Catch the Color Tulip Photo Contest
2024
You're invited to enter our annual Catch the Color Tulip Photo Contest by uploading your best photos taken at the 2024 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
CATEGORIES:
FLOWERS
Show us interesting, unique and beautiful pictures of flowers at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. They can be shot using macro lenses and modes, or consider a zoom, wide-angle or creative lenses. Don't limit yourself, and get creative!
DETAILS & MACRO
Getting in close is the trick for this category. We welcome pictures of small details that tell a larger story. Don't restrict yourself to just flower shots, think abstract; a water drop, insects, leaves, ice crystals, etc. Anything goes as long as it is in a tight composition. Remember that a macro image of a flower might also go into the Flower category.
LANDSCAPE & FIELD
These pictures include landscapes, sunsets, field shots of the tulips and may also include hot air balloons or other major landmarks in the fields.
CATCH ALL
This category is for the pictures that may not fit with the other three categories. But remember: it must be taken at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm and may include landmarks such as the tractors, windmills, wooden shoes, or pictures with people and animals, etc.
CONTEST PRIZES:
Grand Prize
- Wins a $150 Pro Photo Supply gift card.
- High-quality print from the Pro Photo Supply Lab.
- Season Pass to 2024 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
1st Place Prize per Category
- Wins a $75 Pro Photo Supply gift card.
- High-quality print from the Pro Photo Supply Lab.
- Season Pass to 2024 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
Honorable Mention per Category
- High-quality print from the Pro Photo Supply Lab.
All entries must be digital uploads only.
Photos must be submitted in JPG format.
Each file submission size should be no larger than 5MB in size.
You may submit up to four (4) digital images total.
All entries must be submitted by Saturday, May 18th, 2024.
Photos must be the original work of the entrant.
Employees or contractors of Pro Photo Supply and those living in the same household are not eligible.
All finalist photographers will be notified and required to resubmit their winning image(s) in a 300 dpi JPEG format no smaller than 8” inches in the shortest dimension or (2400 x 2400 pixels).
If submission requirements are not followed, the application and images may not be judged.
CATEGORIES:
CATEGORY PRIZES:
All winning photos will be displayed at the Pro Photo Supply gallery for the duration of April, 2024. Pro Photo Supply will host a gallery opening evening on Wednesday, April 3rd from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Winners will be able to take their print home starting May 1st, 2024.
1st Place [in each category]:
2nd Place [in each category]:
Honorable Mention [in each category]:
Submission Requirements:
CATEGORIES:
ADULT CATEGORY PRIZES:
1st Place [in each category]:
Honorable Mention:
YOUTH CATEGORY PRIZE:
1st Place:
Honorable Mention:
*Gift Cards from Pro Photo Supply
CATEGORIES:
FLOWERS
Show us interesting, unique and beautiful pictures of flowers at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. They can be shot using macro lenses and modes, or consider a zoom, wide-angle or creative lenses. Don't limit yourself, and get creative!
DETAILS & MACRO
Getting in close is the trick for this category. We welcome pictures of small details that tell a larger story. Don't restrict yourself to just flower shots, think abstract; a water drop, insects, leaves, ice crystals, etc. Anything goes as long as it is in a tight composition. Remember that a macro image of a flower might also go into the Flower category.
LANDSCAPE & FIELD
These pictures include landscapes, sunsets, field shots of the tulips and may also include hot air balloons or other major landmarks in the fields.
CATCH ALL
This category is for the pictures that may not fit with the other three categories. But remember: it must be taken at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm and may include landmarks such as the tractors, windmills, wooden shoes, or pictures with people and animals, etc.
CONTEST PRIZES:
Grand Prize
- Wins a $150 Pro Photo Supply gift card.
- Featured in Gallery Show of Winners, receives high-quality print after.
- Season Pass to 2024 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
1st Place Prize per Category
- Wins a $75 Pro Photo Supply gift card.
- Featured in Gallery Show of Winners, receives high-quality print after.
- Season Pass to 2024 Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.
Honorable Mention per Category
- Featured in Gallery Show of Winners, receives high-quality print after.
