Time for another news (& events) roundup!
Note: No AI has ever been or ever will be used by myself anywhere anytime for any purpose!
This is particularly exciting one for me as I’ve been shooting Lucky 200 recently (and loving it!) and new color film is always a hot topic.
Also, I’ve included a bunch of REALLY cool events happening soonish after the news so stick with me, or just scroll down haha
Hope you’ve got a nice beverage to enjoy while reading - let’s dive in :)
The most exciting piece of recent news for me was the release of Lucky C400 for international order. I wouldn’t have otherwise heard this was available except I had placed a recent order at Reflx Lab and had checked the website for something related but then saw this!
Check it out here!
(that IS an affiliate link which kicks 5% back to me in store credit)
I don’t know why I haven’t signed up for this program at Reflx Lab before now because I’ve talked about them ad nauseum for years lol But a friend recently sent me the link and encouraged me to sign up so I did! I like that it can just go to store credit so really the money is staying at Reflx Lab and you support the film addiction a teeny bit. :)
The FIND Lab is also working on getting some in stock for US customers so that’s a good place to keep checking as well.
It seems to only be 35mm at the moment so will look forward to see if they also produce it in 120.
Plus they are now using the film’s more accurate ISO of 125…because technically we were all underexposing and then pushing the film by using ISO 200 lol
In their product description, Harman mentions that this is the same as the original Phoenix - so Phoenix 1? and not 2?
“HARMAN Phoenix 125 retains the same characteristics that you loved (or hated) about the original Phoenix 200 but with a new speed of 125 to reflect how you told us you shoot it.” (per the product description).
It’s nice they are listening :)
I really liked the initial designs though, not sure about the new one…
PROJECT FRANK’s crowdfunding campaign is live here!
See an early review of the Frank Film Processor here!
Open call - we are seeking two new trustees to join our board, and help guide the charity. These two individuals will have a commitment to the aims of the Sustainable Darkroom, and will work closely with the team to support and advise us as it continues to evolve. Link in bio to apply 🌱
Desirable skills and experience:
- Strong understanding of, or experience within analogue photography and/or filmmaking.
- A critical understanding of ecology and eco-crisis.
- Financial management experience (if applying for treasurer role).
- Communication and teamwork skills.
Key details:
- Open globally (not just UK).
- Voluntary role (unpaid).*
- Quarterly meetings over zoom.
- Active involvement beyond meetings is heavily encouraged.
Applications are open until September 30th. Prior governance experience is welcome but not required. Questions DM or email. Link in bio for more info and to apply. * charitable trustees cannot be paid for their role within UK law.
Check it out here if you are interested!
If you love anything Holga related, you’ll love this new project coming from The Daily Holga, led by Alec Pain (I believe). Shout out to analogue.katya for telling me about this!
We’ll post everyone’s images here whilst collating everything for a book at the end of the project. The aim? Hopefully to get Holga to remake the camera but also to get 110 photographers and artists to take part. We’ve also got a U.S. project going on - to cover all 50 states!
We’re looking for more people in Asia, Africa and South America if you are interested.
Contact @thedailyholga or us if you would like to take part.
There are 15 Baby Holgas out in the wild at the moment. Shoot It With Film also just posted about the project as well if you’d like to read more about it there.
Optik Oldschool released a black and white film recently but of course with any new black and white film, we need the dev times! I don’t think these came out initially, but they are trickling out now.
Here’s a screenshot of what has been shared so far. They are working on adding more developers! Someone mentioned they work at higher temperatures for more lab efficiency, which is great advice for labs but hopefully they also share (or someone else calculates) the workings for 20C which has been kinda standard for bw home developing, especially on the Massive Dev Chart.
Yes, the film is not available in the US yet and I’m not 100% sure about anywhere else but I haven’t seen it outside of Germany right now. BUT you can buy it from Optik’s website, the shipping will just cost you more than the film haha
So perhaps if you really want to shoot this film, buy in larger quantities to make it worth it or pool together with a few fellow film photographers?
Many companies do not prioritize worldwide availability very quickly when something is released. Adox is another example of this - the last I was kinda on top of what was going on, their products were quite available at FotoImpex and perhaps over time some other stores in Germany/Europe, but not so much on the outside. Color Mission had to be ordered from FotoImpex initially to get any. And that was only in the first hour of it being released before it sold out and they had to admit they didn’t realize the current state of our colour film desperation at the time…
Shipping costs seem to be particularly expensive there…and of course, the local market is the first/primary target.
