Kodak Winter Competition 2024: The Top 20 Winners

Whilst the winter months can be a difficult time for film photographers, we’re always here to raise spirits with our Kodak Winter Competition! Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting Andy Church from Kodak Moments at Analogue Wonderland HQ, to discuss the winners of our Kodak Winter Competition 2024 with Amy. Head over to our YouTube video to catch the lively discussion on the top 20 images and, of course, the grand winner!

This time round, we called upon film photographers to showcase their creativity using the timeless Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white emulsion, whether on 35mm, 120 medium format, or 4x5 large format sheet film. Amidst a huge number of submissions, Andy handpicked his top 20 favourites, including our three talented winners who will receive some exciting Kodak film goodies! Every submission was beautifully printed in our WonderLab, ready to be shared with the worthy winners.

So if you haven’t watched the video yet and fancy a quick run down, read on to find out who took the (Kodak Tri-X) crown! 🥳

Images 1-3

#1 Stephen Spark

Our first place winning image was shot by Stephen Spark on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The eyes of the figure in the distance seem to be watching you.” What does Stephen like about shooting Kodak Tri-X? They said: “It is very tolerant to all kinds of lighting conditions, has a beautiful grain and balance, and creates unexpectedly good results.” Congratulations, Stephen!

#2 Lóránt Jakab

Our second place image was shot by Lóránt Jakab on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The snow was falling down from the trees and the sun was shining and I was under the tree so it feels like you are there at that moment.”

#3 Héctor Rivero

Our third place image was shot by Héctor Rivero on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “What perfect portraits you can have using Kodak Tri-X!” What does Héctor like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “You get the perfect balance of contrast and grey tones and - if you have steady hands - you can use it in low light conditions with really good results.”

Images 4-7

#4 Thomas Buchmann

Our fourth place image was shot by Thomas Buchmann on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “First Aid Kit is one of my favourite bands. I got my first photo pass and travelled to Copenhagen for one of their gigs. The pass only allowed for 3 songs, but during the 4th one, I moved to the side of the stage and noticed Johanna against the light and decided to try and capture the moment. I had no idea if the photo would come out well, it turned out to be one of the best of the show. It was also the first time I shot a gig with Tri-X (I shot the first 2 songs on HP5, which I am used to pushing to silly ISO) and wasn't sure if it would handle being pushed to 3200 well. I think it handled it just fine.” What does Thomas like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “The contrast, the blacks, it looks surprisingly good pushed to 3200 ISO.”

#5 Andrew Clark

Our fifth place image was shot by Andrew Clark on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I love the shapes and textures of the cityscape view from the Sky garden balcony.” What does Andrew like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “I love the versatility, contrast and the grain of Tri-X, it has a fantastic tonal range and pushes and pulls wonderfully. What's not to like?”

#6 Peter Elgar

Our sixth place image was shot by Peter Elgar on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I saw ‘the face’ on a bus at end of alleyway - I got it just in time before bus moved off with my 1965 LEICA M2 + 35mm f1.4 Summilux and processed film in FX-4 formula 1+1 and did a darkroom print of it for my Camera Club.” What does Peter like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “It gives great tones.”

#7 Jon Dragonette

Our seventh place image was shot by Jon Dragonette on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Friend Shawn McKinney gets his haircut behind a motorcycle shop by former celebrity hair stylist Frenchy. To me it's just one of those beautiful, candid, timeless moments you stumble upon.” What does Jon like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “The timeless feel, the grain, the tonal range and detail.”

Images 8-11

#8 Ben Tettmar

Our eighth place image was shot by Ben Tettmar on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “It's a photo of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, I love the contrast I managed to get and the sharpness. I love how the architecture is old and the houses spiral down the steep hill. I also like how there are no people in the shot, it almost makes it look abandoned.” What does Ben like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “I really like the versatility and the contrast. I'm able to get good exposures no matter the light because it's 400 iso and the contrast is lush.”

#9 Graham Davies

Our ninth place image was shot by Graham Davies on Kodak Tri-X 120 film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Love how the Tri-X has enhanced the portrait. The blacks are deep and the quality of the print is sharp.” What does Graham like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Love the quality of this film stock for my studio lighting portrait project.”

