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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...

Hand colouring The idea of adding colour to a monochrome image by hand dates back to the beginning of photography. At this time it was the only way to get a colour photograph. Although colour photography using the three colour process was put forward just short of thirty years after the first photograph by Nicephore Niepce,  it was, in its early years, expensive and difficult to produce a colour image. Hand colouring became a practical way to give the impression of colour and everything from Daguerroty...

29th July 2015 HARMAN technology Ltd, of Mobberley, Cheshire is among the winners in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015.   The Order of Distinction (24 consecutive Golds) award has been received in the prestigious annual scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). As the UK’s family safety charity, RoSPA’s mission to save lives and reduce injuries covers all ages and stages of life. In support of this mission, the RoSPA Awards, which date b...

1st September 2014 HARMAN technology Ltd, of Mobberley, Cheshire is among the winners in the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2014. The Order of Distinction (23 consecutive Golds) award has been received in the prestigious annual scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). As the UK’s family safety charity, RoSPA’s mission to save lives and reduce injuries covers all ages and stages of life. In support of this mission, the RoSPA Awards, which date back 58 y...

19th November 2013 Buy fabulous real silver gelatin black and white framed wall art photographs from the new House of ILFORD on-line store House of ILFORD is a new and exciting addition to the services available from the well-established ILFORD LAB DIRECT photographic process and print service based at the HARMAN factory in Mobberley, England. HARMAN technology Limited is the company behind the famous and iconic ILFORD brand of black and white photographic products. The House of ILFORD is the pl...

Film and single use cameras How long after exposing can I leave my film before processing? For best results, we always advise processing soon after exposure although in practice most films can be left for several months. One exception is ILFORD PANF Plus, we would always advise processing this film as soon as possible and certainly within 3 months of the film being exposed. How do I account for film reciprocity during long exposures? This information can be found in the Film Reciprocity Failure Compensa...

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...

Health & Safety FAQ's Using Photographic Chemicals whilst Pregnant or Breast Feeding This is covered in our health and safety section,  Where can I find you Health and Safety Data Sheets Please visit our health and safety section, where all our MSDS can be found What ventilation do I need in my darkroom?  Smells and fumes from darkroom chemicals and heat from enlargers and lamps are best eliminated by some sort of extract in the room OR by opening the room up between processes. If you ...

Why print? When you can get excellent prints from your black & white negatives by sending them off to commercial processing laboratories, why make your own? For many photographers, making a photographic print is as much a part of the process as shooting the image itself. For a start, it is a creative process that is both enjoyable and fulfilling and, much like the role of a post processing tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom in any digital workflow, (although much more fun) a darkroom provides film...

The first stage of making a darkroom print is to determine the exposure time. If you have already created a contact sheet of your negatives, and they appear correctly exposed, then you should have a rough idea of the necessary exposure (provided you haven’t moved the enlarger head or aperture setting after exposing the contact sheet). Note: If you change the degree of enlargement you will also need to adjust the exposure. Some enlargers have scales printed on their columns to make this easier. Another...

When photographic material is exposed to light it begins to darken. The more light the material receives, the darker it becomes. This opens up a range of possibilities for making fun, creative and artistic images without a camera. Making a picture without a camera couldn’t be easier and is a fun activity to try with children. However, for many, exploring and experimenting with different effects of light on photographic /blog/the-luminogram-process/materials can become an art form by itself. Where to sta...

ILFORD PHOTO technical downloads On this page we have collated all of our technical information in one place. Whether you are looking for technical data sheets, our film processing chart or information relating to contrast control for our MULTIGRADE Papers this is where you will find it. All relevant technical information can also be found at the bottom of each specific product page. Technical Data Sheets Here you will find links to all technical data sheets for our film, paper and chemical products. ...

General health and safety advice This section provides advice to our customers on the safe handling, use and storage of our photochemical solutions, best practice for waste disposal and specific advice to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding a child. If you are looking for information on the chemical safety of HARMAN photochemistry solutions, please refer to the Safety Data Sheets (known as SDS or MSDS) 24 HOUR OHES emergency line for advice on chemical incidents Safe working practices It is essen...

A black border often enhances a print and does not involve any sort of mounting or overlay. Ink or tape borders The easiest way to produce narrow black borders is to rule them with a pen directly onto your finished print: an India-ink pen gives the most solid line, but most permanent (all surface) spirit based markers are much less expensive and will do the job. For slightly wider black borders, narrow, self-adhesive strips are available from graphic arts suppliers. Supplied in dispensers, of various w...

Testing your Safelights Safelights are an essential component in any darkroom set up. We recommend testing them annually, as ageing can change the transmission characteristics of the filters. This can cause visible fogging of the print or, more likely, a subtle but noticeable drop in contrast. When setting up your safelights always read the instructions and don't exceed the recommended bulb wattage. Fitting a brighter bulb or mounting your safelight too close to your developing dishes,  may cause degra...

Split grade printing The version of split grade printing described here is that taught to me by the ILFORD head printers, Mike Walden and Terry Offord, and is the simplest, fastest way to make good darkroom prints from pretty much any negative. (The exception is really underexposed negatives to print these you usually only need high contrast). This is a very powerful technique that can be used routinely with variable contrast (VC) papers, such as ILFORD MULTIGRADE. It makes use of the differing performa...

What is the luminogram process? The Luminogram process is light, directed onto photo paper in the darkroom. About as basic as ‘photography’ can get. It has been with us for a long while. László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) started using it in 1922, while Gottfried Jäger described it as "the result of pure light design; the rudimentary expression of an interaction of light and photosensitive material… a kind of self-representation of light." And yet it has always seemed to sit on the sideline...

1992 - How I met Masterji Soon after leaving my staff photographer’s position on the local newspaper where I’d been employed for the previous 5 years and with the luxury of in-house film processing no longer a convenient option I began using my local city centre professional colour lab, in Coventry. During the accumulating hours I spent in that lab waiting for my 35mm films to process, watching small colour prints dropping from the conveyor belt from the end of the machine, I very watched a short In...

