Once a staple of photography for the general populace, disposable (or “single-use”) cameras have become something of a niche -- most people who never stopped shooting film or those younger audiences who are coming to it for the first time choose to use an affordable SLR or point and shoot camera. The image quality is quite superior and a single roll of film is less expensive (though typically not by much) than a disposable camera.
Everybody loves a camera with history. For me, there is one specific camera with a lot of history and sentimental value: It is a Hasselblad 500C/M that has been in my family for about forty years. It was my grandfather's camera.
Shooting black and white film over digital in the last few years has changed my approach to photography a great deal. The process of shooting film, from the tactility of the Leica M7 and Rolleiflex 2.8D cameras that I use, to developing and scanning, have given me a much deeper appreciation for the craft of being a photographer.
We all know a knockoff when we see it. Fake Rolexes, certain Russian motorcycles, and pretty much anything bought off of a street cart in Hong Kong, these poor quality imitators just can’t match their real deal counterparts. It’s no different in the world of film. And one film in particular has garnered a reputation for being just such a cheap copy—Ilford HP5 Plus.
It came out first in 1940, when Europe was plunged into war but America was enjoying the dying days of calm before the storm. It was Kodak’s new black-and-white film, designed to be shot on location. The only problem was, it was only available in large format.
Kodak recently issued an official statement confirming the discontinuation of yet another film stock: the much-loved, fine grain, chromogenic black & white film BW400CN.
Two months after being in Sochi to cover the 2014 Winter Olympics, photographer Guy Rhodes is sharing some of the images he captured there. But they’re not just any images. They’re analog images. 4x5 images, to be exact.
Using 34 sheets of Tri-X and a Crown Graphic 4x5 camera, Rhodes describes capturing the games with such a beast (while also shooting digital) as, "among the top experiences [in his] life."