All entries must be digital uploads only.
Photos must be submitted in JPG format.
Each file submission size should be no larger than 5MB in size.
You may submit up to four (4) digital images total.
All entries must be submitted by Saturday, June 3rd, 2023.
Photos must be the original work of the entrant.
Employees or contractors of Pro Photo Supply and those living in the same household are not eligible.
All finalist photographers will be notified and required to resubmit their winning image(s) in a 300 dpi JPEG format no smaller than 8” inches in the shortest dimension or (2400 x 2400 pixels).
If submission requirements are not followed, the application and images may not be judged.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
Developing your own film at home sounds intimidating. Here you are, having just invested your time and creative energy into all 12, 24, or 36 exposures on your roll of film, and now you have to face chemistry!?! Fear not. The science needed to develop your own film at home is fairly easy (in fact many of the products you’ll need to do this will have the math part already spelled out for you on the packaging).
And developing black and white film is easy enough, why not own this part of your creative process right? Learning to develop color film at home is a more complex process and can be a bit trickier since there are more chemicals needed and these chemicals are much more sensitive to temperature shifts during the process. There are special products to help keep this from being an issue, but for simplicity’s sake, in this article we will be focusing on developing your own black and white negatives.
Developing your own black and white negatives can save you quite a bit of money if you are a prolific photographer. Everything needed to get started can be found for under $150 (thanks in part to the ILFORD & PATERSON FILM STARTER KIT). Once you made the initial investment on the equipment, just paying a lab to scan your film or learning to scan your own film will continue the long term savings.
Not only can this hands-on experience save you money and connect you closer to all parts of your photographic craft, but maybe you don’t have a lab near you, or maybe you're shooting on location somewhere and need to see what you’ve shot without waiting to get your negatives back from the lab. Developing your own film will allow you independence to control the timeline and feasibility of your projects as well as the expense.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to start developing your own black & white film at home. The necessities:
Tip: Plastic film reels are easiest for beginners to learn on since metal reels are typically much harder to load your film onto.
The optionals:
Now that you have everything you’ll need, let’s dive into the process. Every step of this process should probably be practiced in the light first, since at some point you will be doing the majority of the unloading of the canisters and the loading of the reels in the changing bag where you won’t be able to see what you’re doing. You’ll need to sacrifice a roll of cheap or damaged film to practice, but you’ll be glad you did once you're not able to watch your hands’ actions.
Here are the steps to unloading your film from the canisters, loading it onto the reels, and getting it securely in the developing tank. (This is specifically for the Paterson Universal plastic tanks, but the operations are generally the same on all developing tanks, minus the Lab Box).
1. Open up the bottom of your changing bag and put your film canister(s), developing tank (including the center column and funnel lid), scissors, and bottle opener into the changing bag.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
2. Now put your arms through the arm holes on the changing bag. Locate your film canister(s) and your bottle opener and use the bottle opener to pop the metal top off of the end of the canister that the center spool sticks out of. It won’t take too much effort, as long as you’ve managed to get your bottle opener under the rim of the top piece.
TIP: You want to be careful not to get fingerprints on your film while loading it onto the reel. Wearing nitrile or latex gloves so that you won’t leave oily fingerprints behind on your negatives that will block the chemistry from developing your film will keep you from ruining your negatives. Plus wearing gloves keeps the smell of fixer and the other chemicals from lingering on your fingers for days.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
3. Without completely removing the spool from your film canister, pull the spool out enough that you can spin it around until you find the leader on your roll. Once you locate the leader, while keeping some tension on the film wound around the spool, remove the entire spool from your film canister.
4. Use your scissors to cut off the leader end of your roll of film making a nice straight edge to load onto the reel.
5. Put your spool (with the film still wound around it) back into the canister and set it aside for a second. You want to do this so that while you’re locating you reel and prepping it to receive the film, your film won’t spring loose from the spool and create film spaghetti inside the changing bag.
6. Locate your reel(s) and feel around the outer edge until you find two “knobs” that indicate the entry point for your film. These knobs will need to be aligned with each other to start or your film won’t take up on the spool.