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,...

How I work I believe in self-learning, and I’m always up for something new to explore. I adhere to a strict code of conduct and don’t believe in photoshop, or do much if any post processing. It has to be an exceptional day for me to crop an image. I use Ilford’s Delta 400 for most of my work and use XP2 Super when I need my results fast. Changing times I was born in 1988, which meant that I got a first class ticket to experience the world converting from analogue to digital during m...

ILFORD PHOTO offer an extensive range of black & white photographic paper. A photographer's choice of paper is a subjective decision based on personal tastes and preferences. It can also be impacted by the type of images you shoot and the final look you want to achieve. Papers all have different characteristics and purposes and so this guide will walk you through the terminology and choices available to help you pick the perfect paper for your darkroom printing. Base: Resin coated versus Fibre base...

One of the best things about film photography is that the creative process doesn't end in the camera. Processing your images in a darkroom is not only great fun, but it also allows you to exercise complete creative control over the final look of your image. We cover some of the essentials needed to set up a darkroom in our beginner's guide and have also developed a series of short animations which cover essential darkroom equipment, darkroom safety tips as well as how an enlarger works. Below, we cov...

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 ...

Technical downloads relating to the ILFORD PHOTO film photography product range. All tested processing times for our range of ILFORD and Kentmere black and white films alongside our ILFORD liquid and powder processing chemicals. Film Processing Chart Film developing and darkroom printing both require that the negatives or prints be adequately washed to ensure longevity of the images. This short documents covers some methods for reducing the amount of wash water used whilst ensuring that your negative...

The last six years I picked up my first camera about six years ago, and I haven't looked back since. Well, not on my choice of beginning Photography, but I have looked back on my choice of cameras. Over the past six years, I've achieved quite a bit, and I've enjoyed every moment of it - from my first exhibition to running my own photography gallery. However, I'd always felt that there was something that I was missing out on. Photography, for me, is an art form that allows you to be creative and passion...

My first time in Afghanistan For the last couple of years, I have been travelling and exploring the people and culture of the Middle East and Central Asia. Visiting these countries is always inspiring and fascinating to me. In 2016, I visited Afghanistan for the first time. At this time I switched from photographing both digital and analog to one hundred percent analog. The reason is simple. I love the handling, the manual process of film photography. It feels real and timeless. It is also practical, t...

On Reading — stealing from the best Nearly all of my photographs organize themselves into loosely defined, open-ended projects that are never finished but often stop at an interesting place for a portfolio, show, or hand-made book. People often ask; “Where do you get ideas for your projects?” British photographer and educator, David Hurn says; “Our advice to photographers is best expressed by Calvin Trilling: ‘The immature artist borrows; the mature artist steals.’ So steal from the best....

Mobberley, UK: 29th November 2017 HARMAN TECHNOLOGY APPOINTS NEW USA DISTRIBUTOR FOR ILFORD & KENTMERE RANGES HARMAN technology Ltd, the manufacturer of ILFORD photographic film, darkroom paper and chemicals, is delighted to announce the appointment of Roberts Distributors, LP as the new distributor of its products for the United States of America. The appointment marks the expansion of Roberts, a leading photographic retail and e-commerce company based in Indianapolis, into the photo distribut...

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...

Thank you What a fantastic year! We've seen film usage increase again, with more people than ever either picking up a film camera for the first time, or re-discovering their love for shooting film. We're really excited to see what next year brings. A huge thank you to everyone who shares #ilfordfilm images with us on our social media streams. We love seeing what you are shooting with our films and chatting to you on Twitter / Facebook and Instagram. We have lots of exciting plans for 2018, including ...

Project Statement Since the 1950s, over half of traditional orchards in England have disappeared. This is due to development, conversion of land to other uses, and intensive farming. The Orchard Project is dedicated solely to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards. Working in collaboration with the national charity, I visited sites under restoration. I created pinhole cameras out of apples at each location. Utilising these site-specific cameras, the work captures team members, v...

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...

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...

I am a wedding and portrait photographer. The following portrait is of Roshni, a jewelry designer. Her designs are handcrafted and have a vintage feel to them. So, when the opportunity came to shoot her I wanted to create something classic and real. One look at her and I was convinced about black and white being the choice of film. Film used:      HP5 PLUS Format :          4X5 sheet film Camera:          Wista Field 4X5 Large Format Lens:                Schneider S...

HUNTING ISLAND XVI, 2018  Technical info Film Used    Ilford Delta 100   Format    4x5 Camera     Chamonix 045N-2 Lens     Fujinon SW-90 Exposure time   Approx.2 minutes Other equipment    Sand & shells, to taste. Location: Hunting Island, South Carolina, US.   Tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot it? This March, I was in Charleston, South Carolina, and had a day to burn. I started looking around for somewhere cool to check o...

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...

Opportunities Now and again in life opportunities arises that you just have to take. You know, the ones that if you think about for too long will be missed, so you have to jump in with your best foot forward, or in this case with your best film forward.  This happened to me last year as I was casually talking to someone about my work they mentioned that they had access to an old building that had recently been vacated and was to be sold at auction. The building had been untouched for years, and they sai...

Terrain This project recently exhibited at the Golborne Gallery, London Road Trip All the photographs in this project were taken over a week-long period whilst traveling from Los Angeles to East Arizona, and back again. Something that really struck me when traveling through this part of the American West was how nature had relinquished control of the landscape. The towns were almost post-apocalyptic; half-burnt trash piles and concrete curbs were cracked by the hot sun. Whilst blade...

Of course, we see in color - but vision is just one part of how we sense the environment and moments. In the mountains I see tremendous peaks, I feel and hear the storms, freeze, and feel emotions from success, failure and intense personal experiences. All that black + white can convey more intensively - for me this is not a reduction over colour photography, but an amplification of impressions.  This is the translation of a short text I wrote a few years back for the German Schwarzweiss Magazine. Si...

