iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Papa, Philadelphia 2026 Star Camera Co Sliding Box Camera, Darlot 6.5” Petzval, Expired Ilford paper negative. Taken by daughter. Less convinced it’s back focusing. Maybe just the limitation of lens sweet spot and coverage. Will have to try stopped down and smaller. #BelieveInFilm #LargeFormat

Black and white photo of a mustachioed man in an alley with his hands in his pocket. There is extreme vignetting and an overall softness. Just a little swirlyness.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 12h

My custom 8x8 wet plate back is nearly done. Turns out the 1/16 dark slides DO work. Just needed some grinding on the edges. Set up so the slide is not removed; just raised to the red line. Might trim the front slide a little and add a handle… Will need inserts. #BelieveInFilm #LargeFormat

Front of the custom dry plate holder. Red mark at the bottom of the front dark slide.

The back of the holder. You can’t tell but the dark slide back here is short so it can’t be accidentally grabbed.

This is the front with the dark slide pulled up to show a cardboard insert meant to hold a piece of paper instead of a plate.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Father and daughter ghosts, Philadelphia 2026 Star Camera Company 8x8 Camera, paper negative on Adox Lupex (rated at ISO .02), ~3 min @ 2.5 1st test with the new back. Seems to be just slightly back focusing 😬. Daughter enjoys being a ghost. #BelieveInFilm

A dark black and white photo of two chairs in front of a stone building. There is a slightly blurry man in one chair and a ghostly apparition of a small girl in the other.

The large wooden camera set up on a tripod.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The good news is my wet plate back seems to totally fit and should work. The bad news is I estimated the tolerance wrong so a 1/16 darkslide is definitely too thick. 😅 #BelieveInFilm

The open back of a 19th century style camera with a 3d printed back installed. But the back is wide open because it needs 2x dark slides to function and it has none.

Closeup of the top of the plate holder sliding out of the camera.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Frozen/grimy HB .15, made in Germany, with a May ‘83 production stamp. Unseized, cleaned, and now with great compression and ready to run. Extremely rewarding. #ModelAirplanes

The same motor now much cleaner and reassembled.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Extremely rewarding: going through dad’s “old engine box”, fishing out this beat up castor-oil caked + seized Enya .29 (‘64-74), cleaning it up together, and getting it to a point where it looks way better and will likely run. I was sure this was not salvageable. #ModelAirplanes #BeforeAndAfter

An extremely grimy old nitro r/c engine.

The same engine, now shiny and with the muffler strapped on and a prop mounted.

Different view of the same motor looking shiny.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Well, the easy way (unsurprisingly) didn’t work. So I’m doing it the harder (but much more likely to work) way. 😅 #BelieveInFilm #fusion360

Screen shot of me remixing a 3d printable wet plate holder piece by piece so it will fit the custom slot in the back of the star camera.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m not sure if anyone else is interested in this, but Robert Bieber apparently released a 5th version of his 3d printed plate holder design. I’ve printed several of his 3rd and 4th versions in different sizes and have thought they are great. But this new version requires no non-printed parts!

printables.com

Wet Plate Holder v5 by Robert Bieber | Download free STL model | Printables.com

Plate holder for wet plate photography with simple, easy-to-assemble double darkslide design. | Download free 3D printable STL models

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Metadata test, Philadelphia PA 2026 Star Camera Company English Sliding Box Camera, no-name Petzval style brass lens, 8x8 paper negative on expired paper. 2min exposure at f16(???) Took a WAG on the correct value for the lone unmarked Waterhouse stop. 😅😅 #BelieveInFilm

Lack and white mirror selfie or a man with a mustache with his head braced against a big wooden camera to keep it still for a very long exposure.

Front view with the leather lens cover on.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The Milk Carton Kids, Ardmore 2026 Leica SL2, TTArtisans 40 f2 They are so good. #Photography #Concert

Two men wearing suits and standing under stage lights playing guitars in black and white.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It’s that time of year, again, for my Archaeology Nerd party trick: Archaeologically themed cookies from 3d printed cookie molds! On the cooling rack now - Parthenon frieze cookies for the classical arch nerds and pollen grain cookies for the archaeobotany nerds! #Baking

A cookie in the shape of a Parthenon frieze panel.

