by

30 ways to hack your next roll of film

Liana camerasThe glory of good ol’ fashioned film photography is that you never know exactly what results you’re going to get. There’s no handy LCD screen on which to review your shots, so you’re completely at the mercy of your film — though half the fun is that any mistakes can be passed off as intentionally-arty effects. Here are some top tips to get you started…

Kit

1. The cost of buying and processing film may be relatively high to those who are used to fitting hundreds of snaps onto an SD card, but the camera itself needn’t cost you the Earth. Analogue specialist Lomography offers a wide selection of low-cost film cameras such as the sub-£50 Diana Mini and wide-angle La Sardina, or you can get yourself a Holga or Blackbird if you’ve got a bit more budget to play with. Most of the top camera brands are digital-only nowadays, but you can pick up second-hand units such as the popular Canon AV-1 on eBay or in specialist camera shops.

2. If you’re after steady, quality shots, then using a tripod is a no-brainer. Most cameras sport a standard tripod mount on the underside making it easier to simply fit your accessory of choice. Pro tripods will cost you a fair few pennies but there are plenty of cheaper options around, not least Joby’s wide range of flexible Gorillapod tripods which can be adjusted to suit their surroundings and won’t break the bank either.

3. An easy way to add a splash of colour to your snaps is to make use of a colour filter on the flash. Some flash models will come with their own set of colour gels or you can pick up a cheap set like these colour lens and flash filters from Photojojo, which as the name suggests, can also be held over the lens for colourful effect. Alternatively you can make your own filters for next to nothing using coloured sweet wrappers or by colouring a piece of sticky tape or clear plastic with a marker pen.

4. Investing in some extra lenses is a good idea, even if you’ve only got a lo-fi toy camera. Even if it’s a fixed focus snapper, attaching a close-up, wide-angle or fish-eye lens using gaffer tape can produce some surprisingly good results (although it might make you look like you’ve lost the plot slightly).

5. Instant cameras make a nice retro-flavoured addition to your camera collection, whether that’s a vintagePolaroid SX-70 or a brand new Fujifilm Instax 210. Alternatively, Lomography sells instant backs for itsLC-A+ and Diana+ models, which can be easily fitted and offer you Polaroid-style snaps (albeit the size of a credit card), without the hassle of getting the film processed.

6. Getting yourself a negative scanner could well save you a lot of pennies as you’ll only need to pay the photo lab for processing. There are plenty of models to choose from, ranging from budget negative scanners for under £50 to multi-function flatbed scanners that can be used for documents and photos as well.

Film

7. You can get all kinds of camera film, although it’s not quite as readily available as it once was. There are still limited supplies available in most chemists and camera shops, but specialist shops, like the Lomography stores, are your best bet. It’s also worth having a scout around on eBay for expired film. It may be out of date, but it’ll still work and you might even get some fancy effects that you weren’t expecting.

8. When choosing which film to use, it’s important to check the ISO, which refers to the speed of the film. The higher the number, the faster the film. If you’re shooting on a gloomy day then it’s best to go for a high ISO (800 and over), while you’ll need a very sunny day to get any decent results from a film with a low rating (100 and under). Film with an ISO rating of 400 is a safe middle-ground for most conditions.

9. If you want some cool results, then try to think beyond the classic colour neg film. Black and white film will give you moody monochrome shots, while slide film offers striking colour saturation for a bold, arty look. It’s also worth checking out redscale film which will give your snaps a nostalgic orangey-red glow.

10. Colour infrared film is notoriously hard to track down these days since Kodak stopped making it a few years back, and it now only occasionally turns up on eBay. Originally designed for aerial photography,colour infrared film offers crazily bright colour combinations, especially when teamed with a suitable colour lens filter.

11. If you’re feeling extra brave, then try re-spooling and re-using your film. This will effectively give you two sets of shots on one film and it’s pure luck as to whether this will give you awesome results or just a big mess, which is part of the fun. All you need to do is rewind your film as you normally would, but leave a small section of film poking out of the canister. You can then simply re-load the film into your snapper (or a different camera if you want to mix up the results).

