Found film

Before the new year, I was on the hunt for some vintage film canisters.  I can’t actually remember now what got me on the hunt for them but I have been using some of the more plain ones to carry my own film around when I’m out shooting.  You just don’t get the metal canisters anymore when you buy film; they’re all plastic.

So, I was searching online and came across a fantastic set that included not only the 35mm canisters I was looking for, but also some of the older versions of the medium format film.  Now, Ilford and Kodak still make film (thankfully!) but except for the Tri-X, HP-5 and the FP-4 seen in the shots, none of the other films here have been produced for a good many years.  And even with those three mentioned, I would think that the current versions have very different emulsions and qualities to the modern equivalents.  Vintage and no longer produced: perfect!

There was also a bonus to this purchase: there was a roll of developed film in one of the canisters and a roll of, I don’t know, prints I guess.  I can’t remember ever having seen a developed roll of prints like this before.  I don’t know if it was a thing they did in Britain or other parts of Europe.  I certainly don’t remember ever having seen it in Canada.  Or perhaps it was just something that was no longer done by the time I was old enough to remember.  Either way, it was an interesting discovery.

I set up the studio lights and did some shots of the canisters, rolls and the box they came in.  I probably should have shot them on film but I decided on digital which I then ran through some filters to give them the vintage look.  I know, it’s kind of hypocritical.

I also scanned the negatives and chose the best ones.  I was initially thinking I would do a bit of touching up and editing but then I though, nope, I’ll leave them as I found them with all the poor lighting and scratches and the works.  I don’t know what kind of camera was used, whether it was hard to focus or not, but you might notice that many of the shots (and many of the ones I didn’t bother to include) are skewed off to the right, thereby cutting off the left side of the images.  Based on the clothing, style and choice of beverages, not to mention comparing them to some of my parents’ old photos, I’m guessing these were taken sometime around the late 1950’s or early 1960’s, most likely somewhere in the UK.  New Year, maybe?  Any other thoughts on what the party might be?