This article brings together a wealth of news and tidbits on analogue photography from around the web that you might have missed over spring, from earth-friendly fixers to analogue trivia and more:
Several new analogue products
Several film producers have released new stock over the past few months, including CineStill whose 400D colour film is now available in 5x4 Large Format. Italian company Ferrania has released its third film stock, Ferrania P33, a crisp 35mm format black and white film. Zone Imaging has answered the number one question for environmentally-conscious photographers: Is there an eco-friendly Fixer out there? Yes, there is, called Eco Zonefix - an odourless, alkaline, non-hardening, soluble rapid fixer, free of borate derivatives, phosphates, carcinogens, acetic acid and non-biodegradable chelating agents. The fixer retails at £7.95.
Analogue photographer captures ISS transiting sun on 35mm
Australian analogue photographer Jason De Freitas (@jase.film) has successfully captured the International Space Station transiting the sun on classic 35mm film. As any astrophotographer will tell you, capturing celestial bodies on film is nothing short of a challenge, but the 9th March transit wasn’t his first successful ISS capture. On New Year’s Day, Jase posted a composite image of 14 frames showing the ISS transiting the moon on Kodak P3200 film. The March transit is believed to be the first time the ISS has been captured transiting the sun on celluloid. “From a precise location on earth, you can occasionally line up the International Space Station with the sun,” he explained on his Instagram. “While my analog astrophotography exposures typicaly [sic] span many minutes and hours, in this particular shot, the magic was captured in a mere 0.98 second time span.” View more of Jase’s work at his instagram account here.
Canon AE-1's iconic sound
Phil Edwards, a popular online ‘Edutainer’, has posted a short reel about the 1976 Canon AE-1, which provided the iconic shutter release sound on Apple products. Jim Reekes, who was tasked with selecting sounds for Apple Macs, was responsible for recording the shutter sound on his very own Canon AE-1 to represent the sound of a screenshot on Mac computers. The same sound was then later adopted on all iPhones as the sound when taking a digital photograph. It has become one of the most ubiquitous camera sounds for another generation of picture-makers. View the reel here.
Other items of interest:
- Do you want everybody to know you love film? This Brava x Kodak collaboration is for you. A collection of retro Kodak-inspired attire, from shirts to gym socks, is now available here.
- Polaroid have upgraded their Black and White 600 with new chemistry, designed to increase the film’s clarity. The film is compatible with a range of Polaroid cameras including the Polaroid 600, Polaroid Now, Polaroid Now+, Polaroid I-2, and Polaroid Lab printer, and is now available to buy worldwide.
For more analogue photography news, tips and information, visit the RPS’ Analogue microsite or the Analogue Group’s Facebook page.