Process 050 ☼ 72 Shots Per Roll! What is a Half-Frame Camera? (Olympus Pen-F)
GIVEAWAY: William Eggleston books + Kodak film + Contactsheet
Dear friends,
This week’s issue is all about the pleasures of shooting with a half-frame camera and it includes a new Process video! It’s also a milestone issue and I want to say thank you for your support throughout the previous 50 issues. Your kind notes sharing how Process has helped and inspired you keep me going.
For new readers, let me briefly introduce myself. My name is Wesley Verhoeve and I’m a photographer and curator based in Amsterdam and New York City.
I started Process to be able to share my work and behind-the-scenes lessons learned in a deeper and more intentional way than social media allowed. For example, I shared the entire process of turning a project into my first photo book NOTICE, from start to finish including the lessons learned from launching a pre-order campaign.
The Process community has grown to around 4500 amazing passionate photo lovers, ranging from students, to amateurs, working professionals, and even a few living legends. I am grateful for all of you and for you helping spread the word and grow the community bigger and more diverse. Thank you!
As always, this issue includes a Process Giveaway and this week it’s extra amazing. Prizes include a hand-printed contactsheet, a bag of film courtesy of my friends at Kodak, and an incredible three-volume photo book by William Eggleston called “The Outlands”, courtesy of the amazing publisher Steidl.
Before we get into this issue I want to acknowledge what is going on in Ukraine. I am deeply worried but also incredibly moved and encouraged by the strength of the Ukrainian people. There are some amazing photojournalists on the ground sharing stories including @wolfgang_schwan, @justinnyau, @timothyfadek, @kiehart, @alexlourie.photo, @heathcliffom, @lynseyaddario, @mohammadjavadabjoushak, @evgenymaloletka, and @hoffmanbrendan. Note that some images may be shocking.
What is Half-Frame Photography?
A half-frame camera is a camera that shoots at half the usual exposure format. This means that on a roll that typically gives you 36 exposures you can fit double that and shoot 72 exposures that are each half the size.
To be able to picture it better, check out the contact sheet below. Note how exposures have a vertical orientation as opposed to the normal horizontal orientation you know from shooting with a typical SLR or rangefinder.
Back in the 1960’s there was a short-lived trend to make half-frame cameras, predominantly in Japan, to meet the demand for smaller bodies and saving money on film. Later on compact cameras and point-and-shoots were developed that were even smaller and effectively made half-frame cameras obsolete so they stopped being made.
For today’s issue I borrowed my friend Guy Pinhas’ Olympus Pen-F with a beautiful 38mm 1.8 lens for a test shoot with model Dee at Studio 13 in Amsterdam.
Dee is a dancer as well as a model and an overall wonderful and creative person. She expresses her gender in a fluid way, which inspired me to photograph her on half-frame. Her fluid expression of gender was our inspiration and guide as Dee explored the full spectrum of her gender frame by frame. The contact sheet above gives us the full picture and throughout this issue are some of my favorite diptychs from the set.
In Dee’s own words: “I’ve come to realize I can express myself in a very feminine way, but also a very masculine way. It just depends on the day, the situation I find myself in, and the people I am surrounded by.”
This shoot was a true pleasure and you can see it unfold in the video below, made my Process resident video magic maker Luc Satter. In the video I explain a bit more about the half-frame format and show more images than I could fit in this issue, including medium format work shot on the Mamiya 645 Pro with some lovely expired Fuji Acros, and a roll of Fuji Industrial 100 shot with the Canon EOS 1V. Enjoy!
This half-frame roll was shot on Fuji Across II, expertly developed by Wim at Silver-Hands who also made the contact sheet, and both were scanned by Cees at Nivo-Schweizer. The video was made by Luc Satter and shot at Studio 13, my home away from home.
Alright that’s it for this week. I’ll see you next Sunday with an exciting studio related announcement and a brand new issue of Process. Now go check out the contest!
Keep shooting and take good care of yourselves and others.
Wesley
Process Giveaway!
This week’s Giveaway is the biggest yet! To celebrate the 50th issue of Process I have teamed up with incredible photobook publisher Steidl and beloved film giant Kodak.
This week there are three prizes and I will draw three individual winners. Instead of answering one question I’m asking you to fill out the first ever Process Reader Survey which includes a set of simple questions designed to help me make Process more fun, more inspiring, and more impactful. Now about these prizes…
Prize 1 - The Outlands by William Eggleston (3 volume book set, by Steidl)
This absolutely stunning three volume book by one of the greatest photographers of all time was recently published by possibly the greatest photo book publisher of all time. It comes in its own box and contains a whopping 405 images across 652 pages in three cloth-bound books inside a slipcase. Read more about this gorgeous release here.
Prize 2 - First ever Process Darkroom Printed Contactsheet
This contact sheet was darkroom printed by the legendary Wim Dingemans using the negatives from the half-frame roll included in this issue. Only two of these exist.
Prize 3 - A Kodak Film Giftbag
Ten rolls of Kodak film, a Kodak pin, and a Kodak film pouch, fresh from the factory!
To enter the Giveaway please fill out the Process Readers Survey before 11pm EST on March 2nd by clicking the link below, which will take you to a secure Google Form.
Three winners will be randomly drawn and notified. Even if you’re not interested in the prizes (how could you not be?!?) I would love for you to fill out the survey. It helps me make Process more fun and more inspiring.
This giveaway is for Process subscribers only. Subscribe by clicking the button below:
Make sure to show Steidl some love on Instagram and check out out their website with hundreds of incredible photobooks they have released over the past decades. Shout out to Kodak as well, who you can also follow on Instagram.
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Process is a weekly letter from Wesley Verhoeve. If you’d like to support what I do here click the button below to order my new book NOTICE.
Follow along at @wesley.