Show Notes

Greetings, you’re listening to the Liam Photography Podcast, I’m your host Liam Douglas and this is Episode 416 for Thursday August 15th, 2024. In today’s episode I am looking at some of the most recent stories from our friends at PetaPixel.

Lego Film Camera

There are some fantastic camera-themed Lego projects out there, but the Lego ZH1 is much more than a toy. It is a fully functional 35mm film camera built using Lego bricks.

Spotted by Kosmo Foto, the Lego Ideas project created by user Zung92 has 7,600 supporters at the time of writing and there are only 35 days left before the campaign closes.

The project launched in 2022 and received the required support for multiple deadline extensions. However, it must hit 10,000 supporters to receive an expert review, which is the biggest hurdle a Lego Ideas project must clear to have a chance to become an actual, commercial Lego product. Getting 10,000 votes isn’t a guarantee that a project will be made, but it is a necessary condition.

One of the darlings of the Lego Ideas world is the Lego Polaroid OneStep camera, which finally became a real-deal product earlier this year after clearing 10,000 Lego Ideas votes in 2022.

“My primary goal was to create a fully functional 35mm film camera using only existing Lego parts,” writes Zung92. “Keeping it affordable and portable was key, so I focused on making it as compact as possible. ZH1 is built from 595 Lego pieces.”

One of the designer’s most significant challenges when making this Lego camera was ensuring the body was fully lightproof, as any stray light can wreak havoc on film. While early film rolls came out foggy due to light leaks, the designer solved these issues through design revisions.

The camera’s main lens is based on an existing Lego magnifying piece, although Zung92 also designed a special pinhole lens for the camera. The camera includes a functional shutter button, film advance and take-up reels, wind lever with release, accessory shoe (cold, of course), and it supports full-frame and half-frame capture modes.

Zung92, whose name is Zung Hoang, has posted many real-world sample photos shot with the Lego ZH1 on Instagram.

The Lego ZH1 Camera is an exciting project, and it needs support to have a chance to become a reality.

Pre-Orders for Mint’s $799 Rollei

Mint will open pre-orders for its upcoming Rollei 35AF film camera, which has been in development for five years, on September 10.

In January, Mint announced that the film camera it had been working on would be a modern re-imagining of the Rollei 35 S and Mint’s founder Gary Ho came to an official agreement with Rollei to not only use the classic logo but also the name. The new camera is meant to evoke the same joy as the original but addresses three main issues Ho says he had with it: lack of autofocus, no built-in flash, and poor ergonomics. Remaking the camera would allow him to not only address these issues but also allow fans of Rollei’s original camera to avoid the increasing difficulty of finding parts to repair it (not to mention the technical expertise to do so).

Mint’s Rollei 35AF was originally slated for release in the summer of 2024 but slipped slightly into the fall. Additionally, the company originally aimed to price the camera between $650 and $800 but clearly ended up at the high end of that estimation as the camera will be priced at $799. All that said, earlier this summer, Mint showed that it had a working prototype when it published images captured with the new film camera.

“Five years ago we embarked upon a journey to revive a dream, a dream we believe is held by many film photography enthusiasts. This dream has led us down many long and winding roads, but with the help of a very dedicated and talented team, step by step we have finally reached this point,” Mint writes on its Rollei 35AF Instagram page. “We’re pleased to share with you the Rollei 35AF, a brand new 35mm film camera, paying homage to the great lineage of Rollei 35 cameras in the past, whilst forging ahead a new path for the future of film photography.”

Mint has not stated a planned date of availability and even now has not committed to a firm date. While pre-orders will open on September 15, Mint only says that it has the “expectation of shipping out first units starting from the mid-October.”

“With the amount of sign ups received so far, we have turned our focus fully on expanding production capacity, aiming to fulfill as much demand as possible in the first several months of the launch. We are thrilled at the enthusiasm shown from the community and cannot wait to get the camera into your hands. More communication will follow as we approach pre-order, but for now we will keep our heads down and get back to work,” Mint says.

Mint previously revealed that the time and effort that went into developing this camera resulted in development costs that were “sky high” and that it was “risking the whole company to get this project off the ground.” It’s a huge gamble, but if Mint can fulfill demand and maintain high quality, photographers will surely reward it. Just based on how popular Pentax’s film project was when it launched the Pentax 17, there is no shortage of demand for new film cameras.

Night Street Photography in London

A photographer has been shooting London after dark for over 10 years, exploring the city’s carefree energy at night.

Bal Bhatla, better known online as MrWhisper, tells PetaPixel that there is “something magnetic about the streets of London at night” and it is when he likes to tell the city’s story.

“As the sun sets, the city undergoes a dramatic transformation,” Bhatla says of the British capital.

“The bright lights of the theaters, cinemas, and passing traffic illuminate the streets. The neon signs come to life, creating an almost cinematic atmosphere.”

Bhatla says the city’s mood lightens after sundown and becomes more extroverted which helps him tell better stories through his pictures.

“During those hours, you encounter the energy of unleashed Londoners, adventurous and carefree, chasing the night,” he says. “These are the moments I am passionate about documenting and make London such an intriguing place to shoot.”

Bhatla, or MrWhisper, is now releasing a book entitled London After Dark which, he says, has been a long time coming.

“When I was originally approached by Trope Publishing in 2018. They wanted to use my existing photos, however I pushed back. I wanted to shoot everything fresh as making my first solo book was a huge deal for me,” he explains.

“At the time the book was actually centered around public transport. As the years went by It evolved into London After Dark due to my newfound passion for low light photography.”

Bhatla, a Fujifilm ambassador, says he is always looking for a story in his photographs and watches for narratives that can engage viewers.

