We are now heading to HARMAN Lab to speak to Charlie Hill , our 16th Behind the Film interview. Charlie works as a Photo Lab Technician here at HARMAN Technology. Find out more about what his role entails.

WHO ARE YOU? WHAT’S YOUR JOB TITLE AT HARMAN TECHNOLOGY AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?

My name is Charlie Hill, I have worked as a Photo Lab Technician since April 2023.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR DAY TO DAY ROLE.

My day-to-day role revolves around Harman Lab where we offer B&W and colour film developing, scanning and traditional B&W printing services. My job predominantly involves fulfilling external customers' orders as well as offering support to other departments on site.

SHARE A FAVOURITE PHOTO THAT YOU SHOT ON ILFORD / KENTMERE FILM AND TELL US WHY IT’S YOUR FAVOURITE.

The most recent photo I have taken is usually the one I’m most excited about. I'm quite critical of my own work and it takes me putting images on the wall and ‘living’ with them for a while before deciding whether I think they have been successful or not.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS SHOT FILM, OR DID YOU GET INFECTED WITH THE BUG WHEN YOU STARTED WORKING HERE?

I grew up in the digital age and started taking digital photographs when I was first starting out. Once I started studying photography at A-Level / University I began to become more interested in traditional B&W photography. The slower more methodical way of working suited the work I was making at the time, once I started developing my own film and producing prints in the darkroom I was hooked!

WHAT SUBJECTS DO YOU LIKE TO PHOTOGRAPH AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE?

I predominantly enjoy documentary style portrait photography. I take a lot of inspiration from photographers such as Chris Killip, Alec Soth, Gregory Halpern etc.

WHAT MISTAKES HAVE YOU MADE SHOOTING FILM THAT YOU ARE NOT TOO EMBARRASSED TO SHARE?

Too many to count! From forgetting to take the lens cap off on my old rangefinder to taking pictures with no film loaded, I’ve made plenty of mistakes. I guess this is what makes film photography unique and exciting though. Not knowing what your results are going to look like immediately to happy unintentional accidents – it's all part of the fun!

HOW MANY DIFFERENT FILM STOCKS HAVE YOU SHOT?

I have predominantly shot ILFORD and Kodak films – I tend to lean towards films that have a greater margin for error and are suitable in a wide range of scenarios such as ILFORD HP5 + & Kodak Portra 400.

DO YOU DEVELOP YOURSELF OR TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE STAFF DISCOUNT AT HARMANLAB?

I started off processing my own B&W and C41 films by hand in my old kitchen in paterson/jobo tanks, however since working at Harman I have started to take advantage of the staff discount!

HAVE YOU EVER PRINTED YOUR NEGATIVES IN THE DARKROOM?

Yes, I tend to scan my negatives first and if there is something I like I will make an enlargement in the darkroom.

WHAT FILM CAMERA(S) DO YOU OWN AND WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

I have a Chamonix 4x5 view camera and a Mamiya RZ67 with a variety of lenses. To be honest I have a love/hate relationship with both, both take great pictures but as anyone who has owned one of these cameras will tell you, they are a not the easiest to carry around!

WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITES FILM IN OUR RANGE? TELL US WHY AND SHARE A SHOT TAKEN WITH IT.

I like all the films in the ILFORD range, they all have different purposes at uses however HP5+ and XP2 Super are my usual preferred choices. Both are very versatile films that you can put in your camera and tackle almost any scenario.

 

Images ©Charlie Hill