A screenshot of a 3d model of one of the frieze panels. Not the same one; I forgot which one the mold actually is without going and looking at each one!

A cookie in the shape of a grass pollen grain.

A screenshot of the 3d model from the awesome 3d pollen project.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

AMA info booth, Muncie 2026 Leica Sl2, TtArtisans 40mm f2 (left), Leica MP, Summilux 35 1.4, Leica Monopan (right) 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ #BelieveInFilm #LeicaLeicaLeica

A black and white photo of a simple rectangular info booth with a field in the background.

The same info booth with a little more contrast and a slightly wider view (35mm vs 40mm).

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

J-M, Muncie 2026 Leica MP, Summilux 35, Leica Monopan (Flic Film Elementary) Casually doing a quite difficult thing, flying vintage model airplanes with vintage gear. #BelieveInFilm #ModelAirplanes

An older gentleman flying an r/c plane with one hand, casually.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

At the gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia 2026 Western Camera mfg. Magazine Cyclone #2 (c. 1897), falling plate camera, 3.5x4.5 paper negative. We took an antique camera to the antique photo exhibit. Daughter loved getting to be a ghost. #BelieveInFilm

A view of a photo exhibit in black and white; through a doorway. This was a two minute exposure so there are a few very ghostly people moving around and one smaller girl who is blurry but mostly visible. This is my daughter sitting still for just about 2 minutes.

Another view of a gallery exhibit. On figure is a very definite but slightly translucent figure. This is my daughter who stood still for the whole exposure. There is also a more ghostly but still visible figure who is me with a backpack.

The Magazine Cyclone camera held in my hand with the exhibit in the background.

The introduction to the “Americana - Photographs 1850-1950” exhibit.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Trying out “Budget Diafine” (flic film elementary) that I got at @robertscamera.com. In part to develop a short roll i had forgotten to label. Well, it’s pictures and it turns out it was my last little bit of plus-x 125 from the 100’ I bought c. 1998. 😥 #BelieveInFilm

The front label of flic Film elementary. A two part developer that has many similar qualities to diafine.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Giant Three-Way Plug, by Claes Oldenburg (1970), Philadelphia 2026 Western Camera mfg. Magazine Cyclone #2 (c. 1897), falling plate camera, 3.5x4.5 paper negative. I always get a kick out of seeing this, because I have always loved the copy at the AMAM at Oberlin. #BelieveInFilm

A sculpture of a mundane object, a 3 way plug adapter; made huge and sticking out of the ground as if discarded. Shot in old-timey black and white.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Shadows of Sylvester, Philadelphia 2026 Magazine Cyclone #4 (1897-99), paper negative #BelieveInFilm #ShittyCameraChallenge #FallingPlateCam 🎞️📸

A black and white photo of the rocky statue at the art museum. A blurry figure is standing in front with their hands raised in the same pose.

Another photo of the rocky statue with blurry tourists in front.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Plumbing, Philadelphia 2026 Chuzhao toy TLR, Trichrome The dinky 4mp faux square images do pretty well for Trichromes. #ShittyCameraChallenge #TrichromeEverything

A false color image of a large black pipe against a brown wall with red fittings.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Down/Up, Philadelphia 2026 Chuzhao toy digital TLR #ShittyCameraChallenge

The view looking down a cement stairwell in black and white. R

The view looking up the same dark stairwell in black and white.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Kadillac Tattoo, Philadelphia 2026 Pentax I-10, Trichrome I love the facade on this tattoo parlor. I have wanted to take a Trichrome here for ages, and was finally able because the street was closed for an event. #TrichromeEverything

A color trichrome image of the front of a tattoo parlor which is yellow with red letters. People are hanging out in front watching live music that is out of frame.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Rittenhouse town, Philadelphia 2026 Pentax I-10, Ir Trichrome #TrichromeEverything #Infrared

The old BakeHouse at historic rittenhousetown. Seen in a riot of false IR trichrome color.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Connection is key, Philadelphia 2026 Pentax I-10, Infrared Trichrome #TrichromeEverything #Infrared

An old payphone station, non-functional, with graffiti that reads “connection is key” and surrounded by false color foliage rendered in red by the infrared trichrome process.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Ricoh says all k mount cameras are discontinued and they will: “leverage the K-mount legacy we have accumulated over more than half a century to develop a new series of digital SLR cameras based on an entirely new concept.” Ok. 🥶🥶🥶 🤞🤞 that it doesn’t suck. #BelieveInPentax?? #SlrForLife??

pentaxrumors.com

Ricoh is developing a new series of Pentax DSLR K-mount cameras based on an entirely new concept - Pentax & Ricoh Rumors

Ricoh officially announced that it is developing a new series of Pentax DSLR K-mount cameras based on an entirely new concept. Here is a recap of the announcement: Discontinuation of Current K Series:...

