Half-Frame Challenge

Portrait by Hot Pink Bulb, taken on Samurai Yashica, showing off blurry and grainy results.

The Challenge

When?
72 days starting on February 1st 2023, ending on 13th April 2023.

What?
By the end of the 72 days you have to share 72 frames you took during the period on a Half-frame camera.

How?
Results to be shared as contact sheets, with 6 favourite singles 6 favourite diptychs shared on their own in our gallery.

This could be just one roll you slowly worked your way through, or it could be the 72 best shots from several rolls of film.


FAQ

What is a Half Frame camera?

Originally a half frame camera was a way to get more frames on a single roll of 35mm, getting 72 shots on a 36 exposure roll. The cameras are often more compact, or really quirky.

Why shoot half frame?

Halo – Portrait taken by Hot Pink Bulb, to show case the principle of half frame diptychs
  • It completely changes how you shoot, you have to be more frequent to get through the roll, plus composure is ‘rotated’ by default.
  • It really emphasises the grain and texture of the film, due to the smaller frame size
  • Diptychs (two photos exhibited together) are a big part of half frame, partly because of standard printing/scanning methods, but also because the format just really lends it self to it

What constitutes ‘Half Frame’?

Megan – Portrait by Hot Pink Bulb, showing different scanning styles to include sprocket holes

For our challenges, we always liked to include anyone who likes the idea of taking part. As such we are gonna be very loose with what cameras can be used. If you can’t get ahold of a ‘proper’ half frame, anything below goes.

  • Anything that shoots 35mm film, but crops it in camera to a smaller frame size than usual. This includes Half/Super35 (24x18mm), but also other crops, for example square (24x24mm) or Techniscope (24x10mm)
  • Multiple frame cameras, for example the Nimslo, Nishika or Reto cameras that shoot several frames close together to make a little GIF. A GIF counts as one of your ’10 images’
  • Tiny crop cameras like the Lomography Supersampler, Action Sampler or Fujifilm Cardia/Rensha
  • Passport/Multi lens cameras, where multiple shots are forced onto the same sheet of film
  • Stills taken from shooting Super8 or other tiny cinema formats, GIFs welcome here too.
  • 110 or other tiny format cameras, where the final frame size is much smaller
  • Any other crazy creative method you can thing of to do ‘half a frame’ think Splitzer on an SLR etc

Ultimately the final result needs to reflect the lower quality grainy feel of half frame, with a big emphasis on making two frames in a diptych. Note whatever camera used, two frames for a diptych should be taken one after another, you can’t pick and choose any frames.

Is Medium format 645 Half Frame?
Technically yes, it is half a 6×7 ‘standard’ frame, if you really really want to take part using medium format 645, you have to submit 12 Diptychs scanned/printed together. No single frames. Bonus points if you actually use a 645 back on a 6×7 camera.


Want to take part, but don’t have easy access to film developing?

Half Frame feeling photo taken by Ci Demi on a tiny Action Camera (sony RX0)

If you do shoot film, something cheap and attainable like a Diana Mini or Kodak H35 is the preference first.

If shooting on film is really not an option for you, then happy to have you take part, but you have to use something along the lines of a modern ‘half frame’ counter part. Just let us know when you join in.

  • Low megapixels 10 or less, with an interchangeable lens. No full frame sensors. A sure win here is an original Micro Four Thirds style SLR, like the Olympus E300, which is basically there first digital Olympus Pen F.
  • An ‘action’ style camera that happens to do still photos too

If you do use digital, the following must be apply

  • 72 photos shared as contact sheet style
  • The 6 favourite Diptychs must be made from frames taken one after the other, no picking/choosing ones that go well together.
  • If not already ‘grainy’ feeling due to an older digital camera, you need to edit/style the frames to have the feel of half frame. Think a little like our Japanese favourites ‘Are, Bure, Boke’ – Grainy, Blurry, Out of Focus feel.

List of Cameras

To help you get stuck in, here are all the cameras we can think of available.

Budget

Diana Mini

Kodak H35

SuperSampler/ActionSampler

Normal

Yashica Samurai

Olympus Pen Series

Canon Demi

Digital

Olympus Evolt Series

GoPro Action Camera series

Sony RX0 series