KickTraq

Folks - Freudian slip on my part. I was so into patching links into the last Update #15 on antique cameras that I failed to add the most important -- and possibly most accessible -- choice among 4x5 cameras for newbies and anyone to use with New55... (Read More)

Dear Friends, Colleagues & Well-Wishers, Some crusty older fellow-travelers of analogue bliss in our company have encouraged us to be more user-friendly to the young photographers who are just getting into or beginning to contemplate working in... (Read More)

I know it's seemingly unrelated, but I'm a big fan of tabletop roleplaying games (think Dungeons and Dragons). There's a lot of activity on Kickstarter that is related to creating new game systems as well as aids for existing games—a deck of cards that helps you narrate combat, a set of map tiles that you can use with various types of markers, and so on. Because Kickstarter is so important to the RPG community, it was through that community that I learned of a neat Kickstarter analytics website called Kicktraq. Basically, think of Google Analytics for Kickstarter projects. But here's the deal - anyone can access their data for any current Kickstarter project. (Read More)

Dear Friends, Due to popular demand and the increasing interest in upgrading, we've added a 3-box option at the $225 level. Enjoy, -Sam  (Read More)

Friends, Backers & Photographers, This is the hour for New55 FILM. People ask me, "Sam, do you have any aces-in-the-hole?  Got any silver bullets to shoot us across the line?" The answer is,"No. It's about you." New55 FILM goes into production... (Read More)

Dear Photographers, In order to address the unusual demand for New55 FILM at all levels, we've just introduced a new reward concept to the structure called the "Special Museum Artist's Pack" which includes 300 sheets of New55 FILM. Two levels are now... (Read More)

Ashland, Massachusetts, April 29, 2014 -- New55 Holdings, LLC, today announced that it is narrowing in on its $400,000 crowd-funding goal for New55 FILM at Kickstarter. The project is approximately 60% funded with a full week left to go in the... (Read More)

With only 7 days left in the campaign we've got our work cut out for us. The necessary $175,000 gap feels like a lot to cover, but it's not really that much if we all apply ourselves to the challenge.  The slight momentum improvement last week... (Read More)

Dear Friends, Supporters & Expressive Photographers Everywhere, Those of you who are hoping or anticipating or dreading another update from me punctuated by smashed crockery will be disappointed.  The project -- despite only nearing the 50%... (Read More)

Ladies & Gentlemen, Backers & Others - Kindly note that we have added new reward levels to the New55 FILM Kickstarter reward structure.  This is a filling out, rather than extension, of the table.   Due to the intensity of enthusiasm for... (Read More)

Tobias Feltus discusses here his New55 FILM reagent experimentation, which took place over many months in his kitchen in Scotland. Tobias' early enthusiasm and contributions were instrumental to progress and his extraordinary images, featured in the... (Read More)

Dear Supporters, Backers & Onlookers Performance at Kickstarter this week was outstanding. In response to our reality-check in the last Update #5, everyone rallied. So many people are doubling down their pledges, and a tsunami of new pledges... (Read More)

Dear Supporters, Backers & Hopefuls, Yes, I'm managing expectations.  They are not good.  Despite a gain in momentum this week, we have just too much to do before the May 5th deadline. Kickstarter statistics indicate that in going from the 20%... (Read More)

Monday, April 7, 2014 | 9:00 am Photographers, Artists, Friends, Supporters & especially SIDELINE BYSTANDERS - As we enter Week Three of this Kickstarter endeavor, the feeling is honestly that things are going too slowly.  As we crawl over the... (Read More)

Backers, Colleagues & Friends, Due to the popularity of t-shirt reward combinations, we've added a new t-shirt design -- the "Polly".  Backers selecting any of the t-shirt rewards will be able to choose style (Men's or Ladies'), size (S, M, L,X... (Read More)

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 Backers, Friends & Fellow-Travelers - With 20% done, we cast our hearts & seeing vision to all the 4x5 users who might support such an improbable project as our New55 FILM.   But which ones ... and WHERE? Where are... (Read More)

Friday, March 28, 2014 | 5:01pm Kind Supporters, Friends & Fellow-Travelers - At close of business (Eastern Standard Time, US) we're 17% funded after the first 5 days.  It's a solid, if not strong, start to the campaign.  Yet there's plenty... (Read More)

Noticing the successful efforts of both Lomography and The Impossible Project, inventor Bob Crowley has been inspired to take his own dive into the niche market of the re-creation of discontinued analog films. He and his team at New55 FILM have created a Kickstarter in hopes of funding the start up of 4×5 instant film production. (Read More)

I’ve posted before about the wonders of Type 55, the 4-by-5-inch peel-apart film that gave photographers both a print and a usable negative. It was black-and-white, and slow in speed–the negative was ISO 25 to 35, the print ISO 50–so its images were extremely fine-grained. It was last produced, along with Polaroid’s other film lines, in 2009. Any Type 55 that’s left is long expired and entering its final stage of questionable reliability. Soon the stock of this product—for which many photographers had a deep and longstanding affection—will be exhausted forever. (Read More)