But I did get some hehe
Speaking of Optik…
By purchasing InovisCoat and FilmoTec/Original Wolfen…
I wasn’t paying attention to the film photography news for a while there, so I hadn’t noticed there were some recent issues with “Orwo”? Then I heard something about new owners and thought okay maybe these issues will be resolved under the new management. Well, wouldn’t-ya-know, that new management turned into none other than Chris Vandebroek, a very supportive film photography community member.
A lot of folks are sat for this and I’m interested to see how this change plays out to the future of film manufacturing in Germany. The enthusiasm and pride for keeping this alive is clear, even on their film boxes, they’ve stamped “PROUDLY PRODUCED IN GERMANY.”
Don’t even pretend like you still make film anymore! lol
I wonder if the film rolls say “Made in the USA”…
Love the design though. Link here to the story.
Saturday, Aug 15 | 6:00pm - That’s MOUNTAIN TIME Y’ALL.
I wish I was nearby because what is this?? “Develop Film, Get Pizza” and “Win a whole pizza” lol
Also FIND Lab related - Jonathan Canlas (of The FIND Lab) is hosting a film photography workshop in Japan. 6/10 slots remain at the time of this draft (8/8/26).
It’s expensive (relative) but if you have the budget and want to explore a bit of Japan with fellow film photographers, but get a few new profile photos, this could be for you.
Ok, so after I found this one above, I also saw there are a few of these workshops!
FILM SCHOOL ROAD TRIP - Norway Sept 11th-14th 2026
FILMSCHOOLROADTRIP - Puerto Rico - JAN 15TH-18TH 2027
FILM SCHOOL ROAD TRIP - Iceland. June 18th-21st 2027
Wow! This is so cool. I also really like the statement made here in the workshop intro - this is from the Norway one for example:
“This is an all-inclusive 4-day film photo retreat in Bergen, Norway. We will be staying in home in the heart of Bergen with a magical rooftop and fireplace. All meals will be provided each day. However, there will be no styled shoots, no models, and no random brides in the street. This is going to be a real-life on film completely curated photo experience. We will have 2 passenger vans to get us around from the home to each location each day.”
This is happening in Louisville, KY on Saturday 15 August 2026 at 10:00 AM!
The Photowalk.me event is set up by Billy Sanford and you can check it out here.
“Join us on Saturday the 15th of August for a walk in downtown Louisville, Kentucky to kick off the Great Film Photo Meetup - two days of film photography fellowship.”
I think a lot of the film photography folks around that area will be there! So shoutout to Billy Sanford for setting this up on the Photowalk site. I also heard about this on the Negative Positives podcast recently so check that out for more details!
Photowalk.me is such a great site for finding photo-related events near you. For example…
This has been designated as Saturday September 5th. There are a bunch of photowalks being hosted that I can see so far (UK, US, Italy) but more could be added. The website for the event is here.
Check out the links below for more details:
Worldwide Half-Frame Photography Day - Brighton
Worldwide Half-Frame Photography Day - Providence, RI USA
London worldwide half frame photography day walk
Worldwide Half-frame Day & Curious Camera Photowalk - Oxford
Frome Half Frame Photo Walk - Hosted by Fromography
Andiamo a fa’ foto | Half Frame in Rome, Italy
EDIT: Adding in more details of the event - so, it’s similar to Holga Week!!
This is from their website:
Worldwide Half-Frame Photography Day is all about having fun celebrating this great format!
Photo competition free to enter, three categories:
People
Places
Possibilities
Photos can be taken from 1-7th Sept so you have a chance to take 72 frames
Submission will be open from 8th Sept to 8th Nov
Judged by the organisers
Prizes TBC
Organise a half frame walk on Photowalk.me on event https://www.photowalk.me/event/worldwide-half-frame-photography-day-5th-september-2026
ALSO saw that Bill Smith (of the CCR podcast and blogs here) has posted a photowalk as well for Saturday 22 August 2026 at 10:00 AM on there!
Check out more details here.
“We’re tackling the Beaches a little Differently. Starting at The Bothy 2249 Gerrard St. East in the Upper Beaches (formerly East Toronto), we meet up at 10 AM for coffee and get underway at 10:30.”
Well, that turned into a lot! haha my favorite rabbit hole is a film photography one :) Find one thing, you find ten more!
If you know of any other news, please share with all of us in the comments below!
Until next time…
Stay cool and shoot film!
~M
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