‘Extreme Sprocket Hole Photography’ Uses Four Film Rolls to Create One Picture
An experimental photographer customized a 100-year-old 360-degree camera so it can shoot four rolls of film at the same time to create one cohesive picture.
Large format photographer Skyy bought a Cirkut No.6 Outfit camera via an eBay auction in July 2024 after being inspired by a PetaPixel article. However, the camera was incomplete: the small gears and film holders for the 5×7 back were missing.
After a friend asked him whether it is possible to shoot multiple rolls of film inside the Cirkut, it prompted Skyy to start experimenting and began to design a custom spool for four 35mm film rolls using Computer-Aided Design software (CAD).
“To ensure everything remains even, I created the spool with four sections to hold each roll, all taped to a single leader paper that the take-up drum uses to pull the film,” Skyy tells PetaPixel.
After 3D-printing his design along with the missing cogs from the camera, Skyy could start shooting. Cirkut cameras are generally named according to the width of the film roll they use in panoramic mode. Therefore, Skyy’s Cikut No.6 takes six-inch film but since his is the Outfit model, it’s actually six and a half inches.
“This gave me a little extra room to do this project,” explains Skyy in a YouTube video. “As I would likely use one less strip of film if I had a normal No.6.”
Cirkut cameras work by mounting them on a specially geared tripod that allows for controlled rotation. The camera is wound up with a spring-driven clockwork motor, which controls the rotation speed.
Once the shutter is triggered, the whole camera spins on its axis. As the camera rotates, the film is fed through so that a small section of it is exposed at a time, syncing the film’s movement with the camera’s rotation. The camera continues rotating and exposing the film until the full panorama is captured.
While the Cirkut cameras are made to shoot full 360-degree images, Skyy’s black-and-white film image a field of view of 180 degrees, and his color photo is just shy of a full rotation somewhere around 320 degrees.
“It seems like such an extreme idea to me: using four rolls of film to create one photo,” Skyy says when asked why he calls the technique Extreme Sprocket Hole Photography. “Part of the inspiration came from seeing many people on my Instagram showcasing their 6×7 cameras with sprocket hole photography. I felt I had overlooked most of the medium format options, so I combined sprocket hole photography with what I see as an extreme approach.”
Skyy says he has yet to see anyone else trying Extreme Sprocket Hole Photography.
Developing the Film
After the exposure is complete, Skyy processes the black and white film rolls [he can’t develop color himself] simultaneously under identical conditions including “agitation, chemistry, time, temperature, you name it,” explains Skyy.
“I utilize a five-reel Patterson tank but I only populate four reels for each development session. This ensures uniformity in the development process which is critical for achieving the best image quality.”
Printing
To make the striking, full-bleed print that extends beyond the sprocket holes, hence the name ‘Extreme Sprocket Hole Photography’, Skyy taped the Ilford Pan F Plus film to the glass of his eight-inch wide print frame.
“The exposure was done using a 35mm enlarger that I bounced the light off my wife’s makeup mirror across the room to the frame,” he explains.
Passion Project
Skyy says he has always had a passion for panoramic photography and that’s why he wanted to undertake the project.
“While others may be content with traditional square or rectangular photographs, I prefer to capture panoramic views. Utilizing 135 film [35mm] to create one large image allows me to use film stocks that aren’t commonly available in the sizes I typically shoot,” he explains.
“Most of what I can find is from Ilford, which is fantastic that they still produce it, but I would also love to create some color photos with this camera or experiment with a different black-and-white film from Ilford.”
“My favorite Ilford stock is Pan F Plus, and I can buy bulk rolls in 135 formats, but I can’t find it in 10-inch or even 6.5-inch wide rolls, which is the size I currently use. When I’m not using my Cirkut cameras, I’m shooting with my Al-Vista or Panoram Kodak cameras,” he adds.
If you’re interested in analog 360-degree photography, then why not read PetaPixel’s story on Richard Malogorski who uses his Cirkut camera to create beautiful panoramic images in America’s heartland.
More of Skyy’s work can be found on his Instagram and YouTube.
Image credits: Photographs by Skyy/Socialmocracy