“I strive to create images that evoke a sense of emotion and connection with the viewer,” he says. “Through my work, I hope to inspire others to see London in a new light and appreciate the fleeting moments of beauty, intrigue, and raw emotion that are all too often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of daily life.”

London After Dark is published by Trope Press and can be purchased here. More of Bhatla’s work can be found on his MrWhisper Instagram page.

Underground Metal Portraits

A photographer sought to document the people involved with the underground metal music scene in Germany. Over 90 metalheads have had their portrait taken for Peter Seipke’s Faces of a Scene project, all in a gloomy, black-and-white style.

Seipke tells PetaPixel that he is a “passionate photographer” but also a “music freak” and his two passions have merged in this project.

“[I want] to give some spirit and energy back to the people in this unique scene,” he explains. “To let them look at themselves, to a certain extent.”

Seipke has met up with and photographed 91 members of the metal scene who mainly come from Eastern Germany where he lives.

“Two things were clear to me right from the start: The photos would be developed in black and white and the scenery would be photographed with an unleashed flash,” he says.

“Both are essential for the look of the photos — flashlight for a rather gloomy mood, black and white to ensure that the series is homogeneous and colors do not distract.”

Seipke will conduct a short interview with his subjects to find out about their tastes in metal and when they started listening to heavy rock; a genre that is popular all over the world.

“There are all types of fans,” says Seipke who publishes his portraits and interviews on his website.

“Ones who were already music enthusiasts as children and others who found metal music in their mid-fifties.

“From 16 to 63 years old, everyone is represented, from workers, engineers, artists, the self-employed, kindergarten teachers, musicians, teachers, and life artists. A mirror image of society.”

Seipke was in a band himself for a while so he sees his photography as a way of continuing to participate in the scene creatively.

“I’m part of the scene, mainly in the underground metal scene, which is huge all over Germany. So I go to club concerts and small festivals, meet people, and get into conversation,” he explains.

“My wife and my two grown-up sons are also part of the scene, so it’s actually quite normal for me to be in it.”

More of Seipke’s work can be found on his website.

Green Aurora Capture from Space

International Space Station (ISS) astronaut Matthew Dominick recently captured a stunning photo of the Russia Soyuz spacecraft in front of a vibrant green aurora.

Dominick’s shot, which he posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 2nd, features a dazzling green aurora dancing behind the Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the ISS.

“Recent solar activity pushed the aurora closer to us. The Soyuz hangs from the station in a stream of the aurora. Soyuz is illuminated in a light blue from the sun behind the camera, and in front of the space station that is just about to rise,” the astronaut writes on X.

Dominick also listed his camera settings: 1/4s, f/1.4, 50mm, ISO 6400. He didn’t mention what camera he used for this shot, but in a recent live X Spaces (formerly Twitter Spaces) event, Dominick said he has Nikon Z9 and a Nikon D5 cameras aboard the station.

In the same chat, Dominick discussed some of the quirks of shooting in zero-gravity, including the ability to quickly get into otherwise difficult positions. “The thing about zero-G,” he says, “you can quickly throw yourself into funny positions…”

Part of that quick-thinking photographer mindset also includes being prepared. Dominick told listeners that he has cameras rigged up throughout the station at all times.

In a behind-the-scenes video he shared to X on July 23rd, Dominick walks viewers through his process for capturing these stellar photographs. He has multiple lights and flex arms rigged throughout the various capsules and modules of the ISS. And in the true spirit of do-it-yourself photography, he is seen using a white washcloth taped over a light for diffusion.

“You can imagine when it’s super dark outside, even the littlest amount of light coming from in here would overexpose the [subject] against a deep star background,” Dominick explained.

The astronaut has shared numerous spectacular images from his time aboard the space station in recent weeks. On August 7th, he shared this photograph of a rare, colorful lightning sprite shooting up miles from Earth.

Follow Dominick on X at @dominickmatthew to see more photos and videos from ISS.

Insurance Company Cancels Policy After Drone Flyover

A woman who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on home renovations had her insurance canceled after the company flew a drone over her house and cited unsanitary conditions.

Joan Van Kuren from Modesto, California was furious after receiving a letter from CSAA dropping her insurance citing unacceptable hazards and liability exposure.

After Van Kuren called them, she was told by a CSAA representative that the company had flown a drone over her house.

“It almost feels like someone’s looking in your windows, you know, when they tell you that they flew a drone over your home and looked at it. It’s like, whoa,” she tells CBS Sacramento.

Van Kuren has been with CSAA for almost 40 years and in that time estimates she has paid $80,000 to them. She has spent the last three years renovating her entire property, including her driveway, kitchen, and bathroom.

CSAA took issue with some clutter on the left-hand side of her house which is the final part of her property to be renovated. There is an old planter and some tires there. The insurance firm did not give Van Kuren the opportunity to fix it.

CSAA denied to CBS Sacramento that it flies drones. However, it does use “several sources of information to assess the condition of properties, including aerial imagery captured by third-party, fixed-wing aircraft and satellites.”

“It’s not ‘their drone’,” says consumer advocate Amy Bach of the United Policy Holders. “It doesn’t really matter does it.”

Van Kuren also had her car insurance and business insurance with CSAA which she, unsurprisingly, has now canceled.

“The gentleman said to me, ‘Is there any conversation we could have to keep you?'” she says of her chat with a CSAA representative. “I said to him, ‘There is absolutely no freaking way’.”

A report back in April revealed that home insurance companies are secretly taking photos of private residences with drones, surveillance balloons, and even manned planes to find reasons to drop customers.

Mega-insurers are reportedly dropping all but the safest properties in an effort to recover from big underwriting losses — and aerial photography is a cheap and easy way to justify it.

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