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Overgrown, Philadelphia 2026 Pentax I-10, Infrared Trichrome #TrichromeEverything #Infrared

A rusty structure with an old crane overgrown with false color foliage.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Columbia Bridge, Philadelphia 2026 Pentax I-10, Infrared Trichrome Hey look, the I-10 does OK through an r72! #TrichromeEverything

A false color infrared trichrome of an old bridge over the Schuylkill River.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This is the ideal modern camera equipment. You may not like, it but this is what peak performance looks like. #BelieveInFilm #KnowYourMemes

A Pentax I-10 and a Pentax 17 held in my hand.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Repaired SD card. Took more iterations of 3d printing than I hoped, but it works. Now to do the other 2 broken ones as well! 😅

A 3d printed sad card with a printed label that says “Chad’s Darkroom” and the size and the camera.

A camera that shows the as card being successfully read/accessible.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Same, gross-detritus-spotted-on-the-gas-station-floor, same. #Pareidolia

Two hairs and two crumbs forming a frowning face on a tile floor.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Oh shit, I’m gonna be (briefly) in Indianapolis. I guess I’ll have to try to check out @usedphotopro.com . 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️😅 #BelieveInFilm

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Flying Tiny Planes, New Jersey 2026 Ricoh Gr1, Tmax 400 Getting to fly model airplanes with my dad is second only to getting to fly with my dad and daughter and nephews. #BelieveInFilm

An older bearded man holds a tiny model airplane.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Nephew, NJ 2026 Ricoh Gr1, Tmax 400 A shot of @isaacblomqvist.bsky.social wearing #ShittyCameraChallenge merch and shooting the rad Benson Instant Box camera. A lovely memory of an awesome summer of photography. #BelieveInFilm

A young man wearing a “Fed” shirt poses with an old Instant Box Camera on a tripod. The Benson is about 100 years old and operates like an Afghan Box Camera.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Ocean View Post Office (1889), Ocean View, DE 2026 Ricoh Gr1, Tmax 400, trichrome #BelieveInFilm #TrichromeEverything

On old post office building in color viantrichrome. But there are some filtering errors resulting in some yellow and red bands.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Experiments rehousing broken sd cards in 3d printed enclosures. Unfortunately I have several broken cards and since the price of sd cards is so high, it would be great to repair some of these. 😅🥶

A broken Sandisk sd card held in my hand.

The retrieved business end of the sd card mounted in a 3d printed holder.

The card all sealed up with a printed sticker that says “Chad’s Darkroom, __128__gb, ________ camera”.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Schuylkill Views, Philadelphia 2026 Rollei Magic, Xenar 75 3.5, Catlabs X 320 (pyro 510) #BelieveInFilm

A view of the University Avenue bridge on the Schuylkill River.

A view of the Columbia bridge over the Schuylkillriger.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Ghost Bike, Martin Luther King Drive, Philadelphia 2026 Rollei Magic, Xenar 75 3.5, Catlabs X 320 (pyro 510) Perhaps the most upsetting ghost bike I’ve ever ridden past. #BelieveInFilm

A white painted “ghost bike” chained to a pole. But it is a very small child’s bike, commemorating a young child who was killed here. I believe this happened 20 years ago.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Passione Celeste (in black and white), Philadelphia 2026 Rollei Magic, Xenar 75 3.5, Catlabs 320 (pyro 510) #BelieveInFilm #RolleiMagic

An older Bianchi road bike leaned against a railing with an older messenger bag hanging from it.