Thank you In 2018, we invited the global analogue film photography community to take part in our latest film users survey. The survey, which attracted 2100 participants when it was last conducted in 2014, grew to over 6,800 participants from 100 countries this time around.  This was largely due to the help received from the fantastic film community in sharing it far and wide on social media, blogs and forums, so thank you. While many of the results are in line with the growth seen since the re-emergenc...

A beautiful and inspiring place Last year (2018) I was introduced to the Bale Mountains, a part of Ethiopia I had never seen before. Surprisingly, in the 8 years I have been traveling to Ethiopia, I have only recently begun discovering the many treasures this country holds. The Bale Mountains of southeastern Ethiopia is a truly beautiful and inspiring place with rich biodiversity and stunning geography. Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) sits about 400km from the capital of Addis Ababa. Within the park ar...

For some years, I have been visiting Central Asia. The region with its unique culture and people is always interesting to me. In spring 2018 I went to Kandahar, Afghanistan and from there to Mazar-i-Sharif and continued to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. During the trip, I got sick and it was not very enjoyable. In autumn 2018 I decided to go again and was excited to do it without sickness. Child During the Work The plan was to fly to Dushanbe and from there to continue to the Afghan border in Vanj and...

I had just stepped out of the subway station when my cell phone rang. It was my father. “I saw on the news that there are protesters gathering in Manhattan over the grand jury decision. Be careful getting home.”  “OK, Dad. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be careful.” I put my phone back in my pocket, reached for my cameras and felt the weight of them on my neck as I slipped their straps over my head. I adjusted my camera bag on my hip, turned the collar up on my old green army jacket, and took ...

Further Film Adventures in the Future History I've been shooting film almost as long as I've been shooting skateboarding - Delta 100 & XP2, mostly. I really got into it around 7 years ago, when I began documenting the skate scene in my hometown of Nottingham. Unknowingly I started a continuous body of work that still has no end in sight. And I was just looking for something to keep me busy when my digital kit had died! Capturing the Community I recently put on a new exhibition,�...

I don’t know about you, but I have a “box of shame”. It’s where I keep all the photographic odds and ends of kit that I never use, but can’t bring myself to throw away. Well I’ve always felt it would come in handy one day, and it seems that day has come! This story really gets going when I decided I wanted to do something fun with my Konica Pop*, an 80’s classic point and click camera I picked up in a charity shop a few years ago. Odds and Ends By utilising some of these long-neglected items...

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...

Turning your negatives into positives Reversal processing enables black and white transparencies to be produced directly from high quality films such as PAN F Plus, FP4 Plus and DELTA 100 PROFESSIONAL How it works It starts with the development of the negative image. This leaves the unused silver halide untouched, but it is not fixed, as it will be used later to form the positive image. After the negative image has been developed, it is totally bleached away using an acid bleach. This leaves the remainin...

Below are some of the common errors that can occur when processing black and white films. Many of these are actually common film processing problems that photographers encounter without being aware of what has caused them. Unfortunately some of these errors can result in the images being lost or partially ruined. By knowing what has caused the errors, you may hopefully prevent any repeat incidents. Film entirely blank - No visible images or edge signing A completely blank film with no images and no sig...

In the summer of 2017 my friends, novice climbers, asked me to climb Elbrus with them. This is the highest mountain peak in Russia and Europe. The idea sounded great, especially because I have loved mountains since my childhood. But my campaign plan immediately included a large-format camera, with which I have been travelling for many years (mostly, of course, by car with a camera in the trunk). For a while I wondered if I should take a big camera with me too. Would it be better to take a Hasselblad? But...

A Photographic Love Affair My love affair for photography was born out of my passion for music. In 1990, when I was 18, my late father took me camera shopping at the local mall because I thought it would be fun to photograph rock stars. He helped me select a beautiful Nikon SLR that I quickly mastered. Shot on Ilford XP2. I began shooting some of the biggest bands in the world and some that were yet to be known as they toured through the United States. My film of choice was Ilford XP2. I loved it b...

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...

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 ...

A mix of Art and Science As I write this, the UK and many other parts of the world are currently in lockdown thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus. This pandemic has meant the unprecedented closure of schools and the daunting prospect of home schooling our children – in my case 10-year old twins. Now, I’m not sure about other parents but I’m almost at the point where I can no longer blag my way through their homework. Rather than own up to this humiliating fact, I suggested I get them involved in a l...

Meeting Viktory I fell into dance photography quite by accident. I was a member of a meetup group of photographers in Boston, and one of the people I met at their events invited some of us to shoot in his studio with Viktory, a traveling ballet model. I was shooting landscapes almost exclusively at that time, and I had hardly ever shot with a model before. Luckily for me, Viktory is very experienced and was able to work with our varying skill levels. Little did I know at the time that I would still be shoo...

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 ...

If you've ever held any interest in skateboarding then we're sure that you'll recognise Joe Brook, our third victim interviewee for the Lockdown Sessions.  Joe also featured in one of our 1st ILFORD Inspires videos. (You can find the link in his bio below). SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? This is my favorite photo of 2019. I was on a skate trip with the Spitfire team and we were warming up at a skate park. A local t...

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...

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...

This week for our 9th Lockdown Session we spoke to Ashley Carr, who you may remember was nominated by Hamish Gill in week two. Ashley is a well know member of the film community and is always happy to share his thoughts and experience. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? ©-Ashley-Carr-2016,-Nikon-F3,-PC-Nikkor-35mm-shift,-HP5-@-EI-200,-Ilfotec-HC It was very difficult to choose a single favourite image! I think this photo...

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 ...

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...

We've really enjoyed this series and finding our more about some of the members in our community.  Although we are moving out of Lockdown now we will be keeping it running, just in a slightly different format, so keep an eye out for the changes in the coming weeks. This week we spoke to Robbie Jeffers who was nominated a few weeks ago by Ray Barbee. SECTION 1 - THE BEGINNING SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? It’s difficult for me to narrow ...

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...

