Foma Film

5 frames of Fomapan 100 with Dad’s second Ricoh KR10 Super on Jeju – by Simon Davis

When I was 12, I decided I wanted a decent camera. I was born in the past when you had to go to a library to find things out, like how a camera worked. Or ask someone or get a magazine or watch a tv programme. In the library I found a small paperback whose title and author I forget, but it was divided into two parts. The first was about using a camera, the second was about developing and printing black and white. I read the entire thing and thanks to that book, I learned how to use just about any camera plus working in a darkroom. Except I didn’t have either. The August 1984 edition of the monthly magazine What Camera? said that a £50 Praktica MTL3 was what my parents could afford, so for my thirteenth birthday that is what I received.

Declining Reno – 13 Frames Developed in Kompostinol – by Sonny Rosenberg

I think the city council and mayor would probably want to kill me if they read the title of this article. To be clear, Reno Nevada at large is not declining. It’s a thriving small city that continues to attract businesses and people as it spreads its mcmansion infused tentacles into the adjoining valleys. While …

Declining Reno – 13 Frames Developed in Kompostinol – by Sonny Rosenberg Read More

Black and white photo of Hasselblad 500cm on bookshelf

5 Frames with a (possibly broken) Hasselblad 500cm – By Philip Ahlquist

The email from the lab came in two days before my long-planned holiday:

“We are contacting you to let you know that your film has been processed, but unfortunately it has come out blank. We’ve inspected your negatives and it seems that the film was not loaded properly in the camera, or there may be some issues with your camera which may need investigating!” ^

“Issues with your camera which may need investigating” – that is a stressful thought just before you go away for a break when you’re hoping to get some good images with the camera. With no time to take the camera to a technician and wait for an investigation and repair, I didn’t have many options. The only answer, as far as I could see, was to work out the answer myself. Since I’m not a technician, all I could do was load up a roll of black and white film which I could develop at home, and then shoot and develop it to check for problems. In no more than 48 hours.

Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR and Takumar 55mm f1.8 lens

5 frames with the Pentax Spotmatic and developed as Stand development – By Nick Ambrose

One of my more recent projects in the darkroom has been to explore further options on how to process my black and white film. I would in the past just follow the normal method of a 30 second agitation and then 4 inversions of the developing tank every minute. This over the normal timing of somewhere between 8 to 16 seconds depending on film and ISO rating.

Zorki 2C

5 Frames with the Zorki 2C (S) & Retropan 320 Soft – By David Hoult

I have been using film cameras since the late 70’s but became serious when I started my wedding photography company in the late 80’s into the 90’s using 35mm and medium format cameras for weddings and portraits eventually moving onto digital as they became more accessible using the Fuji S2&S3 pro cameras.
After a car accident ended my business I left photography for a number of years eventually returning to it by getting my first mirrorless camera a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji has been my go to cameras ever since.

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