12. If you’ve got yourself a vintage Polaroid snapper then the only place you’re likely to find the genuine Polaroid instant film is on eBay. The good news is that the clever folk at The Impossible Project, formed by former Polaroid employees, offer a new generation of instant film, which can easily be picked up online or in specialist camera shops. You can also still buy Fujifilm instant film for use in its Instax Mini 7 (also re-badged as the Polaroid 300) as well as Lomography’s instant camera backs.

You can read the rest of the article on Gizmodo.co.uk (originally published 05/12/11) and it also appears on Lomography.com.

Image credit: Golfpunkgirl

by

Kobo Touch review

Kobo TouchCanadian ebook specialist Kobo recently signed a UK exclusive deal with WH Smith to sell its two new models – the Kobo Wi Fi and the Kobo Touch.

While the Wi Fi model comes with a wallet-friendly price tag of £89 that puts it head to head with the new Amazon Kindle, the Kobo Touch adds touchscreen capability along with an extra £20 to the price. We took the touch-control Kobo for a test run to find out how it would fare.

Kobo Touch – Build

Almost identical to the Kindle in size and shape, the Kobo sports a silky brushed rubber finish to add bit of grip for the more ham-fisted among you, while the raised, quilted finish on the back makes it even more comfy to hold – possibly even more so than an actual paper-based book.

Kobo Touch – Screen

Pages render very slightly slower than on the Kindle, although they’re certainly not sluggish enough to stop you from reading at Kobo Touchnormal pace. Text and images are just as clear as they are on the Kindle, but as with Amazon’s gadget, the screen isn’t as good as paper just yet.

Kobo Touch – Controls

Unlike the Kindle, the Kobo has done away with all physical controls – except for a solitary Home button and a power switch – in favour of touchscreen control, giving you more room to grip the gadget without knocking any buttons. Pages can be turned simply by tapping the left or right side of the screen, or by swiping across the display.

You can read the rest of the article on Stuff.tv (originally published Nov 2011).

by

The Disposable Memory Project

Disposable Memory ProjectWhen the nice folk at Kodak asked if I wanted to get involved with the Disposable Memory Project, I jumped at the chance, given that I’m a huge fan of film photography. The Kodak chaps recently provided me with some disposable cameras for a feature where I spent seven days working only with film  - no digital allowed – so I was keen to get stuck in once again.

Established in April 2008, the Disposable Memory Project is a “global photography experiment” where throwaway cameras are passed on to others or left in public locations around the world.

Disposable Memory ProjectEach camera includes a message urging the finder to take a few pictures and then pass the snapper on. There are also instructions on where to return the camera to when the film is finished.

More than 350 camera have been released already and you can see the results from those that have made it safely home over at the Project’s website. So far, more than 70 countries have been visited, with the cameras racking up over 440,000 miles of travel between them.

Disposable Memory ProjectMy Kodak Ultra single-use camera started its journey in South London and spent a short time travelling around the Big Smoke before jetting off to Washington D.C in the US of A, courtesy of my mum. From there, who knows where it will end up. You can follow its progress on its own little tracking page.

If the Disposable Memory Project sounds like your kind of bag, then you can get involved yourself by contacting the chaps in charge or follow the Twitter feed on @foundacam.

by

Lomography LomoKino review: Hands-on

Lomography LomoKinoAnalogue camera specialist Lomography has unveiled its very first movie camera, the LomoKino, and we were invited along to Lomo HQ for a top secret exclusive preview prior to the official launch.

As we’d already received an invite to the launch event in the form of an old cinema ticket along with a pack of popcorn, we’d guessed that the new product would be a movie gadget of some sort. However, while most internet rumours pointed towards some form of 8mm movie cam, the LomoKino actually uses good ol’ 35mm, which is nice and cheap to buy and easy to find, unlike 8mm cine film.

Equipped with a 25mm lens, the LomoKino takes 4 shots per frame, giving you a total of 144 shots on a roll which, when edited together into a digital movie file, should give you a silent film lasting between 36 and 48 seconds (at around 3-4 frames per second). You can use any type of 35mm film – whether that’s conventional colour negative, slide film or black and white – and all you need to do is turn the film crank on the side of the camera to capture your shots. Varying the speed of the crank will determine how slow or fast your film is and you can either take it all in one go, or stop halfway through and pick up “filming” later on, in another location.

