Welcome to Aspirational Photos. You will find some of my latest musings on photos, film and all things to do with analogue photography.
When printing an image in the darkroom, how do you determine the correct exposure time? The answer is simple if you have a basic darkroom set up and involves making a test strip.
It sounds like it is a plot from a technocrat revenge movie if you read how Stop Bath is killing film. So I went out to find the truth about the maligned interloper and it is not crystal clear.
Recently, I have had had discussions with my digital photographer friends around image sharpness and considered if a photo that is not pin sharp be a perfect image or does it need to be?
Ars-imago launched their Kickstarter campaign for the Lab-Box. They had no trouble reaching their target, and I, too, went along for the ride. So how did it go?
Shooting film can be a tricky thing. Can we still buy a reliable camera and lens? Can we still buty the chemicals to developers and print you own, but I was not ready for when the film broke in the camera.
A Flickr friends was curious to know if a photo I had posted was actually straight from camera or not. As he asked, I thought it would be a good talking point.
Ilford Pan F Plus is a film that seems to have an internet reputation of been a difficult film to use. Some have stated that it is a hard film to shoot with, but I have found it to be a joy to use.
When we are out taking photos, we see a lot of opportunities that we know will make the perfect shot. Sometimes we can get the image in that instance, and sometimes we need to revisit the place a few times to get the shot spot on.
We find ourselves trying different films until we find that special one. HP5 is a go-to film for many analogue photgraphers, but is it any good?
When printing in the darkroom we have many choices to allow us to effect the outcome. One of the first techniques we learn is to use different grades. In this article I discuss the effect of printing at different grades.
Getting a photo thet meets that us to experience some form of emotion towards subject is not always easy. In the image, s he is having her cake and eating it too, and letting him know it.
To some, if you set the camera to the box speed you don't know what you are doing. So, is pushing film the only way to go, and why would you do it? In this opinion article I give you a starting point to explore pushing film.
A lot of people have asked me about my work with film. It is the medium I now exclusively work in and yes, it is considered Hipster by many, so why do I love to the medium and why is it now the only choice for me?
Retropan 320 Soft, the film Foma released in 2015, is a modern film and one that film shooters need to explore; after all, if we want more films to come to the market. (Sadly, Foma has paused its manufacturing.)
Rodinal has been helping professional and amateur photographers for over 130 years. While there are many modern developers on the market, I decided that I would see just how good Rodinal was in developing a variety of film types. I have to say 'Yes', i like it.
When printing an image in the darkroom, how do you determine the correct exposure time? The answer is simple if you have a basic darkroom set up and involves making a test strip to get the timing spot on.
Since 2015, I have owned a beautiful Olympus OM-1 in black. It is absolutely gorgeous, and I have ever since put a few rolls of film through it a month. It has worked flawlessly and it is always at hand, ready to do my bidding.
There are many books that are full of beautiful photos. These books are great for the coffee table, but a lot of them lack the 'raison d'être.' Not so Another Way of Telling by John Berger and Jean Mohr.
I recently decided to take a look at my Grandmother’s old Agfa Optima Sensor Electronic camera. It was the one she on trips to the continent. As it still works, I decided to put some film through it.
How should we work with our models? It sounds so obvious, but I have been asked by those just starting out. To help, I have put down so thoughts and my approach on the subject of photographing your subject.
The Yashica Electro 35 looks like an ugly duckling, but as we know from the fairytail, it really is a beautiful swan of camera. Here is my quick review of a mostly ignored, very capable rangefinder.