More Film cameras in cinema!

We included some more recent sightings for this post, and this time the theme is Canon & Nikon👀 Analogue cameras are still quite a common appearance in TV and movies, especially when the goal is to achieve a vintage feel or recreate a certain period in history.

Which of these movies have you seen, and which system would you rather own? …

A lot of our current followers are new to the Tetenal community, many of you having joined in the last 6 months or so!

Knowing this, we thought it'd be a great idea to share the long history of the company and where we fit into the history of photography as a whole.

Tetenal UK was formed in 2019 following a management buyout of the UK subsidiary of Tetenal GmbH based in Germany. However, Tetenal's heritage in the innovation, manufacture and distribution of photographic paper, chemistry and technologies extends back to 1847, making one of the oldest names in photography in the world.

Tetenal originated in Berlin before relocating to new headquarters in Norderstedt, a small town just outside Hamburg in Germany. Over the years, subsidiaries were opened in the UK, France and enabling sales coverage across most of the countries in Europe and beyond.

Norderstedt remains home to a large manufacturing facility for the production of chemical products. These products continue to be distributed by Tetenal UK to a wide variety of users from large production houses, school photographers, educational establishments, smaller businesses and consumers.

Originally established in the UK in 1989, Tetenal quickly established itself as one of the leading suppliers into the UK market, differentiating themselves from existing businesses by offering a variety of equipment brands to build bespoke printing solutions based on the customer's specific requirements rather than making a single brand fit regardless of the business' individual needs. …

Theo Skudra is making the most of film

“I feel like the more fun everyone is having, the more I’m working”. These are the words of someone whose job it is to document the life of one of the world’s busiest artists. Taking influence from his father, Tom Skudra, who was an award-winning photojournalist with work featured in numerous Canadian photo publications, Theo begun crafting his vision from a young age in the presence of his father’s photos, and with a multitude of film cameras at his disposal.

This seems to have played a significant role in moulding Theo’s photographic vision – a style he describes as ‘vivid photojournalism’, which is marked by a fly on the wall perspective, cinematic compositions, and many contrasty black and white images. He also notes photojournalist Larry Towell as a reference point for his distinctive style.

In interviews, Skudra’s admiration for film photography is clear, as he praises the blown-out highlights of Casino as well as the mesmerising quality of the sky in Days of Heaven, both movies shot on 35mm film. He emphasises that since the first photo he took of Drake on the video shoot for the song Marvin’s Room, he has pushed to utilize film in as many different projects as possible, often shooting with a Nikon F6 or a Contax T2.

In the last few years, Skudra’s career development has led him into the world of music video direction, where the young artist has taken advantage of his creative freedom to introduce 16mm film to the process, using an Arri Arrflex 416 Plus to achieve this. Assuming the role of director for Nonstop, Toosie Slide and other videos, he has adapted many of characteristics that appear throughout his photographic work to moving image.

Despite this, Theo is a man fixated on self-evolution. He describes the feeling of being used to a particular medium as a key motivating factor in him branching into different photographic mediums, and ‘underutilised’ processes or method of creation. Perhaps the most exemplary case of this is his recent use of 8×10” polaroid film for the cover of Drake’s mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes.

What's next for Theo Skudra’s career, and just how far will he push his development? …

Film cameras in the movies – How many of these flicks have you seen? (Cameras/Movie titles listed below!)

The sight of a film camera is very likely to catch your eye if you're interested in film photography, especially if collecting and identifying cameras is your thing. But given that product placement is so frequently used in combination with big ticket movies, and has been for some time now, many film cameras can be found in movies from the past few decades, and might provide inspiration for a trip down the rabbit hole to find out more!

1. Spiderman (2002) – Canon F1
2. Coming to America (1988) – Keystone Everflash – XR308
3. Run Fatboy Run (2007) – Olympus AF 1 Mini
4. From Russia with Love (1963) – Rolleiflex T Type 1 …

Frank Ocean – Film Photography Fanatic?

The image on the cover of Nostalgia, Ultra, Frank Ocean’s seminal mixtape, features what appears to be film grain, and dynamic range reminiscent of some sort of colour film emulsion. Though the image, nor the sweet 90s car featured amongst the foliage within it don’t belong to Frank, one thing that is unquestionable is Frank’s affinity with nostalgia, which includes vintage cars, analogue sounds, and film photography.

Those within the analogue photography community that aren’t familiar with the artist’s music, may remember the picture of him holding a Contax T3 at the Met Gala, which Vogue commissioned him to photograph, and the accompanying controversy that arose in the years since – all seemingly caused by a celebrity jumping on the growing hype.

However, Frank Ocean’s affinity with the nostalgia, a characteristic often associated with the appeal of film photography can be traced back at least as far as his first mixtape. An internet search yields a number of photos of the artist using different film cameras, such as the Leica M6, The Fuji GA645ZI and of course, the notorious Contax T3 and even a photo dating back to 2013 of the singer/songwriter pictured with a Contax G2 around his neck.

As the years passed, Ocean would further demonstrate his passion for analogue photography, using a photograph made by Wolfgang Tillmans as the cover of his sophomore album, Blonde, and Boys Don’t Cry, the zine that accompanied this work. The Zine would feature work from Tillmans, Viviane Sassen, Tyrone Lebon, Michael Mayren, and various other illustrators and photographers.

Most recently, Frank Ocean produced a series of striking photographs, to promote his independent luxury brand, founded earlier this year, collaborating once again with photographer Tyrone Lebon. Images from the catalogue evoke feelings of nostalgia, drawing on the unique qualities of film, elements of 70s and 80s glam photography, retro colours and imagery.

If he wasn’t considered a ‘real’ photographer before, he has certainly done the work necessary to earn the inclusion of the title photographer on his Wikipedia page. …

Who knew #Ektar 25 and #Reala 100 were so loved?!

If you didn't know, our #C41 choices post definitely cleared that up. Those two films were overwhelmingly the most mentioned on Instagram and Twitter. So here's a handful of memes that reflect that loveRelieved face …

(LINK IN BIO) – Our start to finish guide on developing with Parvofin and Superfix Tablets! ⠀
⠀
Learn how to produce a fantastic strip of black and white negatives with our new tablet form chemistry. This guide is for everyone from beginners to those who've been developing for years to get familiar with the Parvofin process. When you're done, let us see how you did by tagging us in your scans and prints 😁 ⠀
⠀
(Also, swipe left for some more Parvofin memes) 👍 …