7. Once they are aligned, take your film out of the canister again and begin to feed it onto the reel(s). After pushing it a short distance past those knobs, you should feel your film catch on the bearings. Once you feel that, you’ll be able to twist the top and bottom plates of the reel back and forth while the bearings help take up your film and guide it into the track on the reel(s).
NOTE: If you feel your film catch or it gets stuck while being fed through the tracks, stop and pull your film off of the reel(s) and start over. Be sure that your front straight edge hasn’t become bent as this will make it near impossible to load your film back onto the reel smoothly. If you need to, recut a new straight edge on the front of your roll. Trying to force a jammed roll onto the reel(s) will likely result in the film not loading properly and thus your images won’t develop properly.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
8. Once your film is on the reel(s), put the reel onto the center column piece of you developing tank.
9. Repeat steps 2-8 for any remaining rolls of film you plan to develop in the same tank.
10. Once all rolls of film have been loaded onto reels and the center column, put the center column into the tank (you should feel it “lock” into place) and put the funnel lid on. Rotate it clockwise until you hear a click and your tanks should now be light tight.
11. Now you’re ready to mix your chemistry and develop your film!
Photo by Tommy Spencer
You won’t need to be a mad scientist to mix your own photo chemistry. It actually requires very little knowledge of chemistry itself, just take care to read the directions for your chemical dilutions that are printed on the packaging of the chemicals themselves. For example, Ilford Ilfotec DDX Developer, requires a 1:4 dilution as noted on the container. This conveniently is the same dilution as the Ilford Rapid Fixer. Again, the concentrated liquid chemicals are easiest and you’ll want some plastic containers (photo chemical safe containers) to store your dilution in once you’ve mixed it.
The amount of chemistry you’ll want to mix will depend on how many rolls of film you are looking to develop. The Paterson Universal tank that fits two 35m rolls will take approximately 22 oz of chemistry (most tanks will tell you how much fluid is required), so if you are doing multiple batches, it may make sense to mix up 2 or 3 times that amount to store in your plastic storage bottles. The chemistry will eventually expire, but even if you pour your diluted chemistry back into their respective storage bottles it will likely take quite a few rolls before the chemistry is expired. Be sure to label your dilution strength, the date you mixed on, and what chemical is in each of your storage bottles so that you don’t have to guess the next time you plan on using them.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
Now that your chemistry is prepped and mixed in separate bottles, we can begin the actual developing process!
Chemistry isn’t the only part of the developing process that mystifies most people. Figuring out how long you’ll need to develop your film might seem like some complex math problem from your high school algebra class, but most of the time on the inside of the box there’s development times for at least some of the developers you can choose from (at the very least, Kodak and Ilford have development times for developing with their chemistry printed on the boxes of film). If this information isn’t printed on the box, or you don’t have the box to your roll of film, no worries. The Massive Dev Chart is the home developers best friend as it is a comprehensive list of film stocks developers and the times that they all use together. Don’t forget that the temperature of your chemistry will also affect how long you develop for, so be sure to know the temperature when referencing development times.
Processing your film follows the basic steps listed below:
Photo by Tommy Spencer
As you pour in the developer into your tank, start a timer set for your development time. Once all your developer is in the tank, attach the tank's cap and shake gently for 30 seconds or use the agitating stick if your tank has one. Once the first 30 seconds are up, you’ll only need to agitate you tank for 10 seconds every minute throughout the developing time. Be sure to tap the tank on a table or counter after each agitation to ensure there are no air bubbles blocking the chemistry from fully touching your film. When your developing time is up, dump your chemistry back into the developer storage bottle if you plan to use it again or into a waste container to take somewhere to have it disposed of properly.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
3. Stop-bath: Without waiting too long after removing your developer from the tank, pour your stop bath dilution into your developing tank and put the cap back on. Agitate the tank by shaking or using the agitation stick for about ten seconds, tap your tank on the table or counter to release any air bubbles and then let it sit for 30 seconds to fully stop the development process. Pour the stop bath back into the stop bath storage bottle if you plan to use it again or into a waste container to take somewhere to have it disposed of properly.
