All Through a Lens: A Podcast About Film Photography

Dev Party #42 - The Ortho to Life, The Universe, and Everything

Did you think that we wouldn’t try to figure out Arista Ortho Litho 3.0 yet again? You must not know us very well.
While Eric tries to see if he can get it to develop properly in HC-110, Vania taunts him by developing Ultrafine Extreme 400 in Pyro PMK (Eric’s favorite film/dev combo).
Here are Eric’s results – Arista Ortho Litho 3.0 in HC-110; 1+200; 15mins; very little agitation:
3 ISO
1.5 ISO
3 ISO
6 ISO
3 ISO
1.5 ISO
 
And here are Vania’s – Ultrafine Extreme 400; PMK; 1+2+100; 13min:
 
END CREDITS
www.allthroughalens.com
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 Kits

No Summer Lovin'?

We're just popping in to let you know that we're taking a little summer break. Details within, obviously, but check our IG for updates too!

Dev Party #41 - Summer Color (Portra is Trusty)

On this summer episode of Dev Party, we talk about our favorite color emulsions for summer while we develop color film!
Eric developed some old Kodak Internegative film in one of his ECN-2 kits, while Vania developed Kodak Portra in C-41.
Here are Eric’s shots, including the triptych:
And here are Vania’s:
Also, calm down, Ektar, you’re so dramatic!
So, what color emulsions are you shooting this summer? And where? And why?
 
 
END CREDITS
www.allthroughalens.com
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 Kits

Episode 45: Season Finale - Eian & Kate Miller-Wilson; Nell Dorr

Full show notes at www.allthroughalens.com
 
Welcome, won’t you, to the season finale of All Through a Lens. This is one hell of a show and we are, dare I say, stoked!
We’ve got such an incredible guest in Eian Miller-Wilson – you might recognize his last name – Miller-Wilson – from Kate (@katemillerwilson on IG), his mother. Eian appears in a slew of her photos, if you’ve seen her work, you’ve seen him. And we’ve got them both on!
We’ll also be keeping Kate around to talk about nearly-forgotten photographer, Nell Dorr. 
We’ll talk about our summer plans, there’s a zine review, and Tiffen Sinclare (@tiffen.sinclair on IG) will be dropping by.
EIAN MILLER-WILSON
We interviewed Kate Miller Wilson in Episode 14. Most of you are probably familiar with her work, especially the photos of her son Eian. Together, they have made some of the most ethereal and captivating photos we’ve ever seen.
It seems like it’s been ages, so we asked her to come back, but this time with Eian.
Here are some of the photos they’ve taken together:
 
NELL DORR (WITH KATE MILLER-WILSON)
At one time, Nell Dorr was a well known and adored photographer. She had books and gallery shows. She photographed the simple, the sublime, and the famous. But in the years since her final book in 1975, she’s been all but forgotten. None of her books are in print. Few of her published photos are available online, and even when it comes to listing obscure women photographers, her name is hardly remembered.
We aim to change that.
This will be a different sort of segment, as Kate Miller Wilson has agreed to stick around. In fact, it was Kate who suggested Nell Dorr – a woman neither of us had ever heard of before.
 
We each selected two of Nell Dorr’s photos to talk more about. These are the six:
Kate selected:
Vania slected:
Nell Dorr (1893-1988); Popocatepel Mountain Mexico; 1925-1970’s; Gelatin silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Fort Worth, Texas; Bequest of Nell Dorr; P1990.45.252
Nell Dorr (1893-1988); Mangroves; 1929; Gelatin silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Fort Worth, Texas; Bequest of Nell Dorr; P1990.45.285
Eric selected:
Nell Dorr (1893-1988); Alone; n.d.; Gelatin silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art; Fort Worth, Texas; Bequest of Nell Dorr; P1990.45.438
Nell Dorr (1893-1988); [Crucifix]; ca. 1936; Gelatin silver print; Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Gift of the Estate of Nell Dorr; P1990.45.431
ZINE REVIEW
We talked about Themselves Press’ Patreon a bit. This month it was based around Fever Dream by Jordan Brown (@cutestrongsadboy on IG).
Themselves Press on IG: @themselvespress
Charlie Chux Camuglia on IG: @casualscience
PATREON
Thank you to everyone who supports us!
Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, extended interviews, early drops. Tons of stuff!
patreon.com/allthroughalens
THE CREDITS OF ENDING
Music by Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 KitsTiffen: IG
All Through a Lens: IG, Website, Patreon, Spotify Playlists
 

Dev Party #40 - The Holga Games!