How I got this picture Fanal, Madeira Technical info Film Used: Ilford HP5+   Format:  120 Camera: Rolleiflex 3,5E Lens: 75mm F3,5 Exposure time:   1/125s Other equipment: none (I could roam around freely and look for compositions) Location: Fanal, Madeira Firstly, tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot it? Ever since I saw an image of the Laurisilva forest in Fanal on the island of Madeira, I knew that I wanted to explore this place for myself. It is o...

Earlier this year my go-to black and white film of choice had its priced hiked astronomically, making it an un-affordable option for my daily choice. I set about exploring some different options, which included revisiting HP5 (a film, I must confess heretically that I have never gelled with), pushing FP4 to 400, Foma 400 and 200 pushed, and - the film for this short piece - ILFORD’s XP2. I might not have even reached for a roll of XP2 had I not discovered the experiments of another analogue photogr...

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...

Image title : Tombstone Technical info Film Used         FP4+ @ 125                 Format 4x5 Camera            Chamonix 45F-2           Lens Rodenstock Sironar-N 150mm f5.6 Exposure time   ⅛ sec Other equipment Feisol CT3442 Tripod legs, Acratech Ultimate ball head, Pentax digital spot meter Location Big Elbow Pass in Kananaskis Country in Southern Alberta, Canada Firstly, tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot ...

Better know by his Instagram handle @bostonemulsion and nominated by Tyley Bervy back in July. We've been looking forward to sharing the 21st interview in our In Focus (previously Lockdown Sessions) series.featuring Phil W. Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? This is image was shot on HP5+. It’s an earlier image in my film journey but this day in particular was a turning point when things really started to click as I was developing a metho...

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...

Nominated originally by Keith Moss back in November of last year. David Collyer is the 31st interview in this series.  A documentary photographer who chooses to shoot around themes or projects. David's is probably best known for one of his recent projects All in a Day's Work which received international recognition. Section 1 - Background SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? Blimey! That’s like being asked to choose your favourite child and then expl...

HARMAN is pleased to announce a dedicated* ULF campaign for our ILFORD ORTHO PLUS film in Spring 2021. This represents a short but exciting window of opportunity to source non-stock sizes of a unique and wonderful film with a variety of applications.  ILFORD ORTHO PLUS is an extremely fine grain, sharp, orthochromatic film that is used in both technical and photographic applications. This including medical and scientific use, the copy of negatives and the creation of stunning images. As a well-establish...

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...

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...

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 ...

The idea came to me after searching for companies to have a photobook made. I wanted something of the highest quality. Something that had the physical feel of Photographs: Annie Leibovtiz 1970-1990, or Helmut Newton Portraits. Two beautifully printed books that happened to be sitting in the community darkroom I own. After searching the internet for hours and looking at reviews and products of various companies, I was no further along to making a selection than when I started. My mind wandered as I stared at...

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...

After a 25 year hiatus of shooting stills, I returned to pushing on with my personal photography in 2016 and more recently using film once again. Part of that process has involved a scanner which led me to revisit some of my 1980s images which had never before been published. 1987 In 1987 as a nineteen year old, I volunteered for an occupational therapy department in a Psychiatric Hospital, leading weekly ‘photo therapy’ workshops for a small group of patients. The aim was to encourage the group to ex...

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...

Earlier this year in our interview with Walter Rothwell, he nominated Kris to take part in this series. We're so glad that he did. Enjoy! Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? One of my recent favourite images is this portrait of 3 young men taken on the streets of Birmingham UK. It was one of the first outings in the city post-lockdown and I wanted to really get back into a stride with my personal photography on the streets. With ...

Light in the Dark Most fine art photography starts with the photographer and finishes in the darkroom. For me it’s the other way round. My story began with seeking out the light in the dark and becoming one of Britain’s most respected black and white printers. Today, I look for the dark in the light, as a photographer in my own right. I have put together a show to mark 50 years in my Fitzrovia darkroom which opens (and closes) at the Fitzrovia Chapel on Wednesday, June 30. Then again on Monday 26th-...

A scene that screams colour Have you ever been out with your camera, loaded with your favourite black and white film stock and found a scene that screams to be shot it colour? Of course you have, we have all been there! Today I am going to introduce you to a new 150 year old process called Trichromy also known as the three colour process or more recently Trichromes (by Jasper Fforde). As with all early photographic techniques it's difficult to say who coined the process first as there were many people w...

Interview number four in our Behind the Film series is with International Sales Manager and relative film newbie Alex Hancock. Who are you? What’s your job title HARMAN technology and how long have you worked here? I am Alex Hancock and my role is International Account Manager. I've been with HARMAN for 3 years now. Tell us a little about your day to day role. My role is to support our international partners who manage the brand and sales in countries around the world. I work directly with all of thei...

Get ahead of the class Here you'll find links to lots of helpful information that will help you get a head start in your film photography studies. We've collated links to blogs, product pages and shared some educational videos from our YouTube channel too. So, you've got your film camera and now you need some film. Many schools, colleges and universities will lend out cameras to their students and these generally take 35mm film but, there are other options available and the type of camera that you have wi...

After sharing a few of his images in the past, we felt we wanted to know more about Nicolas de Bouville, so he became interview number 42 in this series. We have to confess to a bit of camera envy over his collection! 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 one image only. If I think about one of the last series I did, I really like this picture of Alejandro. I’m used to photograph Alejandro in a very differe...

Cabin Fever Tired of COVID 'cabin fever'  I needed to get out shooting so I concocted  a mission to shoot a total of 36 acceptable shots in a 2 day time frame.  Day one would be 12 6x6's and the second would be 35mm for 24 shots... fingers crossed. I decided to shoot b&w film.  This would not have been my choice a few years ago but the plethora of  digital imagery has turned me off to the point where I'm re appreciating the disciplined 'analogue' mind set. I just flat out love and respect the w...

