank you to everybody who shared with us. @JeremyCalow Looking back at my year on @ILFORDPhoto  I’d have to say this was one of my favourite images taken way back in July of 2020! #fridayfavourites #ilfordphoto #bestof...

As many of us around the world are still under some type of lock down restrictions we chose this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites theme with that in mind and asked you to share images that you have #shotinside. @DavyBlaker Cappuccino time on @ILFORDPhoto #hp5 #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #shotinside   @steve_jacksun Bubbly Hasselblad 501cm 150mm ilford pan f+ 50 Ilford Perceptol April 2015 #hasselblad #hasselblad501cm #goldmoony #group6x6 #silvervisionfilm #ilfordpanf50 #ilfordphoto #...

Growing pains The downtown skyline of Oakland, CA sky looks different now. Everyday new cranes tower over the city, stacking up floors of new condominiums and office buildings in the blink of an eye. The constant construction sounds echo the town’s growing pains, all the while a movement of artists from the soil work to maintain and preserve the heart, soul, and true voice of this beautiful city. As you travel downtown on 18th st towards Telegraph Ave, you will catch a stunning new photo mural on the sid...

My default Choice Colour photography has been my default choice for a long time. It is how my eyes see the world, it’s what catches my attention, and it’s what brought my back to film photography. My first roll in 2018 was a roll of Lomography 400 shot on a week long holiday in Madrid, Spain. The scans that came back from my local lab had me transfixed. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the vibrancy of the reds and yellows. They popped so brightly against the grey and brown of the city in winter. I w...

365 Days A year is a period of time. It is 365 days. There have been many renditions of the calendar throughout human history, but it wasn't until 1582, when Pope Gregory pointed out a flaw in Julius Caesar's calendar, when we would receive our current amalgamation of determining time, the Gregorian calendar. Pope Gregory pointed out a problem. Julius Caesar’s calendar had drifted a full 10 days off. It wasn’t until the eighteenth century, that the Gregorian calendar was fully accepted throughout Europ...

Another great week for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites with plenty of great #ffheight images to choose from. Thank you to everyone who shared with us on Twitter and Instagram. These are our favourites this week my7views The Crane Houses in Cologne, by Hadi Teherani.(Taken with Olympus OM-1 on Ilford Delta 100.)#fridayfavourites #ffheight @dmbloor Looking (or locking) down. Near Etruria Industrial Museum in Stoke-on-Trent. Canon EOS 5 (that is film not D !) on #ilfordphoto #Delta400 for this week's #f...

Taking Risks Through a series of what felt like small and inconsequential life choices I have found myself recently in positions where the logical course of action involved putting my health and even my life at risk, in service of making photographs. I, like many others I'm sure, want to be a great photographer. To me this means that I look with a respectful eye over my own body of work, and accept it for what it is: (hopefully) the absolute best I can accomplish. A retrospective This is something I r...

During lockdown I rekindled my love of making photograms. It happened naturally after a summer of making cyanotypes. I was also making emulsions out of plants. My garden became a temporary darkroom. With a photogram - you expose your paper to light (sunlight for photograms), with an object on top, and the area underneath the object remains unexposed, so you end up with white paper in that area, like a shadow but in negative. Cyanotype   A lonely weed The local darkroom re-opened for half-day s...

The beauty inside I am not someone that has been stared at and called beautiful by strangers. People do not look at me and see me as who I am. First glances always lead to a double take and a look of disgust, anger and confusion. When people see me, they don’t attempt to change their perspective and see the beauty inside of me. This kind of experience, existing in a world that doesn’t believe that you have the right to do so, shows up in a lot of my work. Most of my life I have been told that the world...

One of the aspects that took me perhaps the longest to understand about black and white film photography - but, which turned out to have the most impact on my visual style – is that exposure is simply not real in any meaningful way. “Correct” exposure is incredibly subjective, especially true for high contrast lighting conditions where either the shadows or highlights can be exposed for in order to achieve a dramatic scene. I think there is a greater expectation for colour film to be a representati...

In our digital age, film photography can appear to be expensive and risky but it has challenged me to learn the process involved in taking a photo that captures my intent and tells a story, creating a real sense of achievement. Over the past year, my confidence in using the medium has grown which is driving me to experiment more. In a world where the media can manipulate colours to affect the audience’s perception, black and white film uses alternative techniques. For example, in colour, red often conn...