For our 40th Dev Party, Vania and Eric shot b&w and color rolls through their new Holgas. Vania had never shot one before, and Eric hadn’t done it in years and years.
Here are some of Vania’s shots:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And here are some of Eric’s:
 
 
 
END CREDITS
 
www.allthroughalens.com
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 Kits
 

Episode 44: Hansel Mieth: Working Class Photographer (w/ Heartless Twyla)

Full show notes here:  allthroughalens.com
T-shirt Bundle pre-sale: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1031892211/all-through-a-lens-t-shirt-and-stuff-pre
 
On this episode, we’re talking to Heartless Twyla (@heartlesstwyla on IG) about her new book that revisits a traumatic past; we’ll tell you all about Hansel Mieth, a photographer of the working poor who was actually working poor herself. There’s the answering machine, zine reviews, and something called The Holga Games!
HEARTLESS TWYLA
 
We first heard about Heartless Twyla from the #womenwithfilmwednesday on Istaghram. She’s completing a book project that must have been an extremely difficult journey. And we give her a call to talk about it. 
Here is a link to her Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heartlesstwyla/technicolor-nightmare-a-manic-pixie-film-photography-memoir
@heartlesstwyla on IG
Here is a smattering of her photos:
 
HANSEL MIETH
LIFE photographer Hansel Mieth at work.
Hansel Mieth was a Life Magazine photographer in the 1930s and 40s. Her camera focused mainly upon the working poor and always had a cynical, leftist bent to it. But to write her off as just another staff photographer would be missing the point of not only her work, but her life. 
Here are a few of Hansel’s photographs:
 
ZINE REVIEW
Vania reviewed:
Sacrosanct by Nick Tauro Jr. (@nick.tauro.jr on IG)
You can pick up the zine here: https://nicktaurojr.bigcartel.com/
 
PATREON
Thank you to everyone who supports us!
Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, extended interviews, early drops. Tons of stuff!
patreon.com/allthroughalens
THE CREDITS OF ENDING
Music by Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 KitsTiffen: IG
All Through a Lens: IG, Website, Patreon, Spotify Playlists
 

Dev Party #39 - Big Bertha

Full show notes at www.allthroughalens.com
 
This episode of Dev Party features special guest Big Bertha – Vania’s Graflex Super D (and the four sheets she developed today). Meanwhile, Eric tries again to figure out Arista Ortho Litho.
Here are Vania’s shots:
Additionally, Vania paid homage to Leroy Grannis:
 
Meanwhile, there are Eric’s four
 
END CREDITS
www.allthroughalens.com
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 Kits
 

Episode 43: Long Story Longer (w/ Vanessa Maestri of Armadillo Tintype)

Full show notes available at: allthroughalens.com
 
On this episode, we’re talking with Vanessa Maestri of Armadillo Tintype. Vania and Eric also discuss storytelling through photography. Our own Tiffen Sinclair will drop by to lay it on us. We’ve got zine reviews, the answering machine, a couple of plugs and so much more.
VANESSA MAESTRI – ARMADILLO TINTYPE
This was such a fun interview! She talks about her work, her camera, her vision, and her Toyota Sun Land Express.
Vanessa on IG: @armadillotintype
www.armadillotintype.com
Rancho Relaxo: https://www.ranchorelaxonj.org/
Vanessa shoots both portraits and landscapes. Here are some of her portraits:
And some of her landscapes:
 
PHOTOS AS STORIES
Storytelling is a universally human thing – it’s a trait that spans cultures, continents and oceans. If there is one thing humans all have in common, it’s death and stories (and often stories about death).
When we think of stories, we think of the written word, but that encompasses only the last 5,000 of our 300,000 years as humans. Story *telling* is an oral tradition most likely dating back to the very origins of language, 100,000 years ago.
But before that, pictures were used to tell stories. So, in many ways, pictures (and thus photography) is perhaps a more natural way for us, as storytellers. Or at the very least, it’s neither a foreign or new concept.
What’s new is a camera (well, “relatively” new). And that’s what we’re talking about today – telling stories with our photography.
 