Note: Make sure to use your full fixing time. Spending a little too much time in the fixer won't have any real negative impact on your film, but not spending enough time can.
A liter of Ilford Rapid Fixer can be reused to fix over 100 rolls of film. Once it is expired, you’ll need to take it to someone to have it disposed of properly since there will be silver in it that should never get poured down a drain. Most local labs will take the spent fixer and dispose of it for their customers.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
Note: Once the washing process begins, your film is considered fully-developed and light-safe.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
8. Prepping your film to dry: Take your reels off of the center column of the tank. Now twist the same direction as you did when loading the film onto them, continuing to do so beyond the initial stopping point. Now you should be able to pull the top and bottom part of the reel(s) apart. Grab one end of the film and run a wet squeegee (once your clean fingers if you’re so inclined)over it once or twice.
Using film clips if you have them, or clothespins, or some other type of clamping clip that won’t scratch your negative, hang your film somewhere it won't be disturbed for about 12 hours so they can dry before cutting into strips and inserting them into plastic film sleeves. Be sure to give your film enough time to dry or it can get stuck in the plastic film sleeves. If there’s a tacky texture to your film, either it hasn’t been rinsed well enough or still too wet to be put into storage sleeves.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
The chemicals used to develop your negatives are toxic and should never be dumped down the drain. As noted earlier, they must be disposed of properly either by taking them to a local lab that you frequent or by contacting your city’s waste management and asking how you should dispose of harmful chemicals. Photo fixer presents the most environmental issues out of the chemicals used for film developing. Some places, like possibly a local lab, might be happy to take it off your hands (usually for a small fee) since the fixer contains valuable liquid silver that can be collected by a machine called a Silver Recovery Unit and recycled. Used developer and stop bath, however, should be taken to wherever you take other household hazard waste to be processed.
Past the chemistry part of cleaning up, keeping your workspace clean and tidy is equally important. Be sure to wipe up any spilled chemistry wherever you have decided to work (bathroom, kitchen sink, basement utility room, home darkroom) and always be sure to fully wash your reels, developing tanks, thermometer, and the rest of your equipment so it’s nice and clean for your next developing session.
Photo by Tommy Spencer
Though developing your own film at home sounds intimidating, and, as is the case with most DIY processes, there's going to be some degree of trial and error involved, a film photographer shouldn’t be scared to develop their own film at home. No matter if you’ve been shooting film for decades or just recently picked it up, developing one's own negatives is a right of passage for any photographer. As you practice, be sure to make notes on each step of the developing process as it pertains to your chemistry and the film you frequently shoot so that you can reference them every time you develop your film.
The idea of truly possessing all the steps and processes in one’s creative vision is often regarded as the highest form of expertise and proficiency. Plus, as you become proficient at regular development of your own film, the world opens up to other creative processes you can do while developing your film, like film soup!
Image by Chris Tabacchi
There’s a lot of feelings about the state of film photography in 2022 - Frustration with prices fluctuating, distress over film stocks being discontinued, and agony over scarce availability. Regardless of your feelings on these issues, one thing that we can all agree on is that the increased interest in film photography has brought about the welcomed introduction (and improved availability) of some very unique films.
At Pro Photo Supply, amongst our staff and customers, there seems to be two reigning champions in the unique film stock realm. First is Lomography’s LomoChrome Purple. Second is Cinestill’s 800T. Both of these films have unique formulas that produce a more stylized look and feel that stands apart from more traditional film stocks. Let’s look at what makes these two films so special!
Image by Sarah Nelson
“What is with that photo?!” A common exclamation from someone the first time they see an image created with Lomography’s LomoChrome Purple. LomoChrome Purple is a bit reminiscent of older infrared film but it isn’t a true infrared film. You won’t need a filter to help reign in the spectrum of light being captured and you can process this film using the common C-41 process. Lomography states that it’s the unique chemical formulas they use that help give their LomoChrome films their distinctive look. This fine grain, color negative film, creates psychedelic purple tones with “a heady blend of earthy reds, crisp plums and velvety violet hues” according to Lomography’s own description.