The camera is available on its own, or in a bundle with the LomoKinoScope – a small black box into which you can spool your developed slide film, hold up to the light and watch your movie. Obviously, you can also use the device to view other types of 35mm apart from slide film, but your images will appear in negative, rather than positive (as slide film is specifically designed to produce transparencies, rather than prints). Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to see the LomoKinoScope in action, but we did get our mitts on the camera and it’s a beauty.

Lomography LomoKinoThe modernist black plastic casing has a suitably retro look to it and although not the slimmest gadget in the world, it’s certainly small enough to fit into a bag (a fairly spacious bag, granted). And it’s also extremely lightweight and fits comfortably in the hand. Although we didn’t actually get the chance to shoot a roll, the loading mechanism all appears to be very straightforward, so you should be able to cut your own, hipster-flavoured version of Keystone Cops before you know it.

The rudimentary viewfinder pops up at the flick of a switch and packs down flat for storage. The viewing window is really quite tiny as it’s sized to match the quarter frame shots that you’ll be taking, so it’s a bit of a struggle to see through. However, most users will probably end up sticking to Lomo’s “shoot from the hip” ethos and doing away with the viewfinder in favour of freestyle shooting.

You can read the rest of the article on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 03/11/11).

by

The Halloween Kid – a short film funded by you

The Halloween Kid screen shotEver wanted to get your name on IMDB? Now you can, simply by getting involved with the funding for a new short film entitled The Halloween Kid.

Written and directed by actress, writer and all-round horror nut Axelle Carolyn and produced and edited by Neil Marshall, best known for Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Centurion (and also the husband of the director), the short will be filmed in and around London at the end of October.

The film tells the tale of Henry, a lonely boy who loves Halloween, and will also feature the handiwork of director of photography Sam McCurdy (Game of Thrones), special effects make-up guru Paul Hyett (Centurion, Red Riding, The Woman in Black) and composer Christian Henson (Severance)

The Halloween Kid posterThe initial £4,000 target has also ready been reached, so the ante has now been upped. If you want to assist the filmmakers in reaching the new £10,000 goal then get yourself over to the funding page. You can invest as little as £5 which will get you “undying gratitude” from the makers, or choose from a selection of Halloween-themed packages, with the top investors (£1,500 or more) bagging themselves an Executive Producer credit.

If you’d like to get involved then check out the funding page here or head over to The Halloween Kid blog for some more background.

by

How the iPad is changing the face of music

How the iPad is changing the face of musicAndroid may be catching up fast, but it was the iPad that made the tablet a must-have piece of kit for any self-respecting gadget aficionado. For the while, at least, the iPad continues to lead the charge and, though its games, web browsing and playing about on Facebook and Twitter are as popular as ever; it’s also managed to infiltrate the music industry. We’re not just talking about the fact that the tablet can house your entire iTunes music library. It’s also fast becoming a useful tool for musical types, both professional and amateur.

The most high-profile use of Apple’s tablet by a pro musician so far involves the latest album from ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s hip-hop project Gorillaz, which was created largely on his iPad during a 32-day tour of North America. The album uses real instruments and vocals combined with a good helping of synthesizers with Albarn making use of around 20 apps including Korg iELECTRIBE, Moog Filatron and FunkBox Drum Machine. It perfectly illustrates the convenience of being able to lay down tracks on a device, while on the move, with no access to a desktop computer or studio.

Convenience and portability are obviously two great benefits, especially, as with Albarn, plenty of musicians spend a great deal of time on the road; however the bonus of using a tablet goes further than that, as accessory brand Griffin’s PR director, Jackie Ballinger, told us.

“Technology, like the iPad enables musicians to become mobile without losing quality, now people are able to make music anywhere without limitations and without substantial costs.

“With the iPad and relevant apps a less costly alternative to recording studios and instruments, aspiring musicians have the opportunity to produce professional recording using solely these means.”

Money appears to be one of the most important factors – not exactly shocking when you consider the huge cost involved in putting an album together. If an artist can record an album for less, then why not?