While Eric was skeptical about the idea, he eventually warmed up to it. Vania was always on board. Since this was more a theoretical sort of talk, there weren’t a lot of specific photos discussed.
But we did mention two taken during the Crimean War in 1853.
And two by Alexander Gardner at Antietam during the American Civil War in 1862:
There was also some talk about Eric’s aborted/possibly-just-postponed Nez Perce Trail series. Here are a few shots from that:
ZINE REVIEWS
Vania reviewed Surviving Winter by Dmitry Gudkov (@dmitryshootsfilm). It’s available here: https://www.gudphoto.com/zine-surviving-winter
Eric reviewed Street Stoves by Max Rubarth (@ponytailboiii). It’s available here: https://doitforthegrain.ca/artist-zines/
PATREON
Thank you to everyone who supports us!
Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, extended interviews, early drops. Tons of stuff!
patreon.com/allthroughalens
THE CREDITS OF ENDING
Music by Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 KitsTiffen: IG
All Through a Lens: IG, Website, Patreon, Spotify Playlists
 

Dev Party #38 - DIY Retro Special for Some Reason

Full show notes available: allthroughalens.com
 
On this very special episode of Dev Party, Vania develops Fomapan 100 in Foma Retro Special. Meanwhile, Eric develops Foma Retropan in Retro Special… but in a diabolical twist, he also makes his own DIY Retro Special based on past mistakes and MSDS sheets. Why? Why not?
Here are Vania’s results with Foma 100:
She also accidentally developed some old Kodak something something in the same tank:
 
Meanwhile, here are Eric’s two Retropan sheets devved in Foma Retro Special:
And here are two Retropan sheets deved in the DIY Retro Special:
 
And if you want to see the details…
DIY on the left – Foma on the right.
 
END CREDITS
www.allthroughalens.com
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 Kits
 

Episode 42: The Most Photographed American of the 19th Century (w/ Octavia Sharp)

Full show notes here: [link].
 
On today’s show we’ll be talking about Frederick Douglass, the most photographed American of the 19th century, and how he used photography against slavery and racism. We’ll give a call to photographer Octavia Sharp, who has been photographing Mausoleums for decades. Tiffen Sinclair will drop by for some knowledge dropping, we’ll have a zine review, the answering machine, and so much more!
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
Frederick Douglass is celebrated as one of the most important abolitionists in American history. But he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century – having 160 known photographs taken of himself. During the Civil War, he delivered four speeches linking photography to democracy and freedom. He saw photography as a democratic art form, widely available to the masses.  
From his first portrait taken in 1841 to his last, a memento mori captured in 1895, Douglass was photographed using nearly every process available at the time .
These 160 images show how Douglass grew as a person, as an abolitionist, and as a public figure. But why was history’s greatest abolitionist so in love with photography? To understand that, we have to understand a bit of Douglass’ own history.
 
Here are a selection of his portraits:
 
OCTAVIA SHARP
@octaviasharpphotography on IG
When we first saw Octavia Sharp’s work, it was like something out of a mid century magazine. The colors, the furniture, even the lighting and angles were all of another time. But upon closer inspection, there was something else going on there. These weren’t photographs of living rooms – these were all shot in mausoleums and funeral homes.
Here are some of her photos:
ZINE REVIEW
GrainyBlur by Alex Purcell
Alex introduces the zine simply by explaining that photography cannot just be described as a hobby; it holds many variations to him and I am pretty sure we can all agree with that. Alex made this zine with some of his favorite images taken with his pinhole cameras or as he puts it his lo-fi camera gear. As most of us can overlook these types of cameras Alex not only shoots with them but basically puts us all to shame. We really get to see how his creative eye and the limitations of slow shutters blend together in black and white.
Alex @grainyblur on Instagram and/or Twitter.
PATREON
Thank you to everyone who supports us!
Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, extended interviews, early drops. Tons of stuff!
patreon.com/allthroughalens
Our featured Patron for this episode is
Colin Cameron – @cbc.analogue on IG
 
THE CREDITS OF ENDING
Music by Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers
Vania: IG, Flickr, ZinesEric: IG, Flickr, Zines, ECN-2 KitsTiffen: IG
All Through a Lens: IG, Website, Patreon, Spotify Playlists