Official Exclusive: Julian Mastering the world of film camera pins

Julian - firstly, thanks so much for working with us on bringing your gorgeous Official Exclusive pins to more UK film shooters!

Let’s start with an easy question...what’s your name and what’s your personal history with analogue photography?

My name’s Julian Master. Growing up, my first camera was a Canon T2i Digital SLR. I shot a digital through college, but never really figured out how to get the colors and look I was actually interested in until I started to shoot film. After college I moved to New York City, where a lot of other photographers were fanatically shooting film. At this point I realized that if I could find a reliable and cheap place to develop my C41 film and also get a scanner that could do a whole roll at a time, I could shoot 35mm film similarly to how I was shooting digital. I invested in a Pakon F135 35mm film scanner and a Contax G2 and haven’t looked back.

What was the first idea or camera you immortalised in pin form and why?

The first pin we ever made was our Shoot More 35mm Film Pin. It really says it all for me, so it's nice to see that other people enjoy it as well.

Do you have a favourite film camera, and what is your favourite pin?

I shoot a few different film cameras regularly. Currently my favorite camera is my Canonet QL17 GIII. To me, it’s the best, cheapest manual focus camera of all time. I don’t every worry about breaking it, as when they break I just get a new one because they cost around $100 which is a normal cost of repair for any other film camera. In fact mine just broke today… AH!

Currently my favorite pin is The “Hands Loading Film Pin” it reminds me to get out there and put some rolls through my camera.

Is there a camera you would never make into a pin?

All cameras are fair game to me.

Even the Olympus AZ-330?! Brave... Which brand or type of film camera has - in your view - the overall best aesthetic? Is there a golden era of camera design?

Little point and shoot cameras have caught my attention more than anything else. In the 35mm film point and shoot camera area, there are so many little gems that work great and are still widely available at thrift stores around the world. I think the last P&S camera boom that happened before digital took over in 2007 really is the golden age of film cameras. There is so much variety and diversity.

What made you start Official Exclusive and what inspired the name?

Making collectible miniatures of cameras and film themed things feels like a natural extension to my interests in film photography. In regards to the name, at the time I was interested in picking something relatively easy to remember that didn’t limit the type of products I could create. I’m currently prototyping a dual camera strap harness system, which I hope to also release under the Official Exclusive name.

What’s the best thing about running Official Exclusive?

Running Official Exclusive has been a really enjoyable and informative experience so far. It’s allowed me to talk to people and engage with a community of film lovers in such an exciting and concrete way. It feels like everyday I wake up to emails in my inbox of people suggesting fun design ideas for film pins. If you have any design ideas, please let me know! —Julian@OfficialExclusive.com. I’m extremely grateful to all the people who make up the film photography community as they are extremely supportive of my film oriented projects.

What do you enjoy about being part of the film photography community?

In general, people who shoot film are the most interesting and energetic photographers I’ve ever met. In my experience, film photo people have incredible photographic integrity, and actually love to go out and shoot photos.

So true! What is next for Official Exclusive? What do you hope to achieve with the business?

Like I said earlier, we’re in the final stages of designing an extremely comfortable, usable, and wearable dual camera strap system... We're still in the prototyping phase--if anybody is interested, please sign up for our newsletter as I'll be notifying people about harness there. We also have around 15 new film pin designs that should be coming out before the end of the year. At Official Exclusive, we’re focused on making objects that bring joy to peoples lives, spark conversations, and allow for fun to be had with photography.

Are you currently shooting any personal photography projects?

I’m working on a few street series here in NYC. One of them is about dogs and their owners that I encounter on the street. If you’re interested in seeing any of my personal film photo work, would very much enjoy connecting with you on instagram @julianmaster or @OfficialExclusiveNYC

Julian - thank you so much for your time. I love what you're doing and cannot wait to see what comes of the camera strap project! - Paul