Creative Experiments on Expired Film with @charzy, @moongrowl & @erinnonfilm

Maximizing the potential of expired film, Community members Charlie (@charzy), Patryk (@moongrowl), and Erin (@erinnonfilm) recently shared on their LomoHomes astounding projects — admirable for their technique and intent. We spoke with the artists about their respective creative processes, working with expired film, and more. They also shared advice for getting creative with this unpredictable medium. Let's get into their stories!

@charzy: Capturing a Sense of Loneliness Through an Expired LomoChrome Purple Collage

In Community member Charlie's (@charzy) expired film collage taken with the LomoChrome Purple and a Kodak Pony II, spaces merge with serenity and unspoken words. Charlie tells us about his experience with film photography, working on the expired film collage, and gave us some tips for taking advantage of expired film to create moody frames.

I had the chance to discover film photography at school, where there was a darkroom that allowed me to experiment and explore different processes. I was able to work with pinhole cameras, try out cyanotype, and play around with the process of exposing my own images. I quickly fell in love with the idea of taking pictures the “old-fashioned” way, as it gives each image a unique identity.

For this project, I wanted to capture serenity in large spaces. Using expired LomoChrome Purple film made the entire shoot feel like an experiment. While the initial images were interesting, I wanted to do more with them. By combining them, I was able to overlay figures and shapes, blending their unique colors and forms into something new.

I started by going to big, open fields with a subject, aiming to contrast the vast emptiness with a single person, capturing a sense of loneliness in a big world. I then overlaid the images to create a collage of scenes that can reflect different ideas and emotions, bringing them together in a layered narrative.

I was surprised by the variation in color across the images, even though they were shot on the same day, with the same camera and film. This gave me insight into how much light and especially the use of expired film can affect the final outcome.

For those interested in creating similar imagery, I recommend finding and understanding a retro camera that enhances grain, texture, and slight blurring. Shooting with expired film often produces unpredictable but compelling results, adding a distinctive feel to the shoot.

@moongrowl: Film Souping Expired Emulsions

Taken in the summer of 2024, Community member Patryk's (@moongrowl) photos — some of which were taken with the LomoChrome Purple and LomoChrome Turquoise — exude fantasy and a sense of the ethereal through film soups that heightened the film stocks' out-of-this-world look.

I am a self-taught photographer, currently based in Krakow, Poland. I've been into film photography for around 8 years now. What I love the most in film photography is experimenting and trying new things. That's why I am constantly trying new films and techniques, and also constantly exploring new fields of photography, like astrophotography on film or macro photography of nature, mostly fungi.

One of my favorite techniques is film soup, as it gives you pretty much unlimited number of combinations to experiment with. Different films souped in the same substances give different effects. It also becomes really fun when you try film souping a slide film and then develop it in E6.

Recently, I've been souping the vast majority of the films I shoot, so those rolls were just another round of my experiments. I love souping LomoChrome Purple and LomoChrome Turquoise, as they give the already-unique films an even more otherworldly effect. In this album, you can see some shots on the purple one, as well as some cross-processed slide films.

This time, depending on the film, I used some floor washing liquid, garment dyes, and lemon juice. In general, I also love using cheap aftershaves, as they give a really strong effect, differing between brands you can get. In general, the cheaper the better. All in all, I experiment with pretty much any substances you can get for my film soups (of course within the limit of reason, nothing truly dangerous or toxic).

Remember your imagination is the limit! I usually expose the film first, and then soup it for around 12 hours, and leave it for another 12 to dry a bit. Basically, the longer you keep the film soaked, or delay developing it after souping, the stronger the effects.

Actually, souping an expired film isn't much different from [souping] a non-expired one. The only difference is that the effects are even more random, as you add the effects of an expired emulsion to the mix.

I recommend trying different films and substances. Take any liquid you have at home: any cosmetics, cleaning supplies, drinks, etc. Avoid anything with bleach in it! If used in small amounts, it can give very interesting effects, but you risk totally destroying the emulsion. I also recommend souping after exposing the films, as it removes the risk of damaging the camera with the soaked film. But in general, the most important piece of advice would be: don't be afraid to experiment, and don't get discouraged by failures!

@erinnonfilm: EBS Technique on Expired Film for Surreal Effects

Since our last chat with her last year, photographer Erin (@erinnonfilm) said she's been continuing to push the boundaries of her creativity through experiments, journaling, and more. One of these experiments used an EBS (Expose Both Sides) technique that transformed street scenes and flora into something seemingly straight out of a psychedelic movie.

I had recently acquired some expired film and wondered how it would look if I did the EBS technique! I really wanted some colorful effects and was hoping for color shifts! With this in mind, I shot the whole positive side in one afternoon and took my time on the reverse side over the course of a week.

Usually with EBS, I shoot at box speed [for the positive side] and half the box ISO for the redscale side. I shot the positive side at 100 ISO! Since the film is an expired Kodak Max 400, this felt super safe. Because it was expired film, I really wasn't sure how to meter the redscale side, so I went a little nuclear and metered for 25 ISO! The results were electric to say the least!

When you're reversing your film, instead of a darkbag or darkroom, try doing it in the light but canister to canister! I always keep a spare empty canister ready for EBS. I flip the roll of film over and tape it to the tab I left hanging out of my empty canister.

I make the canisters touch felts and sometimes tape them together before winding the film in upside down! It's a lot more efficient, and you can do this on the go. Also, I always go a little brighter/overexpose the redscale side to get the trippiest redscale effects.

We'd like to thank Charlie, Patryk, and Erin for sharing their creative projects on expired film with us! Through their work, we hope to inspire the Lomography Community to explore the potential of expired film. Share your thoughts with us on the comment section below!

And don't forget to check out our shop for deals on expired film stocks, cameras, accessories, and more.

written by sylvann on 2025-06-26 #culture #tutorials #expired-film #lomochrome-purple #moongrowl #erinnonfilm #creative-projects #charzy Share Article