about this project
Welcome to my 52 rolls of film project! Here you will find a review of 52 rolls of different film, each shot on a weekly basis from October 2016 to October 2017. Photographs were taken on my Leica M6, Hasselblad 501c, and Rolleiflex 3.5 TLR. As well as sourcing such a wide variety of film, I thought about this project pretty much all the time, thinking ahead for new themes to shoot and what film might work for that situation. A bit of a year in my life through 52 rolls, I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did doing this project!
Managing to get my hands on some super high contrast black & white film, what better place to try it out than Speyer's Technic Museum, with very curious results.
With autumn rapidly upon us, I set out to some capture great light and changing colours with Agfa Precisa slide film.
Only an hour north from Frankfurt you will find the quaint town of Wetzlar, with lovely German architecture and home to the world famous Leica Camera AG. Join me for a walk around this interesting little town.
Enjoying a few days stopover in Iceland, I opted for the well regarded Fuji Acros 100 black & white film to capture the essence of Iceland. Here are my impressions of this wonderful place imprinted on 35mm and 120mm film.
Enjoying a sunny September holiday in the Boston area, I opted for the special CineStill 50D plus some of the usual suspects to keep me going. Join me for some wonderful light, wonderful beaches, and plenty of family shots!
JCH (Japan Camera Hunter) is a relatively new black & white film, that I have been eager to test out. I brought it along as I checked out the sights and sounds of the Museum Embankment Festival, or Museumsuferfest 2017
After a successful week with Kodak Vision3 500T, I was looking forward to trying out its 250D version, known for its excellent exposure latitude and colour rendition. I went out in search of bright colours and some good light.
I sourced some special Kodak cinematographic film and took it with me to one of Frankfurt's largest street parties. Join me for some bright lights and excellent low light rendition from this special film!
Stopping overnight in Bilbao gave me the perfect opporunity to go and see the Guggenheim, truly a photographer's dream and nothing better for black & white film!
A short trip to a childhood summer holiday location, and loads of film, some old photos, and plenty of family, make for great photo and storytelling opportunities. Join me for a personal trip down memory lane.
Taking advantage of a big family birthday bash, I brought along a few rolls of Rollei Retro 400s as well as the always reliable Kodak Portra 400.
Redscale film is all about experimenting, and that's exactly what I did. Join me for a "round the neighbourhood" photo walk in Frankfurt with some special custom redscale film from Nik & Trick!
The idea was simple: the same roll of film, 2 different cameras, 2 different people, and 2 different houses. The theme: Cabin Fever. Here are our impressions of Rollei RPX 100.
Experimental film brings unexpected results, so in that sense this week was a success. What was not a success was producing any photographs worth keeping, but it is all for fun at the end of the day!
I had been waiting to use this film for a while, but as it has such a low ISO, I needed a bright summer's day to allow me to shoot this film handheld. The reviews are all excellent, so I was looking forward to trying it out!
Continuing the theme of colours and flowers, where better to go than a botanical garden in Frankfurt to try out my new macro extender for my camera. Here is my first go at macro photography with a Hasselblad camera.
Wanting to take advantage of the bright Madrid summer days, I found some film that would hopefully really bring out the colours. Here are my impressions of Rollei CN 200.
The oldest jazz band in Spain playing in a restored church in rural Spain made a great backdrop for trying out some new film and bringing along a few favourites. Come join me for some good old Dixieland Jazz!
Sometimes a random or 'no theme' photo walkabout works best, and with this in mind I enjoyed shooting Ilford's Super XP2 400 - here are my impressions.
I was lucky enough to get some limited edition Lomography F2/400 film and decided to take it for a walkabout on the streets of London, here are my impressions.
One of my favourite weeks of the year is our annual pilgrimage to Craftsbury Sculling Camp in Vermont. This time I brought copious amounts of Kodak film, so please join me to find out why this is one of the best places in the world to row!
Cities are vastly different spaces during the day than at night, leading me try out experimenting with the blending of shots for my review of Rollei RPX 400 black & white film.
Taking advantage of a very sunny day, I set out around Frankfurt with Lomography 100 in search of anything geometrical, and here are some of the shapes and forms I came across.
