digital emulsions
Victoria BC is one of my favourite places. On a recent trip to the Royal City I made a short film called Victoria Noir. It was shot on the night of September 1st 2019 on a Fujifilm X-T20 with a Fujinon XF35mm f/1.4 prime lens. Everything is handheld, shot in 1080 24fps or 60fps using Fujifilm’s Acros film simulation with a simulated red filter.
I hope you like it.
Scott.
Digital Emulsions began as a way to free myself from likes and followers. The more I post on Instagram and Twitter the more I realize I’m not doing it for myself. I’m posting for likes, posting for follows, posting to try to get my work past an algorithm that has become pay to play.
As I start this new chapter I’m going to focus on the images that make me happy. The places I’ve been that bring me joy. Maybe I’ll even write a few words along the way, something I haven’t done in far too long.
My photography is both digital and analog and I plan to share both formats through this medium. There will be camera information and basic locations attached to each image, as well as film stock used (if applicable.)
Scott Graham
A few weeks ago a friend gifted me a Rollei A26 in mint condition. The A26 is a 126 format camera. 126 film, or Instamatic film, hasn’t been produced since the late 1990’s. There are options to spool 35mm film into custom 126 canisters but that sounded like too much work for me.
I had a look online and quickly found some Kodak Gold on eBay that was “fridged” for 20 years. It sounded too good to be true but I didn’t have any other options so I plopped down $20 on a roll.
I headed to Victoria BC for the weekend for some R&R with the little Rollei tucked into my back pocket. It’s a beautiful camera. A boxy clamshell with a 40mm f/3.5 sonar lens that pops out when the camera is opened.
The film canister is about as easy to use as a light switch. Drop it in. Close the camera and the film advances half a frame. Open the camera and it finishes winding the film to the next frame and cocks the shutter.
The camera has zone focusing. The viewfinder isn’t coupled to the lens so you need to choose 1 of 3 focus zones. They’re the typical head (close up) two torsos (sort of close up) and trees (infinity).
My close focus results were… not good. And to be honest most of the shots I took were touristy snapshots. The expired film has all the old school tones of old instamatic shots. The only thing that gives these away as modern photos are the cars. Other than that these could be my parents photos from the 1970’s.
This is what Instagram was going for when it launched. Square photos with vintage tones. Nostalgia dripping with more nostalgia. I scanned these on my tabletop scanner after the local photo lab processed them. Processing is simple C41 if you want to tackle it yourself.
Will I ever shoot with this camera again? Not unless someone starts making 126 film again. Maybe Lomography? Who knows, but it was a blast shooting with this thing. Come on Lomography, make some 126!
Scott.