All ILFORD Inspires content has a common goal: To inspire people to try traditional analogue black and white photography by showcasing the power and potential of this highly creative medium.
New York Silver Stories
Working with the talented team at Exploredinary, this series features four short documentaries telling the stories of silver gelatin darkroom printers in New York City.
The Bronx Documentary Center - Turning Negatives into Positives
Founded by Michael Kamber, the BDC is a non-profit aimed at helping young people learn the skills needed for photography and darkroom printing and allowing them to tell their stories.
Legends of Skateboarding
We have teamed up with Dallas based film-makers Exploredinary to create a series of short documentaries featuring three legends from the world of skateboarding. Ray Barbee, Joe Brook & Jason Lee.
These latest documentaries offer a personal insight into the passion and talents of three very different photographers who have each made an indelible mark on the world of skateboarding and all share a common love for black and white film photography.
Ray Barbee: A Common Thread
Ray Barbee's film ‘A COMMON THREAD’ is about finding enjoyment in things that are challenging. This is a captivating insight into a humble yet remarkably talented skateboarder, musician and photographer who believes that all 3 passions are crafted by various factors outside of the artist's control. From making prints in a darkroom to making music in a studio, Ray embraces the imperfections of analogue formats
Joe Brook: Skateboarding is our Religion
Joe Brook's film ‘SKATEBOARDING IS OUR RELIGION’ is a pilgrimage to the epicentre of skateboarding, San Francisco, in Joe's iconic van ‘Big Blue’. In this rare look behind the scenes we watch Joe capture skateboarders using various photographic techniques for his work at Thrasher Magazine.
Jason Lee: The American Photo Roadtrip
Our ILFORD Inspires 'Legends of Skateboarding' series concludes with Jason Lee's ‘THE AMERICAN PHOTO ROADTRIP’. Discover the philosophies behind Jason's signature aesthetic during a journey through rural Texas highway 380 to document the abandoned yet cinematic American landscape. A former Pro Skateboarder, Jason has established himself as a pillar of the film community making him better placed than most to identify the parallels between skateboarding and photography.
Ankita Asthana: Love Stories
Our latest ILFORD Inspires film: Love Stories featuring Ankita Asthana, founder of www.weddingnama.in. This video follows Ankita and her team as they capture the destination wedding of Sanaa and Sidhant at the Holiday Inn, Goa. She explains why she shoots the chaos and colour of Indian weddings using ILFORD black & white film, what she loves about film and why she develops it herself back in her Mumbai studio. Ankita shoots a range of film cameras and black and white film formats in this video including FP4+ sheet film in an Intrepid Camera Co 4x5" Mk 3, medium format Delta Professional 100 in a Rolleiflex T and Kiev 60 and a range of 35mm black and white films including HP5+, FP4+, Delta 100 & 3200 in her Nikon F100. A film by Akash Agarwal
Brendan Barry: The Camera Maker
The Camera Maker features large format photographer, lecturer and camera builder Brendan Barry as he uses some of his handmade cameras to create prints on Direct Positive paper as well as making black and white paper negatives on location in the beautiful Dartmoor National Park, an abandoned air control tower as well as in his studio.
Giles Duley: Legacy of War - The Art of Storytelling
Our 2nd ILFORD Inspires event took place in London in October 2017. It featured humanitarian photographer Giles Duley as he documented the global refugee crisis. Giles' mission is to tell the stories of those impacted by the long-term effects of conflict - all through the medium of black and white film photography. He has made storytelling his art and this captivating, inspiring and in-demand speaker will show how photography has the power to change lives. Watch the full series of videos on our YouTube channel.
Chuck Kelton: Silver Stories
The inaugural ILFORD Inspires event took place in Philadelphia in August 2016 with master printer, artist, and educator Chuck Kelton. Chuck speaks about his passion for silver gelatin and his collaborations with world-renowned photographers such as Mary Ellen Mark, Danny Lyon, Larry Clark, Helen Levitt and Saul Leiter. Watch the full series of videos on our YouTube channel.