I was really sad to hear that Kodak filed for bankruptcy last week. One of their films, Kodachrome, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful things that ever happened in photography, and opened up the opportunity for millions of people to experience colour photography – it was as revolutionary in the twentieth century as digital has been in the twenty-first! Some of my very favourite photos were shot on Kodachrome, by the likes of William Albert Allard and Sam Abell. Now neither of us has ever shot Kodachrome, but I knew that my parents had, so we spent the day with them recently looking through some old photos. I was amazed when I discovered these photos were actually pretty damn good – go mum and dad!

Vintage Wedding Photography? We both started out photographing with film – in fact the rather lovely Rolleiflex camera you see in our website’s menu was used to take the two photos below! We’ve been asked if we use our film cameras for our business, but as of yet it just hasn’t happened – it’s hard enough to keep track of all the digital cameras dangling from your neck let alone a fifty year old mechanical wonder that may or may not break at any time! Given how fashion is very vintage and retro-orientated at the moment, it’s no surprise that there is also a movement in alternative wedding photography that is fixated on offering that retro or vintage film look in their wedding photos.

Some photographers, like Jose Villa, are actually using film, as their wedding services come with a premium price which can cover the enormous cost of processing and scanning the film. For the majority of photographers, this isn’t an option, but digital photography has opened up a whole world of opportunity for all photographers, especially when it comes to colour, and we’ve seen loads of vintage film effects popping up all over the place! The funny thing is its really hard to mimic a lot of films like the Kodachrome that my parents used – there’s an inherent (and beautiful) look which everyone seems to have spent ages trying to recreate, but can’t quite reach. We tried too, but eventually we said sod it, lets just do something completely new! Of course, if anyone does pull off that perfect Kodachrome effect, count us first in the queue!

Martin has very generously offered to give away one of his spectacular limited edition landscape photographs when we reach the half way point of our 1000 signature target for The Any Campaign petition! He has selected eight of his favourites for the lucky winner to choose from…

This offer is open to UK Twitter followers and Facebook group members that sign the petition and Tweet/post about the Tino&Pip landscape photo giveaway. Be sure to tag both Tino&Pip and The Any Campaign so we pick up on it! The winner will be selected at random.

We’ve got something extra special lined up for when we reach our target of 1000 UK signatures… watch this space!

We’ve never understood how people manage to keep incredibly exciting news under wraps for days or weeks at a time, especially something as big as an engagement or beginning a new family! I (Martin) have been bursting at the seams trying to contain the news that I have a new exhibition of landscape photography beginning today in Tunbridge Wells. It was put up several days ago at the Wobblybridge Gallery, with the help of owner Paul, but as this is a new venture for him too, I had to wait a few days until the finishing touches were made to the upper gallery (where my work is hanging) before announcing it officially!

As much as we thrive on the adrenaline rush of weddings, and love capturing special family moments, we love to spend time centring our photographic sensibilities in our own time too. I personally love being near the sea, and the Kent and Sussex coastlines (amongst other locations) have provided both of us with a great deal of inspiration – places where we can relax our thought processes as photographers and perfect our compositions, ready to jump back into the hustle and bustle of portraits and weddings.

I digress. I’ve posted a couple of photos from the exhibition here as a sample, but I would love it if you visited the gallery itself to get the full impact of these limited edition prints! Although the internet is such a fantastic way to share photos, it is still primarily a print medium – the availability and popularity of albums is testament to this. The paper I use for my prints works beautifully with the archival inks, and I love the effect it gives – almost as if the light shines from within the print itself. It must be experienced first hand!

Thanks again to Paul for starting up this fantastic gallery and providing a great opportunity for local artists. I hope you all manage to make it along and see my work, along with some wonderful paintings and sculptures from the other artists who are exhibiting currently!

Inspired by the phenomenon of Wordless Wednesday, we would like to introduce ‘NT’ (no text), where we post one image a week with no accompanying text (other than this explanation!), designed to inspire feelings and comments from you. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Idle and abandoned for eleven months of the year, our beloved beach huts erode in the sea air. As sad as this may seem, it makes for a stunning artistic subject, don’t you think?

By Penny x