Tag Archives: Ilford HP5+

June 27, 2018

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 same roll. Listeners of the podcast signed up via a Google form and filled out their preferences to shoot black & white, color, etc. The resulting shots can be anything from artistic to crazy.

The response to the exchange was fantastic, being that it was the first time. Forty-two photographers from around the world signed up, shooting a total of twenty-one rolls of film. Some listeners were so enthusiastic to shoot and share that they signed up twice.

My partner for the Negative Positives Double-Exposure Film Exchange was Dan Cottle from Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Dan provided a roll of Ilford HP5+ black & white film, and shot the roll around his city, including Cadbury World where they produce some of the world’s best chocolate. Dan was even kind enough to send a Cadbury Egg to me with the exposed roll of film, which my wife promptly enjoyed.

After receiving the roll of film from Dan, I set out and exposed it a second time around my part of the world in Utah. Many of my shots included the Utah State Railroad Museum and the Hill Aerospace Museum. While Dan and I planned to line up our shots in the camera, it didn’t quite work out as planned. And from others in The Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast Facebook Group, their intentions were the same.

This film roll exchange was a great way to become acquainted with another film photographer. It was also a good exercise at some abstract previsualization. We didn’t set any rules and had no grand expectations. However, our resulting images are interesting, mysterious, and creative.

Photographer #1
Dan Cottle
Birmingham, UK
Camera: Nikon FE

Photographer #2
Shaun Nelson
South Ogden, UT USA
Camera: Nikon F2

Film: Ilford HP5+ 400
Process: Kodak D-76 (1+1) @ 20° 13:00 Min
Scanned: Epson Perfection V600 Photo

The Negative Positives Double-Exposure Film Exchange

Kodak Instamatic 300 & Camerhack 135 to 126 Adapter

By Shaun Nelson

The Kodak Instamatic is a camera that I recall from my childhood. My parents and grandparents had them before moving to Kodak 110 cameras in the 1970’s. Kodak’s 126 film was introduced in 1963 and was marketed as an easy-load film cartridge. The film itself is 35mm film, paper backed, with a single sprocket hole per frame to allow each 28 x 28mm shot to advance through the camera. It wasn’t until 1987 that Kodak discontinued the format.

Camerhack in Italy has designed and 3-D prints a 135 (35mm) to 126 film adapter kit. The cartridge allows you to load standard 35mm film into a reusable cartridge so it can be used in a classic Kodak Instamatic, or any other camera that used 126 film. Claudio from Camerhack includes a detailed instruction booklet that guides you through the process. And even better, he’s also created a YouTube video that walks you step-by-step through loading, shooting and re-spooling.

Here are my tips for using the Camerhack 135 to 126 FAK:

Plan to sacrifice a roll of 35mm film. This will help you practice loading the cartridge in the light. When you’re ready to load your favorite film in the adapter, you’ll be ready to do it in the dark.
With your sacrificed roll of film, practice advancing the film in the camera. Instamatic cameras have a needle inside that is tripped by a sprocket hole when the film is advanced. You’ll find that each camera does this a little different. For example, my Kodak Instamatic 300 and Kodak Hawkeye Instamatic advanced very differently. Which leads me to the most important tip.
Listen for the click. With my Kodak Instamatic 300, I had to press the shutter, take the shot, press the shutter button down (doesn’t actually open the shutter), advance the film until the shutter advance would CLICK. The key for me was holding the camera up to my ear and listening for that click to know that the film had advanced. The click is the key to success!
Following Claudio’s instructions, if you decided to roll the film (in the dark) back into a 35mm cartridge to have it processed at a lab, know that the sprocket holes will get a little chewed up by the camera. This is caused by the needle inside that I mentioned earlier. When you roll the film back into the cartridge, wind it slowly.
Only use a 24-exposure roll of 35mm film. Keep in mind that the original number of exposures on 126 film cartridges was 12 to 20. Using a 24-exposure roll should give you 16 to 20 images depending on the spacing between each shot. Using a smaller roll will also prevent the film from scratching when you load the film adapter.

Camera: Kodak Instamatic 300 (1963 – 1966)
Film: Ilford HP5 Plus 400
Process: D-76 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20c
Scanner: Epson Perfection V600 Photo