Image by Angel Windhaven
LomoChrome Purple has a green acetate base, which is different from the orange base that your average color negative film has. This orange base is what scanners and digital printers are calibrated for which means a typical film scanner won't recognize LomoChrome Purple’s green base and give your scans a red color cast initially. The best way to remove this red color cast is with some post-scanning color correction to bring forward the color palette that LomoChrome Purple is known for. Looking for a neutral or gray tone that should be present in your image, like cement, and using that to color balance off of is a great way to set the color standard for your scans and remove that native red cast. Once a neutral balance is set, you should see the various shades of blue, red and magenta begin to show within this film.
LomoChrome Purple works at multiple ISO’s, from 100-400, with each ISO rating rendering a slightly different effect. Since you are effectively rating the film as more or less sensitive, the resulting exposure times are changed as you take the shot and therefore so are your images’ tones, highlights, and shadows. You can even switch between different ISO settings on the same roll, since all the magic happens in-camera, and you won’t need to ask your lab for pull/push processing. While you won’t need to ask for special processing, you will want to take into consideration how LomoChrome Purple is scanned and post-processed.
Image by Mick Koontz
Image by Chris Tabacchi
“With special chemical formulas and trippy emulsion concoctions, we have crafted some of the most experimental and extraordinary films on the market today. Forever committed to the continuation and advancement of analogue photography, we are proud to be one of the only companies still developing fresh, new films for contemporary photographers around the world,” states Lomography on their website. And that’s why we love this film. It’s a new film stock, something totally unique to offer our community of film shooters. It allows those photographers who are so inclined to “explore the color spectrum like never before from pastel pinks to mighty magentas and intense indigos…turn this beautiful, bizarre and bewildering world into a wonderland.”
Image by Tommy Spencer
What does that “T” stand for in the Cinestill 800T? Back when motion pictures were still shot entirely on film, they didn’t have the choice of just resetting the white balance in the camera when moving on to a different scene. Their film stocks had to be balanced to the light sources they planned to use for the various scenes. A “T” demarcation typically refers to Tungsten, which in turn most commonly is short hand for lamps using tungsten-halogen light bulbs. These bulbs emit light that covers the full range of the visible light spectrum as well as some temperatures that aren’t visible making tungsten lights great for rendering rich and accurate colors. And though technically tungsten light registers a temperature of 3200K (K is for Kelvin, a unit of measurement for the temperature of light), the term has become somewhat of a catch all for warm light sources in general, often ranging in temperature from 2700 - 3200K.
Image by Sarah Nelson
Image by Tommy Spencer
Motion picture production houses liked tungsten bulbs because they can burn for hundreds of hours without losing their color temperature accuracy or diminishing in power, thus making them an excellent light source on set, provided you can handle the heat and power requirements to run them. The range between tungsten and daylight colored light is the most commonly found in film because it mimics what we see in the real world. Tungsten typically marks the warmer end of the color temperature spectrum, while daylight marks the cooler end.
Image by Tommy Spencer
So why does all that matter to fans of Cinestill 800T?
Because as Cinestill puts it on their website, it “is an ISO 800 speed, tungsten balanced, color negative film that is based on the same gold standard motion picture technology used by top cinematographers around the world.” Cinestill is known for giving new life to old motion picture film stocks by adapting them for still photographers to shoot. Typically motion picture films contain a layer called the remjet layer which is a removable jet black layer located on the bottom of motion picture films to offer anti-halation, anti-static, lubrication and scratch protection. Cinestill removes this layer so that their films can be safely processed in standard C-41 photo lab machines, Cs41 processing chemicals at home, or in Cs2 chemistry for low-contrast motion picture negatives. However removing the remjet layer also results in a slight halation effect that many other color negative films formulated strictly for still photography won’t have. This halation effect, along with the fact that this film is designed for difficult low light conditions and can be push-processed up to 3200 ISO, gives images made with it a unique look whether they are tungsten lit or not.