I like to press the shutter and I take a lot of black and white photos simply because I like it. These black and whites I take on Ilford materials. My favorite negative is xp2 super, I also use Delta 100 and 3200, but rarely. Why ILFORD XP2 Super? I am a hydro engineer by profession - I traveled a lot, spent a lot of time away from home, so carrying a tank, chemicals, thermometer, bottles, containers, etc. with me was a bit troublesome. Never I needed to organize my home dark-room. But actually, now I sta...

Crombie McNeill has been shooting film for longer than some of us have been around, and his story is fascinating which makes him the perfect interviewee for our 45th In Focus interview. Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? Shot way back in the early 70's. By happen chance I discovered this fishing dory beached on Newfoundland's Eastern coast. I very much like this shot, and even more so because I was on my very first major assignment. Twenty thre...

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...

When an image that we share or re-gram gets a lot of interest, we like to get in touch with the photographer and find out a little more about the process that went into creating it. Le Lac du Brévent Technical info Film Used Ilford XP2 Format 135 35mm Camera       Olympus OM-10 Lens Zuikon 35mm f2.8 Exposure time I don’t really remember, I think it was something like f8 at 1/250 or 1/500 Location Lac du Brévent, Chamonix-Mon-Blanc, Savoie, Alpes, FRANCE   Firstly, tell us...

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 ...

We first met Lucy Ridges a few years ago virtually via social media and then in person at The Photography Show and have always admired her work. Her #MyFilmStory video gave us a bit more of a view into who she is and why she shoots film and this In Focus interview builds on that. 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 favourite shots from my most recent project, Water’s Edge, released earlier this year. It’s an...

We have been privileged to be able to follow Rita's journey as she started out shooting film and moved through the formats from 35mm to medium format and found her own unique style. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you This image is entitled “SANCTUARY”. I came across this couple while double dutching with a friend at Grant Park in Atlanta, GA. I was frozen by their apparent love for each other. It was pure and could be fel...

As a child I fell in love with the magic of the darkroom and of making Gelatin Silver prints. Watching a print develop fascinated me. In high school I had access to a darkroom working with 620 film (2.25 X 3.25 inch roll film.) and, consequently, I studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Photography & Syracuse University School of Journalism. Studying with art-photographer Minor White opened my eyes to using photography as an art form. Minor helped me see beyond the objective...

My Approach It was during a group exhibition that I discovered the practice of cyanotype. The Espace Liberté Gallery located in Crest in the south of France is a contemporary art space open to all graphic and plastic disciplines. The theme proposed by Au Jour le Jour was an ephemeris where 31 chosen artists (painters, illustrators, photographers, plastic artists) had to illustrate 12 randomly selected dates with their art. Two constraints were imposed: a maximum size of 20cm on each side and the same sell...

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 name is Jason Avery and I am an analogue landscape photographer based in East Anglia England. I have been working with film for a few years now, learning my craft as an artist. One of the many reasons why I decided to choose film instead of digital as a medium for my work was the darkroom experience. I have heard the quote “The darkroom is a magical place” over and over again and I can safely say that that is totally true. I have been hooked since the moment I developed my first print in my tiny dark...

This is a story about serendipity, generosity, community, and several rolls of Ilford FP4 film. It begins in April 2020, during our first Covid-19 lockdown when a request from a sibling for an old family photo led me to dig around in my messy 35mm archive. I discovered quite a few forgotten negatives and slides from my life during the 1970’s, when I was young and single. They had been randomly stored and dragged around in house moves whilst I focussed on marriage, motherhood and a career in Social Work. E...

My love of black and white photography started back in college processing and printing images. The film of choice being FP4. and printing fibre based prints. In the beginning as a photographer most of my work was B/W. Spending much time in the dark room printing. Unfortunately time was something that was running out. As a professional you have the the funds but you don’t have the time. So I moved away from printing for a while and concentrated on shooting. Another-day-in-the-office One thing I learne...

Distractions To A Minimum Whether I’m taking pictures of friends, my dogs, travel, a model, or a movie star, my goal is to make the process as simple as possible, and to keep my distractions to a minimum. While on set of a campaign shoot a few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with the talent, and he asked me how I got into photography. A question I’ve been asked before but never really gave serious thought to. Andrew Garfield. Vanity Fair - Oscars - Beverly Hills. First Meaningful Interacti...

These Dark Mountains I grew up in a small valley town surrounded by the Alps in North Italy. I have always wondered what it feels like to live and work up there in the mountains, in such a stunning but also dangerous and rough natural environment. Especially after moving to Berlin in 2015, my fascination for a life still tied to nature’s rhythm started to grow. The natural landscape which I left behind, and which used to be what I would call “home”, turned into something distant. I began to question ...

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: ...

'Something Special' There is a unique rendering to photographs made with Multigrade enlarging papers. It's difficult to define, maybe it's the timeless mood or perhaps it's the mystical feeling, or even a haunting aura... it's certainly there for me I like this very much! Add to this, it's super economical and can be visually handled via darkroom safe-lights. No more fussing around in total darkness which often requires the use strong language! Humour aside, I find the physical involvement of handling the...

Community Grant Shortlist We received hundreds of applicants for the grant and choosing just 5 for you to vote on is always difficult. Once the new submission window closes at the end of February 2026 we will shortlist the projects here for your vote. Shortlist VOTING FORM WILL BE HERE The first award of 2025 went to Sebastian Machado Batenero fro his 'Ashed from the Riverbed' project. We ar in the process of shipping his prize and will cath up with him later in the year to see how the project is pro...

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...

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...

For many years I have been disillusioned with what direction my photography career was moving in. The overwhelming abundance of images from digital capture. The demise in a true art (in my mind anyway) of images being overcooked and very unnatural at times. However thankfully I got back my Mojo by selling every bit of digital kit I owned. It felt like a total weight of my shoulder. I needed this new direction and to learn a totally new discipline. Taking my work that extra step further I decided to go to ...

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...