The cost of producing a chart album is estimated to be a whopping £250,000, so it’s hardly surprising that musicians are opting for a more affordable route, especially those who don’t have a record deal and are producing the work themselves. Two-piece US indie band The Ultramods managed to produce an entire album (entitled Underwear Party) in just 2 weeks, only using GarageBand for iPad.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 12/09/11).

by

7 Days living with…film photography

7 Days living with...film photographyAlmost everyone on Team Pocket-lint is a camera nut of some description but out of all of us with our various bits of high tech snapping kit, I’ve also got quite a strong collection of Lomo cameras. The question is though, is film still relevant beyond retro style photography? Does it still have a place in society and how much of a pain in the bum is to use now that we’re mollycoddled by the happy snapping ways of digital? I decided to find out in 7 days.

The challenge here was to go for an entire week without using any digital cameras whatsoever, including the one on my iPhone. My day-to-day camera, which was housed safely on my bookcase for the entire 7 days, is a Panasonic DMC-LX3 - the brand’s top-of-the-range compact from a couple of years ago which is nice and portable while also offering excellent picture quality, largely thanks to its fancy Leica lens. I also use a lot of film cameras, but they’re all lo-fi models (mostly Lomo) so the first step was to track down a decent film snapper to use for all the Pocket-lint reviews and hands-on work that I do. As it turns out, not an easy task.

After a lot of back and fourth with various brands, Nikon agreed to lend me an alarmingly expensive F6 SLR (around £1,500)  for the duration, along with a rather large AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm zoom lens worth something like the same again. I was also sent a Kodak Ultra Compact single-use camera, along with some film, while Polaroid loaned me one of its Polaroid 300 instant cameras. The film-based lineup was completed by my Lomography La Sardina.

Obviously, this isn’t a review of any of the cameras involved – it’s an account of life without a digital camera. My 7 days begins on Thursday – simply because the Nikon camera turned up at my door halfway through the week. Read on to find out what happened.

Thursday

Thanks to a week of very late nights staying up to follow the London riots on Sky News and Twitter (and praying that they wouldn’t come any closer to my home or those of my friends), the tail-end of the week was something of a struggle. On the agenda for Thursday was a review of the Philips Fidelio DS7700 iPad dock. Usually I would breeze through my review shots on my digital camera, checking them on the screen as I go, before transferring them to my computer and resizing them – all within about half an hour of setting up the kit. Not this time.

Naturally, all of the pictures needed to be snapped using the Nikon F6 and things took a bit longer when film was brought into the equation. After finally managing to load up a Kodak Gold ISO 200 colour film after several failed attempts and a substantial amount of swearing, I was finally ready to get stuck in. The F6 is a heavy camera at the best of times and even more so when you’re trying to balance an iPad dock in one hand and use the camera one-handed.

Philips DS7700 iPad dock

I’m not really a SLR aficionado, so I was at the mercy of the hastily Googled manual when it came to setting the camera’s controls. The fact that I couldn’t take a couple of test shots and look at them to check that the settings were correct before I got started was a major hassle. Having to finish the film off was also something of a pain. Using a well-practiced review routine, I can usually get the 10-15 shots that I need by taking around 20-25 of them on my digital camera. As this iPad dock was a relatively simple piece of kit with only a couple of buttons, there were only a certain amount of shots that I needed, but I had to keep going after that to finish off the film – taking up precious time and also making by arm ache from holding the F6.

Once finished, instead of just popping an SD card into my computer, I had to make the 10-minute saunter down to the local Boots to put my film in for one-hour processing, at a cost of £7.49 (I initially went into the nearby Snappy Snaps, who said that they’d be able to take care of my photos in an hour, but then backtracked when I presented them with a film and said that it would take three). Then I went back home for lunch before returning to pickup my disc of images, all the time praying that they were ok so that I wouldn’t have to repeat the entire process.

Thankfully, the pictures were mostly usable, although the review lacks a close-up shot of the Bluetooth and volume controls as none of my shots of these were sharp enough and I didn’t think that it was worth the cost of another film and more processing to put right this tiny detail (not to mention the time involved).

Polaroid from the LomoHub

After work, I moseyed on down to the Lomography store in Soho for a largely beer-based “tea party” to celebrate the new B&W Earl Grey & Lady Grey films. Being without a digital camera in the Lomo store is hardly unusual so I didn’t miss not being able to use one, and I took along the La Sardina and a Polaroid 300. I took a few shots, including this Poloroid snap (above) of myself, and fellow journos and Lomo users Kat and Laura.

You can read the rest of the article here on Pocket-lint.com (originally published 29/08/11).