It’s after 5 on a Sunday in December and I’m deep into the 11th frame of my camera and cup number 6 of a house blend of coffee. I’ve put off writing this piece for  long enough. I’m grateful to ILFORD for reaching out and as a long time user of HP5 Plus, this is a milestone that I’m excited to share with my children, family and friends. A thirst for life My name is James aka @dirtykics and I’ve toyed with cameras for the better part of my 20’s into my 30’s, until a difficult point in my ...

We were looking forward to seeing your shots for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites #filmdrama theme. Black and white film really lends itself to adding atmosphere to already dramatic shots. grainy_waves Storm Franklin Only one brave guy out and one idiot shooting medium format on the hasselblad . Not another soul to be seen Hasselblad 500 cm . 500 mm , ILFORD HP5 pushed to 1600 Developed in DDX 13 mins   @PlymouthDarkro1 Just enough drama in the sky for a nice balance. Its all Iford...

I have not ever owned a digital still photography camera; therefore, my entire life as a photographer centers on 25 years of loading & unloading film cameras, processing & developing film while embracing a love that taught me how to listen to the harmonious sounds of a darkroom. My volition to stay with film does not have anything to do with being against or disliking digital & everything to do with loving the process of film ever since I was a teenager. At the age of 44, this is a tangible pro...

British Culture Archive If you go to the Refuge in Manchester, you’ll find an exhibition of photographs by the renowned photographer, Tish Murtha, and a selection of my work from East Manchester. This is the latest exhibition from the British Culture Archive, but there’s more than photographs on show. It’s a commentary that began forty years ago when Tish Murtha took photographs in Elswick, Newcastle. It was taken up twenty years later when I took these photographs in East Manchester and the story ca...

My Relationship With Streetball I love street basketball. The competition, the intense arguments and the handshakes at the end where all signs of aggression dissipate. I love the environment in which these scenes take place. From the frayed nets, the cracked asphalt, to the uneven rims, there's something compelling about basketball courts that haven’t seen repair since the day they were laid. But the true beauty of streetball happens on the sidelines between games. Here, in the waiting, is the vibrance: ...

Part 1: We’re Going to Be Friends My story with Ilford SFX began as many stories do: an impulsive act. I saw it while standing in line at my favorite camera store. Small boxes stacked neatly in a bin. Pattern and repetition. White, black, and purple. Great marketing at work. In hyper-cut scenes that would make Edgar Wright jealous, ten boxes of 120 film were in two rows in front of the clerk. He peered across the counter at me. He looked at the two rows of film and raised his eyebrows as if he was get...

Portrayal Of Musicians I’m not sure which came first, my love of photography or my love of music. Growing up in the Boston area, I was fortunate to be immersed in both. Whether it be standing in awe at the beauty of Alfred Steiglitz’s work on display at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts or being immersed in the local music scene, spending time with the likes of Bonnie Raitt or Aerosmith, these two passions seemed to run in parallel for me. As time progressed my photography, and music connections led me...

We thought it would be a great chance to chat with Ben Hawkins & Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker about their book 'Shooting Film'. This book is a beginner-friendly book which introduces curious individuals to the world of analogue photography. A little bit about yourself Liza: My name is Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker, I was born and raised in Moscow, got my Bachelor’s degree in California and have been living and working in NYC for the past 11 years. I’m a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in photography...

We are heading to R&D to speak to Calvin Carey, our 13th Behind the Film interview. Calvin is a Physicist here at HARMAN Technology. Find out more about what his role entails. Who are you? What’s your job title HARMAN technology and how long have you worked here? My name is Calvin Carey, and I work as a Physicist here at HARMAN. I started in 2019. Tell us a little about your day to day role. My day-to-day work is hugely varied, depending on which projects in R&D (research and development) or m...

You all have been incredibly busy printing in the darkroom for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites theme #madeinthedark. @sbills15. Split toned Sepia and Selenium print on ILFORD MG RC paper. #ilfordphoto #fridayfavorites #madeinthedark   @elland_in. Great to get back in the darkroom this week. Kentmere fine lustre paper. #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites. #madeinthedark #believeinfilm   @Shelby2003. Some darkroom prints on Multigrade RC Pearl for #ilford...