Countless Day's Of Shooting It was more than 2 years ago, that I had the initial idea for this project. Now, after countless days of shooting film, often while on the water, and hours spent edition and choosing images ‘No Place Like Home’ is a book I can be proud of. Committing Entirely To The Wave "I felt that there was something that I needed to explore when I shot some of the first rolls of black & white HP5+ film at one of the local surfspots. Shooting everything on film, as opposed to di...

Abstract Concepts Often times, I come up with ethereal and abstract concepts for my artwork. However, I noticed that my techniques and skills in the darkroom did not match up to my artistic output. Which is such a shame. I wanted to do something about it. It is like having the urge to do a back flip but not having the progressed workouts to help you get there. My name is Zain Al Khalifa, I use film photography as a base for my artwork. I like darkroom printing and I wanted to share an experience with yo...

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)...

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...

Discovering Analog Photography My name is Dora Lionstone, and I’m a visual artist based in Amsterdam. I have been passionate about photography for a while now, years before I switched from being a software developer to becoming a full-time artist. But it was only in 2017, at the beginning of my studies at the art academy, that I also discovered analog photography for my artistic process. Instead of completely turning to the analog world, I began to embrace it as one element of a hybrid approach. For exam...

We speak to Lauz Cam, who is our 67th In Focus interviewee. Laura is a London-based self-taught photographer. Her love for film photography started through her budding interest in vintage cameras and has grown ever since. Laura intends to keep analog photography alive by capturing portraits of individuals in a nostalgic way. Section 1 - Background Share your favourite image / print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you? I think my one of my favourite images is this self-portrait as it was ...

Bombay Beach In 2011 I was living in San Francisco,CA making my way through a graduate program in Photography. Working on my thesis afforded me the opportunity to venture around the state of California. I traveled a lot. I went to the top of the state, the far corners, all over really. On one trip, I drove down to the Salton Sea, an almost forgotten place south of Palm Springs and the Coachella valley. It was a fascinating adventure. I remember driving through Bombay Beach, one of the small remaining towns...

Yosemite National Park Let me take you back to the beginning of 2022, where my year started with an exciting adventure. I had the opportunity to take a trip to California, and my destination was Yosemite National Park. As a film photographer, I knew this was a location that held great significance. It was home to the Ansel Adams gallery and had a reputation for being an iconic spot to capture some breathtaking photographs. I had seen some of Ansel's prints online, but nothing could compare to seeing the or...

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 ...

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...

By Early Afternoon In 1997, while on assignment in Thailand, someone told me that one of the Thai borders with Cambodia was open and letting some people pass by. As a freelance journalist, I realized the opportunity and as soon as I finished my assignment, investigated the possibility of going to Cambodia. I knew that the UN Peace-Keeping Forces were in Cambodia and the Pol Pot army had mostly surrendered. But that was about it. It took me about two days to decide and prepare myself to go to Cambodia. W...

«If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things. » Henry Miller Community Of Male Bathers Lanterna “Beach” is a long-term project (2015-2022) that documents a community of male bathers in a town in Southern Italy, where I was born and raised, before leaving my country. The work explores the relationship between this peculiar community and the nature of the Pier where they sunbathe...

Introducing our 71st In Focus interviewee, Malik Rainey. Malik specialises in editorial and social documentary photography. However, Malik only became hooked on film when his friend Teo traded him his Pentax P30T for his bike. Section 1 - Background Share your favorite image/print shot on ILFORD film and tell us what it means to you. This image is an all-timer for me! I always find myself returning to this image because it’s perfect, from the little girl smiling directly at me to the boys playing baske...

'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...

“I’ll just fix it in the darkroom.” is the motto I’ve lived by for decades. I Was Too Deep Into Analog Studying photojournalism in the late 80s, I was taught to print well but never learned advanced printing techniques because we were being prepared for quick turn-around journalism assignments. Commercially available digital photography was in its infancy, so it wasn’t on my radar, and even when it became standard, I was too deep into analog to have any interest. I shot for a local paper for se...

 A History on the Road In May of 2023, I loaded up the car and I headed off to the North Cascades. The freeway had just reopened after a long, icy winter. I was desperate to break out of my work routine and follow my creative pursuits. Growing up in the American Southwest I spent my childhood in the back of my father’s pick up on our family’s retreats. Being from a blue-collar middle class family, we were never going anywhere fancy. We made pilgrimages to Arkansas in my youth where abandoned and di...

Our 72nd In Focus interview is with Brazilian lab technician and teacher Samanta Ortega. Samanta focuses on empowering and fueling the resurgence of film photography in Brazil from the inside out. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVORITE IMAGE/PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU. Invasão | ILFORD Delta 400 | Yashica Zoomate 76 There is so much I could say about this image, but no description I elaborate will ever do it justice. This was one of the frames in the first eve...

My First Child I got pregnant with my first child in early 2020. Our 12 week scan took place three days before the announcement of the first lockdown in the UK. I spent the majority of that pregnancy in isolation, with no face to face appointments with any health professionals and barely any contact with friends and family beyond WhatsApp or the occasional video call. This New Chapter To make matters worse, I fell at home at around 30 weeks pregnant and broke my left wrist. I spent the best part of 1...

Sharing Our Experience One Day At A Time Boys is an arts project that has run for the past 3 years in Damien John Kelly House (DJK), a recovery community for men based in Liverpool 15. Offering a program of support based in the arts, sport and culture. We celebrate our community, explore individuality whilst documenting our personal growth and shared experience. Applying recovery values of willingness, honesty, and open mindedness within a creative setting. Marrying up the transferable benefits and lessons...

Step into Simon Auger's world as he unveils an intimate view of his creative process and the intricate techniques that birthed this stunning architectural masterpiece in this 'How I Got This Picture' interview. IMAGE TITLE Downtown Toronto #2 2023 TECHNICAL INFO Film Used ILFORD HP5+ shot at 1600 ISO. FORMAT 35mm. Camera Nikon F3. Lens 17mm Tokina Prime Lens. Exposure time Can't Remember. Location This shot was taken looking up into the mist-covered buildings at the intersection of King s...

