Bill Manning

Losing a pet is like losing a part of yourself. For the past year and a half, Jules faced her first major health challenge, yet I saw so much determination in her to keep going. At 19, the vet told us she was living on borrowed time. But Jess and I wanted to give her every chance to continue living her best life. Our world revolved around her. Last night, we knew that borrowed time was coming to an end, and we held her close through her final moments. She brought us immeasurable joy and happiness. She was truly a gift from God, and because of her, Jess and I became better people. God bless you and your beautiful soul, Julie. I look forward to the day we see each other again.

Tonight, seeing a film on the big screen in a sold out theater in front of peers, with my closest friends and dedicated cast and crew was one of the most incredible feelings I’ve ever felt. To see an idea that was developed from one’s mind, written to paper, shot on celluloid, and then presented and inviting an audience into that world is one of the most nerve wrecking feelings. It didn’t sink in until the name, “Our Father” showed up on the screen. I am beyond grateful to every person that was involved in this project. Creating a film is a beautiful process if you are open to all of the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into making one. Creative differences, collaboration, negotiation, compromising, and most importantly trusting others through the process is what it makes it beautiful. @woodlot_media , @boyfriendjames , @thatjamezguy , I learned so much from you all. I am so proud of the work we created. @zoe.a.taylor , @atliennat , @kitkatpadoodle , @directortiz , @robiedu your artistic talent to set production is unrivaled and your team was the magic that transformed a basement in the west end of Atlanta into the hellish apocalypse that sends shivers down my spine. The crew who lit this set and giving us pockets of light to make those shadows sing made this the darkest of worlds that would scare the holiest of people in their shoes. Thank you @brossboss @twodovesinspirational @andrewbyrd1 . Our camera crew delivered the most professional camera movements I’ve ever seen. Follow focusing at wide open apertures on a dimly lit set is no easy feat but you did it. Amazing work @wstewartfilms @online_justin . Our talent @jonathan_ludwikowski and @boyfriendjames delivered incredible performances. 100’ of film required consistent rehearsal and delivered one shot wonders on every take. Lastly, but not least, our post production crew. @meinhardtist delivered the most beautiful colors delivered from celluloid and @bryan_munnings brought it home adding layers and layers of sound design of every single brick that came tumbling down in this collapsing world. So proud and thankful to every person that poured their hearts into this project. Thank you.

When @harmanphoto released Phoenix 200 in 35mm, the very next question was, “Will it come out in 120?” Well, just under a year, they’ve released it in medium format. The incredibly kind team at Harman asked if I could test a few rolls for them. As you may recall, Phoenix 200 is an experimental color film which has some quirks with color conversion and a grainy structure. Releasing it in 120 gives a larger surface area for that grain to breathe. With a backing paper I do believe the halation is a little bit more controlled but still has that limited dynamic range between shadows and highlights; which was perfect for portraits under tree cover in complete shade. I ran several test rolls through my Pentax 67 and digital camera scanned and converted using @negativelabpro . I am quite impressed with the results! As always, congratulations to the Harman team! This is another accomplishment and another step towards your color film path. Thank you for including me and allowing me to test this film! A special thank you to @autumn_smith for modeling and taking a crazy hike to such a cool place for the shoot!

This one hurts. 🥺

Moo-ve along people. There’s nothing to see here.

We’re excited to share that our 250D and 500T NRJ films are now available! The “No Rem-jet” film has the anti-halation underlayer which is washed out in the bleach phase opposed to a pre-bath step making it possible for C-41 processing. We took 250D NRJ for a walk in Atlanta and processed it with our in-house C-41 / NRJ lab. While we strongly encourage to process these films as ECN-2, having the option to cross-process it as C-41 is a great addition to experimenting with the film! Check with your labs before sending this film to them. One thing to note, because the anti-halation layer is washed out in the bleach step, this makes these films incompatible with the skip-bleach (bleach-bypass) step. Available now, shipping immediately, link in bio!

I had the opportunity to shoot a few frames of @kodak_shootfilm ’s newest stock, Verita 200D / 5206. It’s a very fascinating film. I ran one roll through C-41 safely because of the AHU layer, but I was left a little unimpressed due to a strong magenta cast. However, I had another roll processed in ECN-2 through Kodak Film Lab Atlanta, and I was extremely happy with the results. Both images came straight off the Noritsu scanner with no adjustments. Verita is described as a very contrasty film, but it still has tons of dynamic range. From my initial tests, I found that it is not very forgiving when underexposed. Several DPs I’ve spoken with often describe the film as having a magenta spike, but I think it really depends on the type of light you’re shooting in. I also agree with @thom_kuo that lens coatings can significantly impact color rendition. On a warm, mid-afternoon day, I didn’t notice the magenta spike nearly as much. It was far more pronounced when cross-processed in C-41. A more detailed review is in the works, but I really, really, really like this film as an ECN-2 stock and am much less impressed with it cross-processed in C-41. Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely I’ll be stocking this film anytime soon. @leicacamerausa R8 35mm Summicron-R (Late)

Before photography, guitar was everything to me. I grew up listening to @joesatriani and @stevevaihimself . My friends and I would spend hours after school breaking down the music theory behind ‘Surfing with the Alien’ and ‘Passion and Warfare’ trying to play guitar licks what felt almost impossible. As music slowly gave way to photography, my love for their work never faded. I’ve bought every CD and followed every release over the years. My wife surprised me with tickets in the upper balcony, but the staff at @atlantasymphony moved us up to Row B. Suddenly I was right there in it. I had my @leicacamerausa Q2 on me and captured some moments I’ll never forget. Grateful for the music you’ve created and for the generations of musicians you continue to inspire.

Proof of life post.

My guy, @adrielpuentes at the @marietta.proper Speakeasy made the most dynamite rusty nail. Unfortunately, they didn’t have Drambuie, but he made a killer substitute on the fly that needs to be shared with the world.

These images are wild to look back on. I remember when @cinestillfilm reached out to me about testing their E-6 kits right at the beginning of the pandemic. I grabbed some @kodak E100 and my Hasselblad 500CM and photographed my neighborhood as it turned into a ghost town. Like many local governments, the town I lived in shut down all public spaces. Nobody really knew what to do with this thing called “COVID-19.” Around this time six years ago, I thought it would last maybe two weeks and we would be back to normal. Fast forward six years and we are still feeling the ripples of how much that moment altered life as we knew it before 2020. Six years ago. It feels like it was just yesterday, and somehow a lifetime ago.

Cleaning up files from computer and I realized that I didn’t post this Super 8 footage through Utah. @travelbygrain and I revisited the west visiting Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Most of the time was spent visiting Canyonlands, Arches, and a sneak peek at @skinwalker_ranch through a tour operated by the neighbors atop of the famous mesa in the Uinta Basin. Before you ask, yes, I had my first UAP experience, seeing orange orbs dancing high in the sky at Mesa Arch a couple hours before sunrise. It was one of the most mind bending experiences in my life. Also, for a later post, I *might* have caught something on this footage on the tour. I may have to clip it and send it to @brandonfugal and the Skinwalker team with a white object appearing and shooting across the frames in this footage. When I get the film back from the lab I need to closely analyze if it’s light burnt into the emulsion or dust from the scans. More to come there! Utah is a beautiful state and I cannot wait to return. Nextime, to check out the petroglyphs at Moab and Zion NP! 🎥: Nikon R8 Super 🎞️: @kodak_shootfilm Super 8 200T Dev/Scan: @negativespacefilmlab