Film Photography Community Fund: Round 1

Today is an exciting day! We reveal to you the five projects that have been allocated money from the first round of the UK Film Photography Community Fund.

So whether you are interested in eco-friendly darkroom options ♻️ 16mm movie processing 📽 teaching the next generation about film 👩🏻‍🏫 the concept of modular cameras 📸 or selling your own prints online 🖼 then there will be something here for you!

We'd also like to reiterate that, while we have the pleasure to moderate the Fund, the money comes directly from the community via the discretionary 'tip' option at Analogue Wonderland's checkout. So it is the community's cash that funds these projects and is bringing these ideas to life.

So a huge THANK YOU to everyone who tipped, contributed, shared, and supported the conception of the Fund. Here's to a growing and passionate UK film photography community! 🍻

- Paul and Mary

Nils Aksnes is a passionate film photographer and product designer. He is now working to combine these two areas of his life with the creation of a modular film camera! Giving photographers the opportunity to swap out backs/lenses/shutter planes and much more - all from the same camera shell.

He has been awarded money from the Fund to help him build the next round of prototypes - which will then be distributed to community members for testing and feedback.

If you're interested in finding out more, providing your own ideas to Nils, or asking to be considered for one of the testers 😉 then head to Nils' Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/nils_aksnes/ 

Jamie and Luke are photographers who have run into the common issue faced by many film photographers today: how to sell prints in a way that is easy, financially viable, and fun?!

Without any easy solutions on the market, they've decided to build their own...

Front Photography promises to be a website that takes away all the pain and stress from trying to market and sell your art - and aims to become an integral part of any film photographer's portfolio. Their Fund allocation is going to be spent on website hosting with the first launch now planned for this spring!

To sign up for early access head to: https://front.photography/

For more info and to get in direct contact with the team follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/front.photography_/ 

When the pandemic hit, Marina was forced to cancel all planned events for the business she'd just created: running in-person courses to bring new people into the joy of film photography.

Since then she's been working hard to identify the right way to translate her expertise and energy into a process that will be accessible for new film photographers around the world.

Keen to avoid the pitfalls of mediocre online courses, she has invested into technology, hardware, and creative ideas to build a beginner's course that is fun, interactive, and will swell the ranks of the film photography community! Oh and it'll be in English and Spanish 🤩

She is using her portion of the Fund to purchase a one-year place on the Thinkific hosting platform - a website specialising in high quality online courses, with the plan to launch in April 2021.

For more details follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifwefilm_/

And check out the website: https://www.instagram.com/ifwefilm_/

NB: if you're a professional web developer and able to donate your services/time to help Marina integrate the course on her core domain then I know she'd appreciate the technical assistance!

FilmBee is a a Newcastle-based co-op focused on protecting analogue movie film culture, started in 2003 and based out of the Star and Shadow cinema complex.

They have come into possession of the UK's last known Lawlette 16mm film processor - but it needs a service from a specialist technician to get it back and running! When fixed it will become a core feature of the community darkroom - allowing people with 400ft rolls of 16mm B&W film to learn how to process in custom workshops and services.

The Fund is being spent on the first two days' of the specialist technician's time - which should be enough to fully service the unit, get it on wheels, and identify any missing parts to purchase.

FilmBee's website is currently being (re)built (the domain is here: https://filmbee.hotglue.me/) but you can follow progress via the Star and Shadow site: https://www.starandshadow.org.uk 

The Lawlette today...

Ed - or Edd to his friends 😉 - is the author of two seminal research papers on the environmental impact/future of the modern film photography industry.

Along with Hannah Fletcher - from London Alt Photo - Ed is spearheading the work to move analogue photography into a more eco-friendly and sustainable place. The Northern Sustainable Darkroom in Leeds is currently under construction and aims to provide a home for eco-friendly R&D, community developing and printing, and artist residencies looking to explore the relationship between photography and the environment.

Their allocation from the Community Fund will be spent on their scanning suite, to help photographers digitise their work at NSD.

Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northernsustainabledarkroom/

And sign up to their mailing list here: https://gmail.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4de33df2fcf1404830b465bac&id=e0c75ff5dc 

For full details on the UK Film Photography Community Fund then head to this page here: https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/pages/film-photography-community-fund

The second round of the Fund is expected to open in July 2021. The amount available for projects in round two will depend upon the community tips donated at checkout between January-June 2021. Thanks in advance for your continued community support.