Film Photography News — November 2022 Recap 🍁
Lomography’s 30th Birthday and Holiday Camera-Themed Cooking Instructions
6 min read by Dmitri.Published on . Updated on .
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Lomography turns 30. Receding ice reveals 85-year-old abandoned cameras. Fujifilm is running low on film. Plus: Build a Polaroid SX-70 gingerbread house! 😋
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Lomography turns 30.
Lomography, a brand that sold and promoted film photography throughout the ‘00s and ‘10s, when the rest of the world migrated to digital is turning 30 this month.
An avid promoter of all things analogue, Lomography managed to thrive and deliver many iconic film products during the years of the great emulsive decline and the renaissance.
The brand helped many budding photographers find their passion with their cheap, simple-to-use plastic film cameras. Ten years ago I rediscovered analogue photography with their Super Sampler and Diana Mini. Today, I shoot primarily old cameras from the ‘90s and ‘60s; still, Lomography’s new film offerings Lomochrome Purple and Lomochrome Metropolis are my go-to effect emulsions.
To celebrate the round date, Lomography is selling an edition of their Lomo LC-A cameras (wide, 120) and a fancy new pin.
Polaroid SX-70 gingerbread house recipe and build template. 😋
Got plans for the holidays? How about building a fancy film camera-inspired gingerbread house?
Last year, I spent a week building mine with Betty, meanwhile documenting the process diligently. Having sat on the recipe, templates, and detailed instructions for eleven months, I am finally ready to reveal it all for the determined holiday kitcheneers.
The design is more intricate than any gingerbread camera you’ll see online — thanks to the ingenious Polaroid SX-70 shape that laid the basis for this project. Though if you decide to build it, get ready to spend at least three days (ideally, a week) on mixing, baking, and designing. It’s a serious and fun endeavour:
How to Make a Polaroid SX-70 Gingerbread House.
Another Fujifilm film shortage.
Fujifilm is the largest slide film manufacturer in the world and the second-largest colour film manufacturer after Kodak. Yet their relationship with the analogue photography community remains bittersweet.
Known for their recurring discontinuations and the major divestment into the health industry, some photographers question whether the company should have “film” as part of their brand name. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that the company continues to deliver some of the best-known colour films ever created.
The latest, albeit minor, upset the announcement of the expected film shortages as the company grapples with supply chain issues for raw materials. Here’s the meat of it, translated by Google, edited for readability:
Due to the shortage of raw materials, our 35mm colour negative and slide films are expected to be in short supply. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers… We are working on improving the situation as soon as possible and appreciate your understanding.
— Fujifilm (translated and paraphrased).
Receding ice reveals 85-year-old abandoned cameras.
PetaPixel reports on the frozen findings, revealed by the receding ice in Canada’s Yukon territory:
A historic cache of camera equipment abandoned by two notable mountaineers in 1937 has been found on a glacier in Canada’s Yukon territory… Photographer Bradford Washburn and his mountaineering partner Robert Bates were forced to abandon the photo gear so they could escape with their lives… Successfully extracted from the ice was a significant portion of Washburn’s Fairchild F-8 aerial camera. Washburn would go on to pioneer the use of aerial photography to analyze mountains. While his photos had a practical use, the striking black-and-white photos are also considered to be art.
This finding wasn’t an accident. As you might imagine, glaciers are in constant motion that could add up to a sizeable distance after eighty years in transit. Teton Gravity Research assembled a four-men expedition to find the cache, armed with the latest glacial mapping process.
Latest on Analog.Cafe.
Kodak Retina IIIC Foldable Film Camera Review — this is perhaps the best-known foldable 35mm film camera and the best one Kodak has ever produced. But did you know that in addition to its 50mm lens it can mount tele- and wide-angle glass as well?
Kodak Retina Longar (Xenon C) 80mm F/4 Lens Review — telescopic lens for the foldable Retina IIIC cameras. I loved the way it looks but the usability: not so much.
Film Photography Website Shortlist — these are the websites I use daily for fun and research. Highly recommended.
Ilford FP4 Plus Film Review — a classic emulsion with fine grain, impressive dynamic range, and extra-smooth gradients at ISO 125.
Exposure Triangle — a Concept That Needs More Work — an exposure triangle is a tool that’s often used to explain how camera settings affect end results. Yet I feel that it adds little more context than a simple statement: “they’re all related.” The 2.0 version of the exposure triangle I came up with is a lot more concrete and practical. However, the community feedback revealed that it’s also confusing for some. Still, I hope that it can be useful for those who found other explanations insufficient.
New Classic EZ 400 Film Review — a medium-speed black-and-white film with plenty of sharpness, medium contrast and somewhat chunky grain.
Red-Colour Experiments — a new photo essay by Justino Lourenço on the theme of red and its significance in photography.
Canon Canonet QL17 GIII Film Camera Review — the word “rangefinder” may mean Leica for some; but for a practical photographer who doesn’t mind a fixed-lens design in a much more affordable package, this is the rangefinder.
How to Make a Polaroid SX-70 Gingerbread House — a complete guide for making the gingerbread analogue dreams are made of. Comes with a free printable template!
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