Brutal & Beautiful In June of 2022, I set out on a 3500 mile motorcycle trip with my close friend David Wright. We left from Los Angeles, CA with our end destination being Glacier National Park, searching for the space in-between life’s brutal & beautiful exploration of our short time upon this world. I personally have gone through life altering changes these past few years; death, a divorce, more death, the on going pandemic and having to confront life, loss and the overwhelming notion that time...

#printedinthedark was the perfect theme for all our darkroom enthusiasts for this week's #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites. You are all extremely talented and, we can see the passion in your prints. Take a look at a few of our favourites this week: @PlymouthDarkro1. Taken with a Ihagee Duplex on FP4+, then onto you FB Classic. #Fridayfavourites #printedinthedark   @sbills15. Prints from last Sunday's Darkroom session. Printed on ILFORD's MGFB Classic 11x14 paper and toned i...

We are grateful for the amount of incredible #hp5notat400 images you've shared with us for this week's edition of #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites. The task of selecting our favourites was nothing short of a delightful challenge, and we invite you to join us in celebrating the talented individuals whose work has made it this week.   @mattoriousphoto. For awhile there I was always pushing HP5 a stop. :) #hp5notat400 #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites.   @BalkonFrom. My ...

This week's theme for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites is #allonkentmere. Kentmere, with its exceptional quality, is not only an excellent choice for those venturing into film photography for the first time but also a preferred film for seasoned photographers. @hannibal.bass. Pentax MX? Kentmere 400...#pentaxmx #shootpentax #kentmere400 #ilfordfilm #kpan400 #allonkentmere #fridayfavourites #35mmfilm   @uk_filmfanatic. Repost for @ilfordphoto #fridayfavorites. Sleepy Jack Russell. Nikon F100 wi...

Concrete Jungle At the crack of dawn, the sleepless vagrant remains glued to the stone of the pavement. A long road with no intersection, apha indlela ayibuzwa kwabaphambili. As the light creeps into the skyline, all a city dweller sees is blood and grime. With so much dog shit in the streets, beggars are still scrapping for bones to chew. A muffled groan & moaning of a trapped miner, buskers are constantly offbeat & in a permanent state of gloom and cynicism. The nostalgic aroma of the community�...

Oh, crap! What have I done? Let’s see.  I committed to do a solo photography show, with twenty-seven images.  All twenty-seven are 4x5 black and white negatives, so they need to be darkroom printed.  And those will be 20x24 prints.  Yeah, and I need to have them matted and framed.  The icing on the cake?  I have just under three months to do this. Yep, this is going to be an interesting project.  But let’s back up to the beginning. The Event It was April 2023, three years after the pand...

Slowing things back down Although it’s been 28 years since I first stepped into a darkroom, there’s been a significant gap in time since the last time I stepped into one. I grew up at a particular transition time, like the horse to automobile, typewriter to computer, I started my journey into photography just before the digital camera started making its way into the market and pushing film aside. Even though instant gratification has its place, I still kept that romantic notion of one day getting back ...

The lessons I’ve learnt I would like to start this blog by stating that I consider myself a relatively inexperienced photographer. I’ve been taking film photos for around eight years and have only ever done so as a hobby. However, something I have spent many of those eight years doing is experimenting with double exposures. In this blog I’d like to share some of the lessons I’ve learnt in that time. If you have any questions I could talk about double exposure for hours and go into a huge amount o...

Happy Accidents For most people in the film community, double exposures are accidents. Happy accidents, sometimes, for sure, but accidents nonetheless. Of course, some people do film swaps, I've done a few and embraced the chaos of the results, but I never got an image out of a film swap that I truly loved. And yet there's something eminently compelling about double exposures. ILFORD FP4+ Photosynthesis Five years ago I started a project entitled Photosynthesis that used double exposures as a way to ...

Pushing The Limits Hello, my name is Jaylon Cooper, but I go by “Quality Lenz”. I am a photographer from St. Simons Island, located off the coast of Georgia, but based in Atlanta, Ga. I moved to Atlanta to attend college at Georgia State University. I started doing photography in 2019, when I was given a camera by a relative. In 2021, my passion began to fade, so I took a step back to study renaissance painters. Those are the ones I call, “The first photographers”. After seeing the way these artist...

