Mercury II Film Test – A Tale of One City

This week we’re featuring local photographer Bob Grant and his review of the Mercury II camera. Bob found Utah Film Photography a few years ago and we’ve met up for a few photowalks. With a background in engineering, Bob loves the technical details, mechanics, and operation behind film photography. He admits his artistic and technical […]

M3 & P30 Alpha

About a year after I purchased the M3, a good friend jokingly chastised me that I needed a proper Leica lens for a Lecia body. My half-joking response to him was, “What do you have for sale?” And that’s when I purchased 50mm Summarit f/1.5 lens from him. While it’s not known as the best […]

Long Exposure

It’s been a crazy summer for me. With some new job responsibilities, I worked some incredibly long hours at odd times of the day or night. On a Friday back in June, I had spent 12 hours working from home in front of my computer. I felt like I was going to go crazy if […]

Recently Abandoned

This summer, I spent an afternoon at two recently abandoned places with my Nikon F2 and a roll of Kodak Ektar. On the occasion that I shoot color film, I like the saturated colors of Ektar and the way it renders red, orange and green. The house and pool in the images are a piece […]

Haunted? Stricker Ranch – Hansen, Idaho

In 2019, I’ve tried to spend more time shooting film than writing. I’m finding myself returning to some of my favorite cameras and film stocks. This post is more about the destination and the subject than the gear or film. I thought it was worth sharing. Over Memorial Day weekend, my family took a short […]

The 2nd Annual Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast Double-Exposure Challenge

This year I organized another double-exposure challenge for The Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast. Using some of the lessons learned from last year, I decided to simplify the challenge, and give photographers deadlines. The concept of the double-exposure challenge: one photographer shoots a roll of film, rewinds the film, and then sends it to someone […]

Minolta X-700

I’ve been looking to buy a Minolta X-700 for a few years. I passed on a few of them because I thought they were overpriced. However, last month I found one in an antique store for $20. I believe they thought it was broken. With a set of new batteries, light seals, and some cleaning, […]

Coca-Cola Polar Bear Camera

Coca-Cola began using polar bears for print advertising in 1922. And the polar bears would appear occasionally in printed advertisements over the next seventy years. It wasn’t until 1992 that advertising professional Ken Stewart gave life to the Coca-Cola polar bears in the popular Northern Lights television commercial in February 1993. The Coke polar bears […]

Developing Color Film for the First Time

For Christmas 2018, I received the CineStill C-41 one quart developing kit. This seemed to be the right size for my first attempt at developing color film. At $25, the kit is a price I’m willing to pay, to experiment and learn. Plus, the amount of chemistry is enough to get me through roughly 8+ […]

Film Photography Project Super Monobath BW Developer

When New55 released a monobath a few years ago, I was eager to give it a try. What could be easier? A single solution to develop black and white film and no need to mix chemistry. After successfully developing a few rolls of 120 film, I was happy. That changed when I tried to develop […]

The Ondu 135 Pocket Pinhole

In the past, I’ve tinkered with pinhole cameras. Nothing too serious. My first attempt at pinhole was the Viddy cardboard pinhole camera . Then there was the pinhole lens cap for a Pentax Sportmatic. Next, there was my semi-successful attempt at making the Tie Fighter pinhole camera. Last year my wife asked me what I […]

Kosmo Foto Mono 100

One final roll from the the Canon 10S. This time using one of my favorite black and white film film stocks, Kosmo Foto Mono 100. Camera: Canon EOS 10S (1990) Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS USM L-Series Film: Kosmo Foto Mono 100 Process: Kodak D76 (1+1) 10:00 Min @ 20°

Kodak Plus-X Pan 125 (Expired 3/1981)

Here are some additional photos taken with the Canon 10S. This time I experimented with some Kodak Plus-X Pan 125 that had expired in March of 1981. Camera: Canon EOS 10S (1990) Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS USM L-Series Film: Kodak Plus-X Pan 125 (Expired 3/1981) Process: Kodak D76 (1+1) 8:30 Min @ 20°

Canon EOS 10S (1990)

Last May, Scott Smith was at the Utah Film Photography Worldwide Headquarters (my house) to develop some 4×5 sheets he’d shot with his newly acquired Graflex. We used a tank that would hold ten sheets and required over a half gallon of chemistry. I’m not doing that again. I’ll stick with 4 sheets in the […]

Minolta XG7 (1977)

This camera was given to me by a coworker whose father owned it. I was told his father had another Minolta, accidently dropped it, and was told it would be cheaper to buy a new camera than have the repairs done. The XG7 is what he upgraded to. He gave me the camera with an […]

Olympus XA (1979)

Back in August, my wife and I took our two teenage sons to New York for eight days. I knew this was going to be a great trip to get some photos, so I took 3 cameras; one digital, and two film. The digital was a Canon 6D with 24-105mm f/4 lens. The two film […]

Nikkor 35 – 200mm f/3.5 – 4.5s

I’ve really enjoyed shooting with the Nikon F2 Photomic (1971 – 1980), so I thought I’d like another lens. Since shooting film, I’ve gained a new appreciation for fixed prime lenses. The zoom lenses for older film cameras don’t appeal to me, but I wanted to give this one a shot (pun intended). Released in […]

Leica M3 (1959) – Part 2

While using the borrowed 50mm 5cm Summicron-M f/2.0 (Rigid/2nd version) (1956), I decided that I really needed to purchase my own lens. Having just spent what I think is a considerable amount on the M3 body, I wanted to limit my lens purchase to something more affordable. Searching for an M-Mount lens on eBay led […]

Leica M3 (1959) – Part 1

Over the past few years of buying and shooting vintage cameras, there’s one camera I never thought I’d actually own, and that’s a Leica. Why? A Leica always seemed like a “bucket list camera.” Nice to look at, but too expensive to own. Of course, I had to ask myself, do they live up to […]

The Negative Positives Double-Exposure Film Exchange

After being a guest on The Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast with Mike and Andre, I offered to help with a double-exposure film exchange. The idea behind a double-exposure film exchange is that one photographer shoots a roll of film, rewinds the film, and then sends it to someone else, who then shoots on the […]