A man takes a selfie in a curved mirror with the same bike leaning against him.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Grays Ferry Crescent Skatepark, Philadelphia 2026 Rollei Magic, Xenar 75 3.5, Catlabs 320 (pyro 510) I always bike past this cool little skate park but rarely see anyone here. On this day there was someone skating and he didn’t mind me taking some photos. #BelieveInFilm #RolleiMagic

A man on a skateboard comes around a curve at the skatepark.

The same guy goes over a different part of the park.

Wider view of the small skatepark. The skateboarder is just visible.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Bikes and cameras. Beautiful day for a ride with some stops for photography. #BelieveInFilm

A Rollei Magic sitting on a table with a green bike and red bag next to it.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Flying model airplanes, Valley Forge 2026 Western Camera mfg. Magazine Cyclone #2 (c. 1897), falling plate camera, 3.5x4.5 paper negative. ~1s at f22. #BelieveInFilm #ShittyCameraChallenge #ModelAviationDay

A small group of people in black and white. Two are holding r/c transmitters.

3 people
Standing in a field. Two are holding r/c transmitters.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Ha, the world famous Ir-Chrome 400! 😅😅 #TrichromeEverything

A film cartridge with a custom label that reads “Chad Hill’s IR-Chrome 400”. It is bulk rolled Rollei ir 400, but I was shooting a lot of IR trichromes. 😅😅😅

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The forge, Abram Demree Homestead (c.1769) , NJ 2026 Western Camera Magazine Cyclone #2 (c. 1897), 3.5x4.5 paper negatives. I had a field trip to this historic site in 7th (?) grade. The forge is still operating, but the site is now also a flea market. #ShittyCameraChallenge #BelieveInFilm

An 18th century Dutch colonial building in black and white.

A detail of the restored building with an antiques and collectibles” sign over an old wagon wheel.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Awesome job by my nephew, photographer extraordinaire, @isaacblomqvist.bsky.social who just successfully developed his first roll of film, on his own, at home!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 📸📸📸🎞️🎞️🎞️ Now that he is set up to bulk roll and dev at home, he will be unstoppable. 💪💪 #BelieveInFilm for real.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Today’s “carry”. Shooting more historic sites with the 19th century Magazine Cyclone #2 falling plate camera. On the somewhat anachronistic graflex crown tripod (it’s much newer). #BelieveInFilm #ShittyCameraChallenge

An old box camera set up on a wooden tripod.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Mom and Dad on the front steps, New Jersey 2026 Seneca Improved View 8x10, Astragon 210 4.5, Shanghai GP3. ~1s@f16 #BelieveInFilm #FamilyPortraits

An older man and woman sit together on the steps of their house. Their heads are leaning on each other.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Huzzah. Was feeling down because my last ambrotype didn’t come out, but just won several rounds of 8x10 “is it pictures?”. Portraits of each family group (folks, sisters fam, and my fam shot by nephew) on GP3 with the big Seneca. ❤️❤️❤️ #BelieveInFilm #BoilingHotDarkroom

An 8x10 negative, that is a portrait of my parents, in the fixer.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I’m not posting them because it’s the kids, but it’s always so awesome when the 8x10 shots come out. Slowly working my way through the backlog of family portraits we took on Shanghai GP3. 120mp scans look amazing. So glad to be able to record these fleeting moments. #BelieveInFilm #IsItPictures

An 8x10 negative in the wash in a grey 8x10 tray perched on a sink.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

What a delight to get to spend time doing photography with my nephew this summer. We got to bulk roll, shoot, and process 35mm, trade cameras, go to b+h, shoot/process 8x10, try ra4 reversal, and mess with on-camera flash. This was new-lens day just before heading back home. #Photography

A young man holds a camera with a flash.

Same scene but now the young man is holding the camera.

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Chad Hill @chadhill.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I don’t often leave feedback for a company, but I did for this. I really liked v1 and left them a long message that I hoped that they would continue to develop better, truer color film but ALSO keep v1 because it’s rad and unique and a pleasure. Others clearly said the same too. ❤️❤️❤️

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Reposted by Chad Hill

HARMAN Photo @harmanphoto.co.uk · 03/08/2026

You asked, we listened When we launched HARMAN PHOENIX 200, back in 2023, some of you loved it & some didn't! HARMAN PHOENIX 125 is coming soon, same attitude, new speed, reflecting how you like to shoot it Available soon at your local reseller #harmanphoenix125 #newspeedsameattitude

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