When I launched Kosmo Foto Mono is 2017, I wanted to do something a little more than put another film on the market. I wanted to create a club.
That club would be open to anyone who bought a roll of Kosmo Foto and shared their photos online.
Simply answer a few questions and share a handful of pics and you’d get a free roll of Kosmo Foto and get to calll yourself a ‘Kosmonaut’.
I wanted it to feel a bit like those mail-order film processors, who sent you back a free roll of film with your prints when you sent them your film to get processed.
I’m pleased to say that no less than 24 photographers have taken part in 2018, sharing images they’ve taken across the world – from Poland to Costa Rica.
Here’s a round-up of all of them this year. Thanks to everyone who bought the film this year and went to the effort of shooting it and sharing the images with the rest of the world.
- Want to be a Kosmonaut in 2019? You can buy Kosmo Foto Mono right now in the Kosmo Foto shop. Then, after you’ve shot and developed your film, answer the questions below and send them off to dowling@gmail.com. Remember, each Kosmonaut post published earns you a free roll of film and the special Kosmonaut mission patch sticker.
- Where are you from?
- How long have you been shooting film?
- What cameras do you shoot on?
- What other films do you like using?
- What are your thoughts about Kosmo Foto Mono?
- What films would you like to see on the market (old films brought back or new ones)?
La Fille Renne
I’ve been a fan of French photographer La Fille Renne’s work for years, and I was delighted that she was one of the first to buy and test the film.
Jim Grey
Jim runs the wonderful blog Down the Road, and kindly put the film through its paces on a trip to Chicago.
Toru Tsuzurahara
Toru lives in Japan and shot his first roll around Miyazaki, the city where he lives.
Sam Tran
Even further afield, Sam lives in Melbourne and sent in a bunch of pics she’d taken on a Leica M6.
Bill Smith
Toronto film photographer Bill runs the blog Fun With Cameras and shot a wintery start to the Canadian new year on his Nikon F2S.
Alexander Farhadi
Alex is from Germany and took his Nikon F3 and a roll of Kosmo Foto on a wander around Berlin.
Alex Luyckx
Another Canadian Kosmonaut, Alex has been shooting film in 2002 and shared his first roll shooting the snowy surrounds of Milton, Ontario.
Jacqueline Alkula
Missouri in the depths of winter, captured by Jacqueline with her first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono.
Jenny Goodfellow
Jenny lives in Newcastle and pushed her first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono to 400 and took some fantastic images of the city at night.
Stephen Byrne
Stephen took his first roll on a trip to Italy before finishing it back in Massachusetts via New York.
Shaun Hall
Shaun took his first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono in a place very special to all film photographers – the home of Henry Fox-Talbot, the inventor who created the first photographic images.
Madalina Chilici
Madalina is a Romanian photographer who now lives in Barcelona; her first roll of Kosmo Foto was shot in Romania’s second city, Cluj-Napoca.
Alonso Chavez Benavides
Alonso loaded his first roll into his trusty Pentax P3N and travelled around rural Costa Rica. Exotic!
Cailean Couldridge
Born in South Africa and now living in London, Cailean used his first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono to take a series of stunning still life shots.
Shaun Nelson
Shaun lives in the US state of Utah and shot some of his first roll on the film capturing a beautifully restored steam engine.
Michael Binegar
Michael’s from Michigan and developed his first roll at home in Rodinal.
Edmund Holmes
Edmund is a big fan of architectural photography, and used his first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono to start a new series featuring random buildings.
Lichi Sun
Lichi is originally from China but lives in the northern English city of York, where his first roll of Kosmo Foto Mono was shot.
Peter Kruschwitz
Peter is a prolific film photographer who posts a lot on Instagram, and shot the first in a 10-pack of Kosmo Foto Mono on a walk around London.
Dan Marinelli
Dan shot a pair of rolls, one on a Pentax Spotmatic and another on an Olympus Pen half-frame.
Stephane Heinz
Stephane is a bit of a legend in LOMOgraphy circles and it was fantastic to see his images grace a Kosmonaut post.
Dave Swales
Dave is a New Zealander living in Berlin, and sent in these images taken in the German capital on a Pentax P30.
Roman R0man0ff
Roman lives in the Russian city of Smolensk and is well known for his flatlay images in collaboration with Cameraventures; he became the first Russian Kosmonaut.
Richard Bain
Richard sent in a fantastic bunch of shots, some of them in Poland, taken from several rolls of Kosmo Foto Mono.
Thanks again to these Kosmonauts for buying the film and sharing their images. How many will we see in 2019? Remember, you’ll get both a free roll of film and a special gift!
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
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