Search results for: photography history history film photography
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Posted
Everyone knows that a cat has nine lives. But this famous proverb has a second part: “…For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays." It’s a fitting story arc for this week’s podcast with Dan Rimada and Gulce Kilkis of Bodega Cats of New York, whose local passion project has grown into something that stays: an archive, a photo book, and a push for legislation.
Above Photograph © Gulce Kilkis
Dan and Gulce’s chat with Derek tracks the Bodega Cats initiative from its start on Instagram through its growth into a
by Luke Rollins · Posted
The rage for retro has yet to subside, with many of the season's most popular and stylish products arriving swaddled in the warm glow of yesteryear. If your to-buy-for list has physical media purists, analog aficionados, crate-diggers, or other lovers of old things, you might find the right item in the below gift guide.
Audio
Perhaps nowhere else is the yen for retro stronger than in the realm of music and audio. Physical media sales across all formats—vinyl, cassette, and CDs—continue to rise, while artists are releasing new material to the
by Luke Rollins · Posted
FUJIFILM's beloved instant photography format instax recently surpassed 100 million cameras and printers sold, all while eyeing its 30th anniversary. In spite of brand recognition that still lags behind Polaroid, instax has both the people's vote and the lion's share of sales, expanding that popularity into a full-on ecosystem of films and formats, analog and hybrid cameras, smartphone printers and digital capture devices, and, coming soon, commercial photobooths and other event-oriented products.
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Stephen Wilkes is an undisputed master at telling stories with images. In this week’s podcast, he pinpoints the exact moment he was given free rein to dream up an epic photo project for a major exhibition that would come to redefine photographic printing technology.
Above Photograph © Stephen Wilkes
In the year 2000, he was commissioned to capture the beauty and complexity of America at the turn of the Millennium on large format film, then transform his highly detailed film captures into immersive fine art prints using Epson’s
by Luke Rollins · Posted
What is it about the 2000s look that is so compelling right now? One could chalk it up to the eternal recurrence of 20-year nostalgia cycles, of which the retro digicam revival would be yet another instance. But this kind of historicism elides the character of what is missed, and why its retrieval is attempted in the first place.
Smartphone bad; we know this. Rejecting the smartphone, however, does not immediately lead one to retro digicams. One could just as easily move toward the nostalgia of film as toward the competent excellence of today
by Luke Rollins · Posted
It’s 2026, and we no longer have to pretend that film is dead; film is very much alive, with a robust number of film stocks available to try out, ranging from the classics to new and creative films from up-and-coming, smaller brands.
Here’s an overview of the current black and white films available right now.
Kodak
It’s hard not to start with mother Kodak in an article like this, and with all the history—the ups and
by Luke Rollins · Posted
By now, the film resurgence has eclipsed its charming underdog status to become a full-blown front in what has become an all-out, open revolt against the smartphone and its visual aesthetics. What distinguishes the “film look” from the digital—texture, material imperfections, color magic, and the analog halo of yesteryear—comes at a price tag as resurgent as the medium itself.
Despite the contradiction (or perhaps because of it), the pursuit of the film look in a digital format has become something of a cottage industry, with manufacturers,
Posted
The time-honored saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” can quickly lose meaning in the intricate tangle of a photographer’s lifetime archive. That is unless you take a disciplined approach to organizing your photographs from the start. This essential message is woven throughout this week’s podcast with the esteemed photojournalist and filmmaker Ed Kashi.
Above Photograph © Ed Kashi
“You need to look at your archive from early on, even before you think you have any critical mass of material,” Ed instructs. “This is your memory, this
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
Throughout the history of photography, few aspects have remained the same. Famous names have come and gone, but few have remained strong in their place as pillars of the industry. Among those names sits Olympus, better known today as OM Digital Solutions.
Founded in 1919 as Takachiho Seisakusho, the future Olympus aimed to domestically produce microscopes. It wasn’t until well into the 20s that the moniker “Olympus” came to be, and it wasn’t a camera that bared the name either—it was one of their microscopes. In fact, their first camera wouldn
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
Building upon a long history of rangefinders, OM SYSTEM has introduced their latest iteration of the classic camera with the OM SYSTEM PEN. This portable, user-friendly camera combines the simple design of its predecessors with the accuracy and intelligence of newer mirrorless technology.
We had the opportunity to take the new PEN into the field to see how it performs, and how it stacks up in an ever
by Luke Rollins · Posted
Photography is at an interesting crossroads. Mirrorless cameras are faster and more capable than ever, and their lenses smaller and more sophisticated—and all of it climbing in price. Tik Tok trendy cameras are sold out everywhere, and the bull used market continues apace, with some folks reverting to film and others still reaching for turn-of-the-century digital cameras to introduce a look and feel that distinguishes their images.
by Luke Rollins · Posted
Now that the smartphone is fully ensconced in its villain arc, the most enthusiastic anti-smartphone partisans have taken to unbundling the suite of functions Steve Jobs first consolidated: camera, phone, music player, notebook, paperback, watch, and day planner amongst others, but more importantly with each function getting its own discrete, purposed object in the everyday carry bag.
Vibes and aesthetics belong to them all on their own, but uncoupled they each demand a level of attention and consideration that their grouping suppresses. For
by Luke Rollins · Posted
After a 2025 spent celebrating its 100th birthday, Leica returns to market with its first new camera of 2026, the SL3-P Mirrorless Camera. Accompanied in its release by two new lenses, the APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100mm f/2.8 and the
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
It's not every day that a piece of photography history passes through B&H. Sure, every camera and lens carries a little bit of the past with it, from a DSLR made in 2015 to an old rangefinder from the 50s. History lives in the images they've captured and the hands they've been passed through. That said, there are some cameras and lenses that stand out among the rest. Especially when they come bearing the serial numbers 0000001, 0000002, and 0000003.
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From photographing for the local news to expeditions for National Geographic, Ira Blocks shares his stories of traveling around the world. Ira captures history and culture, but it wasn't easy. He discusses how he was hired by Nat Geo, and all the logistics and planning that goes into his assignments.
0:00 - Intro
2:46 - Working for Nat Geo
6:00 - Ira's first assignment
14:18 - How Ira got started
17:30 - Photographing in color film
21:49 - Olive Oil story
31:29 - Getting into lighting
38:05 - Archaeology work
1:11:29 - Prints on location