Imagine this: a photographer, fueled by passion and a touch of madness, decides to wrestle with a relic from the past – 82-year-old film! Nick LoPresti, a film enthusiast known for his adventurous projects on his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@nicklopro), has done just that. His latest endeavor pushes the boundaries of analog photography, proving that age is just a number when it comes to creativity.
LoPresti's fascination with film often leads him down unconventional paths. This time, he set out to capture images using Kodak Eastman Flurographic X-ray Film, which expired way back in 1946! To put that into perspective, that's a year after the end of World War II. The film was originally designed for X-ray machines, used to screen soldiers for tuberculosis.
"This project was a follow-up to last year’s Halloween video where I shot some Kodak Super XX that expired in 1952," LoPresti explained, referencing his channel's most successful video. He was inspired by a friend, Ivan Aguiar (https://www.instagram.com/andersonislandfilms/reels/?hl=en), who shared an eBay listing for the film. "So yeah, it was also for the views. YouTube seems to love it when us content people do stupid pointless things like this," LoPresti added.
Shooting expired film isn't always a walk in the park. Photographers often adjust their exposure, perhaps overexposing by a stop or two. But LoPresti wasn't dealing with film from the 2000s or even the 2010s. The film's age added a layer of complexity. Moreover, the film wasn't even spooled for a camera! But for a seasoned film veteran like LoPresti, that was a minor hurdle.
"I like to find the limits of whatever I’m doing," LoPresti admitted. "I become obsessive, to a fault. So much so that it’s to the detriment of all other facets in life. I can’t really focus on more than one thing at a time… bills, client proofs, answering texts, it all falls off until I reach some sort of break in the action."
Here's where it gets interesting: The film's age meant LoPresti had to experiment extensively to determine the correct exposure. He landed on an ISO of around 1, although different approaches worked better at varying ISO speeds, ranging from 0.2 to 1.6.
Determining how to develop the film proved to be the biggest challenge, requiring all of LoPresti's expertise. But, as the video and images shared with PetaPixel reveal, he succeeded! He not only shot but also developed the 82-year-old expired film, an incredible feat.
LoPresti is now turning his attention to "some more podcasts to feed the insatiable social media machine," and is looking forward to "following in the footsteps of Arthur ‘Weegee’ Felig and Kohei Yoshiyuki to make some incognito infrared flash images. Only problem is I think I need to abandon analog to get the results I’m after. [The] Rollei IR400 ain’t that IR sensitive."
He's also on the lookout for even older film.
What do you think? Would you ever attempt a project like this? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Image credits: Nick LoPresti (YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@nicklopro) , LoPro (https://www.madebylopro.com/) , Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/loprestiproductions/) )