Image by Tommy Spencer
Without the presence of an anti-halation layer, CineStill 800T has a signature look in which a red glow may appear around overexposed light sources, giving that classic film noir movie vibe. This red glow can be decreased with a CineBloom style filter, but its fun presence and unique look tends to be one of the things that draws photographers to using this film stock.
Image by Sarah Nelson
Have you ever tried Lomography's LomoChrome Purple or Cinestill's 800T?
If you haven't, grab a roll and see what you think! And if you have, show us what you shot with it by using #featuredbyprophotosupply on your social media posts with these two films. We can't wait to see the creativity these two unique film stocks have inspired!
Kodak Portra 400 might easily be the most popular color film in the world of photography. It certainly doesn’t hurt that its one true contender, Fujifilm Pro 400H, gracefully (or not so gracefully depending on your feelings about that film stock) bowed out in January of 2021. Portra 400 is so popular that not even a significant price increase in January of 2022 could knock the champ from its throne.
But why is it so popular? Sure, it’s the only remaining true professional 400-speed color film. But what about other 400-speed color films with lesser price tags? Wouldn’t these do just fine? Well, If Portra 400's elusive nature and committed fanbase are any indication, one can assume there is no substitute for this iconic film stock. Let’s pick apart why everyone desires that 400 ISO film inside the purple and yellow box.
“KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA 400 is the world's finest grain high-speed color negative film. At true ISO 400 speed, this film delivers spectacular skin tones plus exceptional color saturation over a wide range of lighting conditions. PORTRA 400 Film is the ideal choice for portrait and fashion photography, as well as for nature, travel, and outdoor photography, where the action is fast or the lighting can't be controlled.”
If we are to believe Kodak’s 1998 promo video, the Portra “family” of films are daylight-balanced professional color negative films, made primarily with portrait and wedding photography in mind. They were introduced in two formulas, NC ("natural color") and VC ("vivid color"), in two speeds, 160 and 400, and replaced the professional Vericolor films VPS and VPL. Portra 800 was also released the same year but only in one formula. The 2011 update to the Portra family of films saw the end of the NC and VC varieties opting for a formula that incorporated a number of technological advances from Kodak’s motion pictures line of films. These improvements from the new formula included improved sharpness over 400 NC brought out by finer grain and more naturally rendered skin tones that were better than the previous NC and VC formulas.
The finer grain also improved the scanning performance of the film. Portra retained an orange “mask” for optical printing, but the decision to merge the two formulas, NC and VC, was based on the assumption that most prints were now being made from digital scans. With the film being primarily scanned digitally, adjustments for different levels of contrast and color saturation were likely also being done digitally and therefore rendered the specific formulas for each film’s traditional color darkroom printing process unnecessary.
Many would suggest that the “film look” is based on Portra 400. It’s warm but also muted. Portra delivers a sunny feel with colors and contrast that realistically enhance the image. It’s known for its impeccable skin tone rendering, keeping them smooth and true-to-life.
But what truly makes it so popular is its ability to deliver reliable image quality while remaining one of the most versatile and forgiving films. Portra’s 400 ISO box rating is a great middle-of-the-road film speed. It's great for shooting in just about any scene, whether it’s a sunny day outdoors or in low light, or indoors. Regardless of the lighting, the results are reliable. Portra’s exposure latitude makes it hard to get unusable images and makes it respond well to being pushed, pulled, underexposed, and/or overexposed, even all within the same roll, without having to alter your development times.
So is it the best color film ever? Maybe. But let’s not forget that brand recognition and ubiquity can go a long way for a film stock too. Kodak has been producing film for over a hundred years, for both still and motion pictures. To say that they’ve built a reputation for quality film stocks would be an understatement. And as noted at the top of this article, Portra 400 is being produced still today and widely available (maybe not in the quantities that film fanatics would hope for). There really isn’t another film stock out there that contends.
