Embrace the Grain Photography Podcast

Episode 93 – Katya Rowny – 12 Months On Film

Welcome Katya from the 12 Months on Film project that is located on Instagram. So what is this project you ask? Shoot 12 different rolls of film, such as gold, hp5, portra, velvia, triX etc. on any film camera you choose, one roll per month. That’s it! It can be a Leica or a Holga or any camera of your choice. You can use 12 cameras or one… that’s your choice.

What a great idea to test cameras or use the one off films hiding in the corner of your fridge. Unlike some other projects this one concentrates on diversity and exploring film film stocks. Maybe you are new to film photography and need to explore the different films and different camera formats to find your favourite.

So why join up? How do you join? First you need Instagram, then follow 12monthsonfilm, tag the account and become a collaborator, once done and accepted you can upload your work to the main feed and everyone can see your work.

It sounds like a blast!

Larry’s Camera of the show: Canon 70D his choice for digital work, find out why he chose this camera by listening to the podcast. Check out his favourite lens choices too.

A little bit about Katya. She moved to the USA as a child from the Soviet Union. Some of her favourite cameras are soviet cameras and she is starting a nice collection of them. She also adores her Holgas and is looking forward to trying her Emulsive Secret Santa gift of a Kodak Tourist. Since she is a colour lover; Katya is also waiting to try the new Flic Film Aurora 800 speed colour film. This is a c-41 native film that can be pushed to 1600 but beware… there is NO dx code, so make sure to use it on a manual ISO capable to set your film speed. Katya also writes for Shoot it on Film which has tons of information, check it out.

Places to find Katya:

her website: krowny.com

Instagram: analouge.katya and 12monthsonfilm

Sacha’s question of the week:

Who has influenced your photography the most? Check the Facebook group to see the answers!

Support the ETG crew by buying a Ko-Fi we are a completely free podcast so any small donation helps to keep the show going! See you in two weeks!

Episode 92 -Trevor Meunier

This episode we talked big things… also slow things… confused? Don’t be, welcome back Trevor Meunier (episode 67) a fellow Canadian photographer from Ontario who shoots large format with a passion for slow speed film.

Trevor tells us all about different cameras and their sizes, what to look for to start out with and films other than the typical Ilford or Kodak selections. He likes the Arista ortho litho 3.0 films and Inkpress Royal Regent Hard Dot, both are ISO 3. These are safelight and budget friendly.

Trevor is also interested in cyanotype and glass plate dry negatives as well. He has started looking into both of these.

He explains what camera we should start with, different sizes of negatives and cameras that are available. He also explains what lenses to look for and how to do the size equivilant charts are available on google to help new shooters, such as 150mm being the same as a 50mm lens on 35mm film camera.

Trevor also explains “the Dance” something most large format photographers know all about. Forget one step and opps! One sheet messed up or if you are lucky a happy accident. Above is Trevor performing the Dance.

Please take a minute to check out Trevors website here so you can see his beautiful large format images.

This podcast can be heard here or on your favourite pod catcher

Episode 91 – Molly Kate

Molly Kate of Eclectachrome joins the crew for a chat.

This episode we visited about our holidays, the Emulsive Secret Santa, Frugal Film Project, pinhole photography, zines and what our first cameras were… and here is Molly Kate with her first camera!

Check out Molly Kate’s Urban Contradictions zine. Its all about how one street is noisy and busy, then just around the corner it is calm and quiet. You can find out more details from Molly Kate.

12 months on film

Tired of us talking about cheap cameras and the Frugal Film Project? Here is one project where diversity is key. You can try something new every single month! Both Molly Kate and Larry are doing this one, it sounds fun too! All you need is 12 rolls of film, all different kinds, all you need is 12 of them. You can use different cameras too… if you have 12… you can go for a different one every month. If you have one camera, that works too. You need only swap out the film stock each month. Details can be found on Instagram under 12monthsonfilm

Apps for pinhole:

Jake received a cool pinhole camera from his Emulsive Secret Santa, but needs an app to meter it. Sherry suggested Pinhole Assist, but it is apple only and he is an android user. Lightmeter was suggested (sorry no link) and Crown & Flint. The latter app records data that includes a light meter. You can find out more about it on Molly Kate’s YouTube channel or the link above.

