{"id":474444,"date":"2026-02-14T12:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T12:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474444\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T12:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T12:22:11","slug":"photographers-custom-slr-film-camera-could-shoot-180-photos-per-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474444\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer&#8217;s Custom SLR Film Camera Could Shoot 180 Photos Per Roll"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p>A film photographer has relived the tale of his creation: the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019 \u2014 a custom 35mm SLR that could shoot 180 frames per roll. <\/p>\n<p>Japhy Riddle\u2019s previous experiments include turning a full-frame 35mm camera into a half-frame camera by masking the film gate in the viewfinder with some electrical tape and then running the film through twice with a four-perforation offset. <\/p>\n<p>That meant instead of 36 exposures, Riddle was getting 72 shots per roll. \u201cAt the cost of a little less resolution, narrower angles of view of the lenses, and a bit of hassle when it came to loading the camera,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n<p> <img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera2-761x800.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage black camera with a large lens is mounted on a metal bracket against a plain light background. A cable release is attached to the camera. The metal bracket appears worn and scratched.\" width=\"761\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839337\"  \/>After experimenting how to get more shots from a roll of film, Riddle came up with the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019. <\/p>\n<p>After the success of creating his own half-frame camera, Riddle decided to push things even further. After one failed experiment, Riddle came up with the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019. \u201cIt\u2019s not a good name for it,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it kind of stuck\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>The \u2018little stupid camera\u2019 is a standard-sized 35mm camera with a handle attached to it. The \u2018little\u2019 and \u2018stupid\u2019 part of its name refers to the slightly ridiculous format he created in the film gate. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did the same masking technique as I\u2019ve done before,\u201d he explains. \u201cOnly this time I went extreme.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>And extreme he went. Instead of the half-frame where there are two exposures per frame, Riddle somehow squeezed around five photos per frame. That\u2019s 180 shots from a single roll. <\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera3-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A strip of film with four orange frames, each displaying a white number 8 with small eyes inside the loops, set against a black background with white sprocket holes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839338\"  \/>It meant the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019s\u2019 aspect ratio is an extreme 4:1. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera5-800x214.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up of a person\u2019s face focusing on their eyes, wearing large, translucent, patterned eyeglasses. The background is blurry and green, drawing attention to the glasses and eyes.\" width=\"800\" height=\"214\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839340\"  \/>Examples from the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera8-800x269.jpg\" alt=\"A group of birds on wires.\" width=\"800\" height=\"269\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839343\"  \/>Japhy Riddle <\/p>\n<p>While his experiment with half-frame saw Riddle feed the film through twice, he decided that would be unrealistic for the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019. So instead he devised a technique where he would essentially shoot backwards: first advancing the entire roll onto the take-up spool and then rewinding it back roughly a 1\/6 of a full turn before the entire sheet was back in the canister. Riddle even marked the rewinder every 60 degrees as a helpful guide. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole point of this camera was to feel free,\u201d says Riddle. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to think of film as this really precious stuff and you want to make every picture count. But with photos roughly a 1\/5 of the normal size and a 1\/5 of the normal price, it allows you to just go wild.\u201d <\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera6-800x205.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white close-up of a woman's face in profile, eyes closed or looking down, with visible earring and soft, blurred details creating a contemplative mood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"205\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839341\"  \/>\u201cIt was a camera made for fun, not a camera for good work,\u201d says Riddle. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera4-800x200.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up of a person\u2019s face is partially obscured by overlapping green fern leaves, creating a double exposure effect that blends human features with natural foliage.\" width=\"800\" height=\"200\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839339\"  \/>Japhy Riddle <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-Stupid-Camera9-800x196.jpg\" alt=\"Three women in profile stand near a body of water, facing right. City buildings and trees are visible in the distant background under a cloudy sky. The image has a vintage, black-and-white appearance.\" width=\"800\" height=\"196\" class=\"size-large wp-image-839344\"  \/>Japhy Riddle <\/p>\n<p>Despite <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2026\/02\/12\/ektachrome-slide-film-is-now-distributed-directly-by-kodak\/\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kodak taking back control of its film distribution,<\/a> slightly lowering the price point, film photography in 2026 remains an expensive hobby and getting 180 shots from a roll is certainly appealing \u2014 even if the photos come out letterbox-shaped. <\/p>\n<p>Riddle says he shot a few rolls with the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019 before giving it away to someone. More of his work can be found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/japhyriddle\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Image credits: Photographs by Japhy Riddle<\/p>\n<p>      <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A film photographer has relived the tale of his creation: the \u2018little stupid camera\u2019 \u2014 a custom 35mm&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[73119,91568,76,354,355,125721,49,192748,48,168564,356,75,1554,48053,192749],"class_list":{"0":"post-474444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-35mm","9":"tag-analogphotography","10":"tag-arts","11":"tag-arts-and-design","12":"tag-artsanddesign","13":"tag-aspectratio","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-cameragate","16":"tag-canada","17":"tag-customcamera","18":"tag-design","19":"tag-entertainment","20":"tag-film","21":"tag-filmphotography","22":"tag-slr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}