It’s no mystery that Kodak is suffering the same manufacturing challenges that many companies in the photography industry are currently facing. As demand for Portra 400 stays high, and the ability to produce more of it can’t increase to match the demand, photographers may have to look elsewhere for solutions. Albeit, there are differences across the three film speeds of Portra, staying within the same family of films will probably be a photographer's best bet. Below are samples of the same scene shot on Portra 400, Portra 160 pushed one stop to 320, and Portra 800 pulled one stop to 400.
35mm and 120 film are today’s most commonly available film formats. Sure there are large-format films in sizes 4” x 5” and bigger, but those tend to be more of a specialty stock. Most camera shops that deal in film photography will have a selection of 35mm & 120 film. Many people venture into the realm of film photography through second-hand 35mm cameras like the ever-popular Canon AE-1 or Nikon F series. With film photography seeing a resurgence in the last 5-10 years, a second-hand 120 format camera like the Mamiya RB 67 or a Yashica 124G might be a likely first-time camera these days. This begs the question, which format is better?
The biggest reason? Accessibility. For those looking to try out film photography or who shoot prolifically, 35mm is easy and accessible. Despite the scaling back of affordable consumer films, you can still find color 35mm film in most drugstores and tourist traps across the world. And camera stores worldwide will likely have a wide variety of 35mm films to choose from. Not to mention, there are more 35mm cameras available. 35mm cameras purchased on the used market tend to be more readily available and affordably priced, and your shooting is more economical since you have more shots per roll vs. 120 film. And aside from the ones whose now outdated electronics have given up working, this is still the case.
While 35mm was primarily used professionally by journalists and sports photographers, where the near-instant autofocus and super-telephoto lenses available for 35mm cameras were of benefit, it was mostly an amateur format. The cameras were often compact, some even pocketable, with a large array of lenses and accessories available for them. Prior to the introduction and widespread use of digital cameras, 35mm was the most popular film format in the world. The 35mm format was/is so popular that many amateurs never consider that other formats could be better suited to their work or even know that other formats exist!
120, also known as medium format, is a film format for still photography introduced by Kodak in 1901 to be used in their Brownie No. 2 camera, and by the 1960s was the most popular film format. Only 10 years later in about 1970, however, it was replaced by 35mm for disciplines like journalism when the Nikon 35mm cameras rose in popularity.
120 film is named as such because it was the 20th daylight-loading roll film (on flanged spools) that Kodak produced, whose format numbering standard began with 101. It was originally intended for amateur photography but was later superseded by 35mm film in this role. A smaller spool version of the same roll of film for snapshot cameras called 620 was widely available in the 1950s. 620 however is no longer made, but 620 spools can take 120 film stocks manually spooled onto them. 120 survived the test of time over other medium formats, such as 620 or 126, and is the only medium format film still currently being produced today.
Depending on the type of camera it’s shot on, 120 actually applies to a few different exposure dimensions (also known as framing ratios). 120 film is always 6 cm wide (2 - 1/4"), but different cameras shoot different variations of frame length. There are 6×4.5 cm, 6×6 cm, 6×7 cm, 6×9 cm, and panoramic 6×12 cm and 6×17 cm. You can see that 120 film is quite a bit larger than 35mm whose dimensions are typically 24×36 mm.
Both formats have pros and cons, determining what format to choose will likely depend on whether 35mm or 120 better suits your needs as a film photographer. 120 film gives a better resolution quality than 35mm and since the film comes in rolls like 35mm film, you can load them just as easily in daylight. However, the gear tends to be more expensive to get into and less available. There are fewer film stocks too. And the inflated costs of shooting 120 doesn’t stop at the equipment. If you’re shooting commercially on film, or shooting a wedding where your client’s end goal is to print/display your images, and you need the higher resolution that comes from the larger negative, 120 is probably the best format for you.
If being more agile, having lighter weight gear, and being able to purchase and develop film more readily, then 35mm might be the more advantageous format to your style of shooting. Additionally, if you want a wider variety of film stocks, shoot prolifically, or want to try out a wider variety of cameras and lenses, then 35mm will suit you better.