Jankuary

Do you love trying out old janky gear? 35mmc has the Jankuary Camera Challenge going on… Aunt Gerts old 110 instamatic sitting in the closet? Gab some Lomo 110 and shoot a roll! How about your Moms old point and shoot? Or that old 4px digicam? Sounds like a fun challenge too, so much going on in January, new year… new challenges right?

YouTube

Molly Kate has a terrific YouTube channel called Eclectachrome, tons of inspirational and creative content can be found there. Make sure to stop by and visit here there if you haven’t already. Molly Kate has everything from film, travel to news available on her channel.

Photography Q of the week:

What is your biggest challenge/challenge when is comes to photography?

You can read the answers or join us for a more interactive experience over on our Facebook Group. EmbraceThe Grain Photography Podcast

Thinking of becoming a content creator? Here’s some help if you are. Kevin Kolbe might be a good place to start.

Buy us a cup of coffee and help support the show! Available on most pod catchers or you can listen here.

Catch you in two weeks!

Episode 90 – Merry Christmas!

Join the ETG crew as they reflect on what 2023 had in store for them. Did they finish their projects? Or did life happen and the projects get put on pause. Tune into the podcast to find out their answer.

What Christmas gift do the crew wish for? Besides painters tape hehe. Sasha has his question of the week “what would you like to give an another photographer for Christmas?” Check the Facebook Group for answers and to participate. We would love to hear your 2024 goals over on FB too.

**Larry recommends the Instax 210 wide for capturing those holiday memories to share prints with your family.**

What’s in store for 2024? All four of the hosts are doing the Frugal Film Project ’24 this year! You can find the FFP’23 (which will be updated mid January ’24) its the one with the pink Pentax on the cover. The mission is to use a frugal ($75 USD budget) camera kit and some cheap film, is there such a thing these days? Well, perhaps Kentmere is a more frugal film than Porta… you get the meaning. The film can be expired or purchased via auction or thrift, or even your favourite retailer, its your choice… you just need 12 rolls of the same stuff. For example 12 rolls of Fomapan 400.

Plus we all want to do a better job of keeping up on the developing… whether from the lab or our kitchen sink, the struggle is real!

You can listen to the podcast here or on your favourite pod catcher. Thanks for listening!

Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays from Jake, Sacha, Larry & Sherry.

Support the show, buy us a Ko-fi

Episode 89 – Johnny Martyr

Join Sherry, Jake and Larry for a conversation with Johnny Martyr. Johnny is a working professional working photographer doing weddings, portraits and shooting celebrity gigs. Johnny is a Leica and Nikon shooter who favours B&W photography.

Johnny has been a freelance author for Petapixel since 2018 and has photographed politicians including Bill & Hillary Clinton; musicians Veruca Salt & comedian Nikki Glaser. When he’s not shooting, Johnny collects Night of the Living Dead trading cards & enjoys drinking absinthe while listening to 80’s & 90’s brit pop.

Larry’s camera review of the episode: the Sony F828

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828 is a 8.0 megapixel digital bridge camera announced by Sony on August 15, 2003.

As successor of the DSC-F717, F828 was widely considered “revolutionary” at launch. Major changes / improvements over its predecessor, the 2002 F717 include:

“Carl Zeiss T*” lens with 7x (28-200mm) zoom range, wider compared to F717’s 5x (38-190mm)
Mechanically-linked zoom ring
8.0 megapixel, 2/3 inch, 4-color RGBE CCDs, highest pixel counts in any consumer camera sensors at launch.
Upgraded electronics for faster focus and post-processing. Continuous AF, and VGA-quality (640×480) filming were made possible.
Addition of a CompactFlash slot as an alternative to Sony’s proprietary Memory Sticks. Although, a Memory Stick Pro is required for VGA-quality filming.
Shutter speed up to 1/3200s

The F828, along with the “Cyber-shot F” series designation, was discontinued in 2005.

