Pro Camera Film Lab in Virginia and photographer Levi Cyr-Redcross teamed up to create One Roll Project, one of the most exciting and unusual analog photography contests PetaPixel has seen.
The One Roll Project is a cool new photo contest designed to celebrate the “mystery and magic” of analog photography. Each contestant shoots one roll of film and then sends that roll of film to Pro Camera Film Lab in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photographers are invited to be creative, experiment, and shoot the entire roll in their distinct style. The photographer chooses the camera, the film stock, and what they decide to capture, whether it’s one day’s worth of shooting or an entire month. This roll of film sent to Pro Camera is the photographer’s contest submission.
Here’s where things get wild. Once that roll is shipped off and developed, the competition organizers — Pro Camera and Levi Cyr-Redcross — decide which of the photos on that roll is the photo that gets judged.
“We are going to decide from your ENTIRE roll if there is ONE image that stands out!” Pro Camera Film Lab explains. As Levi Cyr-Redcross explains, this photo contest will have no AI trickery.
Photographers won’t see any of their scans until after the competition judging ends and the panel selects their top 20 images. The top 20 finalists will have their photos printed and displayed at Pro Camera in September.
Submissions open on June 1 and end on July 7. All mail-in film must be postmarked by July 7 to be eligible for consideration. Accepted artists will be notified on August 15, and all negatives and scans will be returned to all participants, regardless of their success in the competition, in August and September. The top 20 winners will also get to keep the exhibited prints, which will be given to photographers in November.
The cost of the film processing, scanning, and sleeve and rolled negatives is the entry fee — which is $75 all-in, including shipping. Each photographer can enter only one roll, and entrants must be U.S. residents to be eligible. Photographers can enter 35mm, 120, and 220 film, including disposable cameras and half-frame rolls, but sheet film is not accepted. The complete list of rules and regulations is available on Pro Camera Film Lab’s website.
Image credits: One Roll Project is hosted by Pro Camera Film Lab and Levi Cyr-Redcross