These are just some of the 10 golden rules of Lomography (who also coincidently is our sponsor this year). Most importantly, it's summer time, what better time than now to get out your trusty film camera, pick up a new one if you don't hundreds already and get creative!
We want to see your best summer film shots.
Submission Deadline: September 18th, 2022
Photograph a cat on a hike? Document every weekend at Satruday Market? Get a great portrait of your friend at a backyard BBQ? We want to see your documentary shots, portraits, street photography, etc.
Sunsets at the bluff, roadtrips to the hot springs, visiting your favorite Portland neighborhoods...show us the places and environments that brought you to your highest levels of summertime!
1st PLACE PRIZE PER CATEGORY
2nd PLACE PRIZE PER CATEGORY
HONORABLE MENTION PER CATEGORY
2021 Summer Film Photo Contest Winners & Honorable Mentions
CATEGORIES:
ADULT CATEGORY PRIZES:
1st Place [in each category]:
Honorable Mention:
YOUTH CATEGORY PRIZE:
1st Place:
Honorable Mention:
*Gift Cards from Pro Photo Supply
Did you know that October 1-7, 2021 is officially Holga Week?
Well, if you, much like many of us here at Pro Photo Supply, are a Holga lover, then you probably did.
In celebration of one of the world's most beloved "toy" cameras, this year we'd like to highlight all of you shooting a week full of lo-fi goodness. This year we invite you to submit up to three (3) of your favorite Holga photos made between October 1st through the 7th and hashtag these photos if you post on Instagram with #holgaweekatprophotosupply. Throughout the following weeks, we will share photos with this hashtag on our Instagram. Come November 8th, 2021, Our Lab Manager and a select group of film aficionados here at Pro Photo Supply will vote on their favorite.
So what do you win?
The top most rated image will be asked to submit a high resolution file to be printed large and displayed in one of our Lab's front windows.
All Submissions due by midnight on November 8th, 2021.
Submission Requirements:
We joined forces with local photographer Geoffrey Hiller, Central City Concern (CCC), and Panasonic for "The Art of Recovery" — a 12 week photography workshop designed for recovering addicts. Much of our mission at Pro Photo Supply aims to collaborate, empower, and facilitate goals within our community, so it was an easy decision to work together.
The Art of Recovery
Geoffrey Hiller conducted weekly, hands-on classes, where participants learned how to operate their generously donated Panasonics (FZ300s & ZS100s) compact with fixed lenses — great for street photography. Thanks Panasonic! Once comfortable with the gear, participants broke out of their comfort zones and ventured out into Portland neighborhoods.
"Engaging in photography is way of communicating emotions in a safe space. This freezing of time, can provide insight into a person's current situation...... walking around outside while taking photographs has a way of releasing chemicals in the brain that can help foster well-being. Our goal is to show that picture-making can become a transformative process." — Geoffrey Hiller
What does recovery look like?
Everyone's experiences differ; however, taking creative control can invigorate the mind, and offer a new focus.
“ It looks different every day, from minute to minute, sometimes second to second. Right now my recovery feels like responsibility and time limits, appointments and classes, but I've noticed that sometimes it feels like peace of mind and naps." - Workshop Participant
What is the relationship between making photographs and the process of recovery?
"...... when I was in-patient I took a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) class. The part about mindfulness had a huge influence on me and I think that’s required in photography. You need to be in the moment to capture the moment. It’s not necessarily about being happy, it’s about being mindful..." - Workshop Participant
“ At the Farmers' Market I felt a sense of mindfulness…being there in the moment. I think part of that comes from my recovery. Just learning to not think about the past or the future. Just being right here with whatever is going on at the time.” - Workshop Participant
All of the photographs in these collages were edited by Geoffrey Hiller and made by participants in a three-month photography workshop for people in recovery at Central City Concern in Portland, OR. A big thanks to Dr. Kim Hoffman, a researcher with OHSU, who provided monitoring and evaluation for the project.
This project was sponsored by Pro Photo Supply, Portland, Panasonic Cameras, the US Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and Central City Concern. For more info and images, visit Geoffrey Hiller's website.
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