During a recent work trip visit to London I decided to try out some high ISO film, which I figured would work in any situation. Here are some snapshots from my trip and impressions of the film.
Armed with a few rolls of the wonderful Cinestill 800T (T for Tungsten balanced) film, I went out in the dead of the night in search of neon lights and empty spaces.
A recent family event was a great excuse to try out a brand new film and practice some portrait photography! Here is how Bergger Pancro 400 faired with my first attempt at portraits with a Hasselblad.
A last minute Easter break to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald auf Deutsch) sees some spectacular views, a crazy treetop walk, and of course, lots of spas!
My loose aim for the week was to find some interesting angles across the many bridges Frankfurt has to offer, with Ilford FP4+ as my companion.
Welcoming a new guest photographer, we explore London & Frankfurt during a sunny period with Kodak Color Plus 200 as our companion. Join us for some vivid colors and different street scenes.
Taking Ilford's SFX 200 film for a wander around Frankfurt during a very sunny day to get the best out of this infrared film.
With no particular theme in mind I decided to go shoot along the river near sunset and try out Fomapan 400, known for its deep black and contrasting images.
Taking advantage of Frankfurt's central location, my 52 rolls of film project goes through 4 countries in just 3 days. A combined weeks 20 + 21 in colour and black & white!
Taking advantage of good visibility I set out to photograph Frankfurt mostly at night, testing out Lomography colour negative 400 film.
Experimenting with infrared film was both challenging and very fun. My jump into the unknown paid off with some interesting shots. Join me for a walk into the infrared spectrum!
A trip along the Main and Rhine Valley and the first time using slide film leads to some challenging photography with not so perfect results, but that's what this project is all about!
16 photos for Week 16 that capture some of the things I get up to in any given week. Join me and Kodak Portra 800 for an insight into my life.
I was recently in London for a week for work and I figured it would be a good time to try Kodak's famous black & white Tri-x 400. Join me for a trip down memory lane.
A quick 2 hour drive from Frankfurt and you go over the Rhine and indeed the border, ending up in lovely Strasbourg in France. Here are my impressions through Fujicolor 200.
Frankfurt is a city of contrasts, the modern skyscrapers mingling between the very old architecture of a city that is older than most realise. Join me with Ilford's HP5+ film to discover this city in black & white.
Testing the wonderful Kodak Portra 400 on a small island in the North Sea, I come across a rolling landscape, long beaches, a quaint little town, and many little unexpected surprises. Join me for a tour of Langeoog!
Another week in Madrid, enjoying the December sun and look for sun, shadows, and reflections. Week 11 continues with wonderful Ilford film, this time Delta 100.
After deciding to try some Black & White film for a few weeks, I was blinded by the light in a very sunny 15 degrees celcius Madrid in December.
Kodak Ektar 100 is great for landscapes and colour, so what else better to test it with than graffiti and street art? Join me for a tour of street art in Melbourne and Frankfurt...who will "win"?
An interesting experience with a redscale film that allows for different ISOs to be used. Join me for a tour of Germany in red!
Another try with a different SO 800 film provided some great results. A short visit to London and some night-time shooting allowed for some great testing grounds.
This challenge has now gone cross border: I am very happy to welcome my good friend Chris Brown as a guest for this week. Xmas markets in Frankfurt and Melbourne, with some interesting results!
A last minute weekend away to Dublin and a great excuse to try out some Fuji 800 film...plenty of Guinness flowing and some good craic to add to it too!
This first of a few of my "specialist" films I am testing brought interesting results. Seeing the world in tones of purple can be a fun experience.
A very special week using my Dad's old Speed Graphic camera that I managed to get going again. Whilst I need more practice using this highly manual camera - it still works!
A week after starting my 52 week film project, my Leica suddenly broke! Thinking of out the box I found a disposable camera, although the results did not go as planned.
The results of my first week of my '52 rolls of film in 52 weeks' project are back. I'm quite happy with the outcome of this very specialised Black & White film.
Countless rolls, hours invested in planning and shooting, lots of money spent on film and development, but it was more than worth it! Here are my reflections on a year long journey and my top 99 best photos!