#10 Madison Milne-Ives

Our tenth place image was shot by Madison Milne-Ives (one of our ambassadors!) on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I like the depth that the reflection brings to the image, and the fact that it feels like a glimpse into life in Oxford, which always had a bit of a ‘through the looking glass’ feel to it!” What does Madison like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “I really liked the grain and the contrast - it felt very traditional and very dynamic.”

#11 Boxiopath

Our 11th place image was shot by Boxiopath on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The use of the Cokin filter makes an abstract shot.” What does Boxiopath like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “The contrast.”

Images 12-15

#12 Nigel Kell

Our 12th place image was shot by Nigel Kell on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film.

#13 Adam Spencer Young

Our 13th place image was shot by Adam Spencer Young on Kodak Tri-X 120 film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Amy - Waiting for a bus, I just love her effortless style!” What does Adam like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Fantastic tones with just the right amount of grain - perfect for edgy portraits.”

#14 Andrew Clark

Our 14th place image was shot by Adrew Clark on Kodak Tri-X 120 film (yes, the same Andrew who also placed at #5!) When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I love how the snow gives the tree such a stark contrast against the snow white background and the added contrast with the snow on the branches, I even had some mist in the background.” What does Andrew like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “I love how versatile Tri-X is, you can do so much with it and it gives great results. I often shoot it at one stop to give more contrast and grain.”

#15 Paul Fuller

Our 15th place image was shot by Paul Fuller (also on Hackney Camera) on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I only took this one as it was a spur of the moment portrait as I saw him coming out of his doorway and just said 'Can I take your photo’ - he said yes.” What does Paul like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Have tried other B&W films but always prefer the results from this one [Kodak Tri-X].”

Images 16-20

#16 Kerensa Morris

Our 16th place image was shot by Kerensa Morris on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I'm very happy with how I somehow managed to get it in one shot!” What does Kerensa like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “I love the punchy contrast and flexibility of situations it works perfectly in.”

#17 Peter Meade

Our 17th place image was shot by Peter Meade on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “I like the layers in the composition and the organic shapes, the trees, hedges and bushes. But also, there's a mobile phone mast sitting in there, dwarfed by the landscape.” What does Peter like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Tri-X was the first film I used when I went back to shooting film having made the change to digital. I missed shooting film and bought a second hand Canon EOS-1, which just happened to use the same lenses as my digital cameras.”

#18 Trevor McIntyre

Our 18th place image was shot by Trevor McIntyre on Kodak Tri-X 120 film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “This was captured at Tunnels Beach, Ilfracombe. I like the strong contrast between the jagged dark rocks and soft foaming waves. This was taken with a red filter and resulted in a contrasty image which I think suits the subject.” What does Trevor like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “The sharpness, tonal range, and versatility.”

#19 Nick Sayers

Our 19th place image was shot by Nick Sayers on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “Shooting live under ever changing lights can be a challenge - almost a random chance but when it is nailed and then enhanced by the dynamic backdrop. It’s very satisfying! Slowdive - Hammersmith Apollo. Kodak Tri-X pushed to 1600.” What does Nick like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Crisp grain structure. Holds up well to pushing. Lovely blacks.”

#20 Francesco Baiera

Our 20th place image was shot by Francesco Baiera on Kodak Tri-X 35mm film. When asked what they liked about this photo, they said: “The falling of falling into the unknown.” What does Nick like about shooting Tri-X? They said: “Deep tonality and tight grain.”

And there you have it: our Kodak Winter Competition 2024 winners! We're consistently amazed by the calibre and diversity of the images you all submit. Hopefully, seeing these stunning results will inspire many of you to explore the timeless beauty of black and white photography with Kodak Tri-X and give it a go yourselves!

If you missed out this time, don’t worry! There’ll be another Kodak competition in the summer. Keep an eye out for announcements and let us know in the comments what emulsion you think it might be… In the meantime, browse our collection of Kodak film and happy shooting. 📸