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�...

Pain or Peace There are some moments in a man's life that are truly capable of changing him in the depths of his being. Whether through pain or peace, sadness or joy. For a photographer like me, the feelings that arose in my heart over the years also became part of my photographic language. 13 Years Old On February 9, 2020, my younger brother, Pedro Henrique, passed away while battling cancer. He was only 13 years old. At first I felt that I had lost all my motivation as a photographer and as an individu...

Asphalt Kingdom When I was 15 I picked up my mum’s old and now scarcely used Soligor TM (a cheap 35mm SLR). Having seen a few friends shoot colour film on disposables, I remember thinking “I like how it looks but do they even make film anymore?”. I spoke to my step-dad about where I might find some of this film and he quickly pointed me in the direction of ILFORD, a film manufacturer who’s film he’d stood by for many-a-year (something I’m intent on standing by too). A google search and three cl...

The Greatest Gift In 1984, at age of 10 my foster parents, to whom I was never close, gave me a camera. It is the greatest gift they gave to me. Since then, I have photographed the world to make sense of it and my place in it. Now, forty years later, I respect photography to the extent it should be respected. It has become an integrated part of who I am, it has shaped me into what I am and I have shaped it - we are one and I would arguably feel nothing in life without this powerful mechanism. I come from a...

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...

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Use Of Elegant Black and White Since 2014, Angélique Boissière has been exploring film photography through medium format, which she likes for its square framing, and thus to get reacquainted with an art that calls to her from her teenage years. With a classical artistic background nurtured through her practice of dance and her affinity for Impressionist and Romantic imagery, the feminine nude came up as an obviousness, given the immutable place it takes in the western Art History. It is with the same aim...

Same as ours The reportage tells of a journey in the regions of Northern India, starting from the borders with Pakistan to the banks of the Ganges river, in Varanasi. The story traveled on trains, buses, planes and tuc tuc. The roads were all dusty and bumpy but the people met were all clear and sunny. The glances reveal details of everyday life: people working, eating, sleeping, children going to school. Their daily life is the same as ours, but at the same time very different. If you step off the well-tr...

FILM AND DOCUMENTARY FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY Only in 2022, I bought my first film camera - a Minolta X700. Right from the first film I was absolutely in love with shooting analog. Working as a documentary family photographer I am drawn to the honest and unfiltered truth of family life. For me, analog photography and documentary family photography converge, weaving elements of rawness and unadulterated truth. There are no hundreds of images, meticulously sifted through for the best; no embellishment through hour...

We are guessing you are as excited as we are about this week's 'How I Got This Picture' interview with Amir Amiri. Discover how Amir creates this phenomenal long exposure dance shots. Image Title Reverie TECHNICAL INFO FILM USED Kentmere Pan 100 Format 35mm Camera Canon A1 Lens 50mm f1.8 Exposure Time Between 10 to 12 seconds Other Equipment 2 studio flashes and one tripod FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SHOOT IT? I was trying to make som...

I Instantly Fell In Love My photography journey began while I was studying graphic design. My course tutor handed me a camera & a roll of ILFORD HP5+, and sent me out, with no real brief, to ‘take some pictures’. Armed with a macro lens I roamed around the cities’ botanical gardens and became lost in a close-up world of symmetrical patterns, found in the plant life. When I returned, with my roll of film, to the photography department darkroom, I instantly fell in love with the process and the res...

There were so many brilliant images shared for today's Friday Favourites that it took longer than usual to choose. You've also given us some great ides for upcoming themes:) @1brsc1 One of my favourite retired hydro-turbines to photograph. Canon F-1 new, ILFORD HP5plus film. #fridayfavourites #ilfordphoto #hydropower #freetheme #blackandwhite #filmphotography   @MikoPoloczanski The old fishing harbour. Kąty Rybackie. Hasselblad Xpan II +45/4; Ilford sfx; f22/0,5 s. Polska panoramiczna. #ilf...

Discover how Benoît Pinchon created this stunning self-portrait in our 'How I Got This Picture' interview. We’ve noticed your love for double exposures, so it’s no surprise that this image was a hit on Instagram. Technical Info Film Used ILFORD FP4+ Camera Rolleiflex 3.5F Exposure Time 1/250 Format 6x6 Lens 75mm Xenotar Other Equipment Mirror Location North of France Firstly, tell us the story behind this image. What inspired you to shoot it? This image evokes a long period of reco...

My K1000 I began taking photographs in the late 1980s as a teenager when my dad bought me a Pentax K1000. Both my dad and grandpa enjoyed photography, were big influences on me, and my dad wanted to share the excitement of photography. We enjoyed taking photographs, mainly of landscapes and of places that we visited, me with my K1000 and my dad with his Canon AE-1. When digital cameras became the standard in the early 2000s, we drifted away from film and instead became enamored with this quick and comparat...

What is Reality? “Moon in the water, Flower in the mirror.” What is Reality? Whether what we are living now is the reflection of the reality or the reality itself? The age-old question has puzzled philosophers, scholars, and seekers of truth throughout the annals of time. Are we truly perceiving the world as it is, or are we merely encountering a reflection, a distortion of reality? To delve into the depths of this inquiry, we must embark on a journey through the corridors of history, traversing epochs...

From hiking to darkroom printing, discover how Macy Lee created this unique print in our latest 'How I Got This Picture' interview. IMAGE TITLE Izzy at the Canyon  TECHNICAL INFO FILM USED ILFORD HP5+ FORMAT 120 CAMERA Hasselblad 500C LENS 60mm EXPOSURE TIME 5.6 F stop at 60th of a second LOCATION The Grand Canyon, South Kaibab Trail FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THIS IMAGE. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SHOOT IT? Izzy is one of my best friends, and this was during a long running trip we ha...

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 ...