Despite having attractive on-paper specs, F828 did not fare as well as its predecessor among camera reviewers and photographers. F828 received a “Recommended / Above average” rating from DPReview, in contrast to a “Highly recommended” given to F717.

Visible picture noise, associated with increased pixel density and underdeveloped noise reduction algorithm, was of primary concern. Moreover, the novel RGBE sensor did not bring in much improved color accuracy as expected; this led Sony to drop any further development on such sensors, making F828 the first and the last commercial camera ever to use a 4-color sensor. Many photographers also noted more severe purple fringing on F828s than on its predecessors.

Listen to the full episode on your favourite podcatcher!

Challenge of the Month – December

Happy Holidays! Another month, another challenge!

So what’s next? Well let’s pick a theme this time, perhaps anything to do with the holidays. Use ANY camera you want… just showcase how you celebrate. Big meal? Join friends and family? Sit and hug your cat with Netflix? Go for a hike? Go to church? Decorations overload?

There is a ton you can document… grab a camera, any camera and document the holiday season!

Episode 88 – Just chattin’

Finding our way back after a long hiatus, Jake, Larry & Sherry visit about various topics. Sacha was unable to join us tonight (Happy Birthday Mrs. Sacha!)

Book review tonight, Sherry brings us Impounded by Dorothea Lange. Some very powerful images from a dark time in history.

Kodak price increases Jan 1 2024 for all 35mm films. On the other hand we have the Phoenix rising… Dec 1 a new colour film from Harman is coming out. Can’t wait to try this one out.

Jake found a nickel Rolliecord!

What a beauty.

Larry reviews his Nikkormat.

Sacha has his Question of the Week:

What is your biggest tip when you are missing your photo mojo?

Answers can be found in our Facebook group, Embrace the Grain Photography Podcast (please answer the questions if you choose to to join us there!)

Film of the Month!

Our monthly challenges are still happening!

Sometimes its a film, sometimes its a lens or sometimes its a theme such as seasons. Every month we do something new in our Facebook group or on our Instagram. So if you feel like trying something new… join us, this month its Lomography Purple!

Film of the Month – May

April is winding up, we hope you enjoyed the 135 lens challenge for April! So… what’s next? Back to a film, but one that should be easily accessible and fairly affordable. This film has many re-brands… so if you can’t find it, do a bit of googling and find one of the many other options available. This one isn’t going to be a supply chain issue!

Fomapan 400 is the choice for May, any film camera or format is welcome. The only requirement is the film. If you would like to join us our Facebook group (Embrace The Grain Photography Podcast) to share you results, we would love to see them. Also tag the Instagram account with #embracethegrainpodcast to be featured!

Stay positive and embrace the grain!

Lens of the Month!

For April we don’t have a film of the month… what??? We decided to switch things up and give something new a try. We realize some of the films we choose in the past were difficult to find, or the price was a bit high… so we picked a lens that is a frugal often forgotten focal length! It is the 135mm prime lens. I’m sure most people already have one in a camera bag just collecting dust… such was the case for me. I seem to have multiple copies that appeared over the years, the only one I purchased was for my Leica R system and it was a bargain!

A few years back I participated in dan Novak’s 135 Challenge and discovered I really enjoyed the 135 focal length. So why not do it again? The rules are simple:

use a 135mm focal length lens
any camera is eligible, yes digital or film, grab those lens adapters!
if you shoot film, you can use a film of your choice
black and white OR colour, does not matter which
have fun!
share your results on the Embrace the Grain Photography Podcast FB group.

Sherry