Our next Community Focus interview takes us to Berlin, where we had the opportunity to chat with Queer Analog Darkroom. They've created an inclusive space for individuals who face barriers to accessing knowledge about analog photography due to discrimination and marginalization, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to learn and create. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND LET’S START EASY. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE DARKROOM, WHAT IT’S CALLED AND HOW IT STARTED. Queer Analog Darkroom (QAD) - is a self-organized, ...

Dialogues With Nostalgia My work in photography is deeply connected to light and emotion. Black and white analog photography allows me to explore these elements with a unique sensitivity, where each image results from a constant search to capture the ephemeral and the timeless. I shoot with ILFORD Delta 400 and ILFORD HP5+ films, using cameras such as the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, Nikon F100, and Nikon F6, because their grain and tonal range offer a texture that dialogues with nostalgia, memory, and melancholy, ...

HARMAN technology announces a brand-new, ISO 200, Black and White film in the Kentmere range HARMAN technology Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of analogue photographic films, darkroom papers, and photo chemicals, has today announced the launch Kentmere PAN 200 a brand new, high contrast, black & white film. Kentmere PAN 200 Kentmere PAN 200 is an ISO 200 black & white film, with enhanced contrast, pleasing, well controlled grain and good sharpness making it suitable for most s...

Our next Community Focus interview features Mori Darkroom, a Brussels based darkroom that opened its doors in 2021 after successfully crowdfunding the completion of the space you see today. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND LET’S START EASY. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE DARKROOM, WHAT IT’S CALLED AND HOW IT STARTED. The darkroom is called Mori Darkroom because it’s connected to our lab, Mori Film Lab. We opened the lab and shop in December 2020, and the darkroom followed in September 2021. After a successful cr...

Push it to the limits A brand new film is a wonderful prospect in the current analogue photography marketplace, and I am always eager to discover what a modern emulsion, concocted in this decade, can bring to my documentary photography workflow. When Kentmere 200 was announced, I knew I had to time my first efforts carefully in order to have something more than street snaps and mundanity to show for it, to really push it to the limits of what I demand from the film stocks I have become used to. Versatil...

For the 7th interview in our Community Focus series we're heading to Oslo to chat to  Cyan Darkroom. Let’s start easy. Tell us a little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started. Cyan darkroom is part of Cyan studio that is a co-op community photostudio and workspace. The studio was opened in 1998 and has always had a darkroom attached.  In 2020 we got hold of a separate space where we built a much larger darkroom, hoping that the timing was right to attract enough new users. After a...

Hello Friday, hello #FridayFavourites! It is great to see some new profiles sharing images with us this week alongside our talented regulars:) Take part I know we say this every week but it's worth repeating, taking part is simple:- Share you picture shot on our film or paper Tell us which product you used e.g. #ilfordhp5 or #kpan100 Tag us @ilfordphoto and use #fridayfavourites katnu.film  Coffee promises cosiness, pleasure and relaxation. Funny, considering that caffeine is supposed ...

Interview number 9 in our Community Focus series takes us to Amsterdam in the Netherlands where we chatted with Analog Club Amsterdam. Tell us A little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started. Well as we are situated in Amsterdam the darkroom is known as Analog Club Amsterdam open doka. Doka is a dutch abbreviation for Darkroom. And ACA Doka is a collaboration with MK24 which is an art institute in Amsterdam. MK24 has different analog courses and analog printing is one of the courses. ...

As this year draws to a close, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has used our films, darkroom papers and photochemistry this year and especially to those who have shared their results with us on our @ilfordphoto social accounts and for our #fridayfavourites each week. roghughe• Polina, who is from Russia, was just wandering past Protein Studios with an armful of flowers from Columbia Road Flower Market when I met her in September. She had nothing to do with the London Fashion Week eve...

Let’s start easy. Tell us A little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started. Negative Development  is a community darkroom in Manchester. The project took shape after I began searching for a community space, and when none could be found, the idea became to create one. The first studio was a small unit in Pollard Yard, Ancoats, with two enlargers and a focus on one to one workshops. From there, the darkroom has grown through regular use and our loyal community. We now work from a more c...