My camera is a passport to a world of amazing discoveries My adventures began as a five year old. I started spending wondrous times with my dad in the quiet glow of his darkroom. I took great pride with my responsibility to gently rock the prints in the hypo tray. Ah, the sound of gurgling water and the warm orange glow from the safe lights. I was totally enthralled by seeing an image come alive in the developing tray...pure alchemy! It comes as no surprise when I say I frequently retreat to this magical z...

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...

  Wilber (@ccs_wilber) wheelies down a hill in Medellin. BikeLife The first time I learned about Bikelife was at Parque Nacional, Bogotá’s most emblematic park. It was a Sunday and there must have been at least a hundred of them. They almost all fit the same profile: very young, baggy clothes, no helmet. A disproportionate number sported ‘El 7’, a kind of neo-mullet that’s popularity in Colombia predates the current mullet resurgence in the rest of the world. 12-o’clock wheelies...

On the Language of Photographs A photograph is so much more than just a photograph; it holds an entire language within it. Each photograph captures a unique world that exists only in that moment, preserving the memories of the people in it, and the experiences of the photographer pressing the shutter. Today, I want to reflect on my own work and how my favourite images have defined me as an artist. What messages do they share with the world? How have the tools I’ve used to create them shaped their unique ...

Discover how Justin Olsen captured these stunning shots during his hike up the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point in this "How I Got This Picture" interview. Image Title Vista From 4 Mile Trail TECHNICAL INFO FILM USED ILFORD DELTA 400 FORMAT 35mm CAMERA Rollei 35 (made in Germany in the 1960s) LENS Fixed 40mm Carl Zeiss EXPOSURE TIME It was an in and out stormy day. Many different exposers. LOCATION Four Mile Trail, Yosemite National Park. California. FIRSTLY, TELL US THE STORY BEHIND THI...

It was another #themefree week to kick off December for #ilfordphoto #fridayfavourites. Thank you to everyone who submitted this week. @simon_diamond. Last album sleeve photo from "Let Yourself Evaporate – Improvisations for Two Guitars" by kÖök. Squre-ish format version to fit the cover. https://kookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/let-yourself-evaporate-improvisations-for-two-guitars. Nikon F3P. Nikkor 85mm F1.4. Ortho Plus 80. HC-110#believeinfilm #photography #fridayfavourites.   @Kirigir774...

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...

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. ...

We're thrilled to launch our brand new 'Community Focus' series! In this series, we shine a spotlight on community darkrooms around the world, celebrating their contributions and exploring the stories behind these spaces. Our first interview in the series features Newport Film Lab from South Wales, a darkroom that began as a passion project and has since grown into something truly special. Section 1 - Background Let’s start easy. Tell us A little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started...

All the way from Los Angeles, our 83rd 'In Focus' interview is with music and surrealism photographer, Laura Moreau. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? This photograph features my friend Samira, taken on ILFORD SFX200 with my Mamiya 645. I was in the ocean, hoping to capture the glimmers, as I have an obsession with them. Suddenly, a massive wave came out of nowhere, and I still can’t believe I managed to jump and take the sho...

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...

The Main Topics My name is Maria Guțu I am a Moldovan born and  based photographer, focusing on long term documentary projects.  In 2022 I finished my studies at the Docdocdoc School of Modern Photography, Saint Petersburg, earlier, in 2020 I graduated in cinematography at the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts from Chisinau, Moldova where I have been studying for 4 years. The main topics in my work are remote places, youth, the notion of the home and the relation between humans and the environment...

Next up, for our 85th In Focus interview, we spoke with freelance event and project manager, Ali Monk. SECTION 1 - BACKGROUND SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE IMAGE / PRINT SHOT ON ILFORD FILM AND TELL US WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU? This has probably been my favourite image I have taken since it was shot back in 2021. I had been spending the day with one of my favourite people in Brighton. Lockdown was over and we could spend time with loved ones again doing all the things we hadn’t been able to do for a while. My frien...

A Place I Have Longed To Visit I am waiting for a bus, destination Portree, Isle of Skye. The midpoint, a bus shelter at Kyle of Lochalsh. It is the pit stop to one of the most beautiful journeys you can make by road and rail in the UK. This is the trip from Inverness to the Isle of Skye.  Though I have been to Kyle before, it is my first time to the Isle of Skye. A place I have longed to visit, and on this occasion, I had more than a desire, I had a purpose. I'm about to spend the next 2 days shooting a ...

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...

Let’s start easy. Tell us A little about the darkroom, what it’s called and how it started. The darkroom is a central part of the activities of SAIM (The Shoreditch Academy of Image Making). SAIM was established in 2020 as an independent photography school by its two founders Ian Jackson and Adrian Mott. Both with long careers as commercial photographers plus extensive experiences as postgraduate University teachers. As a private London school SAIM’s unique offer is a permanent darkroom and studio ...

Hey, my name is David, better known as @Twostopsover, and ILFORD asked me to share a bit about my 3D printed dual format camera. Who am I? A quick intro about myself: I’m a cinematographer working in the commercial space, and in 2017 I rediscovered analog photography and fell head over heels in love with it. I think what excites me so much about shooting film is the process, and even more so, how much room there is to experiment. I mean, with which digital camera can you swap out the entire sensor wit...

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 ...

We've been looking forward to seeing your images for this week's #2025fave #fridayfavourites.  There was a great selection of different styles and subjects shared and a wide range of our films and formats.  These are our favourites this week. doc_voronov Another successful experiment, this time on film ?️ #filmphotographer #ilfordxp2 #doubleexposurephotography #fridayfavourites#2025fave   Paula Smith My favourite from 2025 using @ilfordphoto.com film. This (I think) is going to be the ...

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...

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...

A big Inspiration A big inspiration for me is Jill Furmanovsky. I’d been at ILFORD for maybe 3 months when I went to a music photography exhibition at Manchester central library. It featured some of her work. Seeing her contact sheet of Joy Division shot on ILFORD HP5 PLUS was what made me start shooting gigs. It was a band I loved on a product I was now helping to make. Capturing emotion and atmosphere I started taking the odd picture on a little point and shoot at gigs I was going to. Then I finall...

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...