Analog Delinquents explores the underground world of photography, aesthetics and all things analog. A collective on a creative adventure: they publish magazines, interview talented photographers to shine a light on their work, and collaborate with artists of various mediums. Their mission is simple: celebrate analog art and share hidden gems often unseen by many.
We have had the opportunity to ask them some questions about photography, which we leave you below.
How did the idea of creating the collective arise? What is your background?
During the second year of the worldwide pandemic, I was stuck at home with nothing to do and wanted to start a new project. I decided to develop ‘analog delinquents’ to discover new photographers worldwide and create a space for people to share photos and meet like-minded people. I’m a photographer; I like traveling and collecting images, and I’ve published zines for my work. But AD was meant to be different. It was just meant to be a collective for people to share work. But this page grew impressively, and people wanted more; the first zine sold out within 1hr at around 3,000 followers. This just spiraled upwards, and people kept submitting photos and asking for more zines—this led to working with artists to work on t-shirts & hoodies.
In a world increasingly dominated by digital photography, what attracted you to Analog photography, and why did you decide to continue using it in 2024?
When I was younger, I was fascinated with developing film and would constantly research into it as I wasn’t happy with the outcome I was getting with digital photography. The first film camera I bought was an MJU II from a charity shop for £0.50p in 2011; at that moment, these weren’t as popular as they are now but were always used by graffiti artists way back when they would be talked about. As much as I hate the prices of film and the development costs at this moment in time, I know half of these Fuji X cameras have shitty simulations. I still think the art of shooting film is still massively important to this day. The sheer excitement of waiting for your roll to be developed is unmatched.
In the digital age, immediacy is a crucial advantage of photography. How do you manage the patience required to work with analog film and wait for results?
Indeed, the immediacy of digital photography is undeniable, and it offers a level of instant gratification that can be very appealing. However, I find that the patience required to work with analog film brings its rewards and satisfaction. The anticipation of waiting for film to be developed and seeing the results adds a sense of excitement and mystery to the process. It’s like unwrapping a present – you never quite know what you’re going to get until you see the developed images.
Additionally, the slower pace of working with analog film encourages people to be more deliberate and thoughtful in their approach to photography. Each frame becomes more precious, leading to a more focused and intentional way of shooting. Of course, there are moments when the waiting can be challenging, especially in today’s fast-paced world. However, I’ve come to appreciate the value of patience as an essential part of the analog photography experience. It teaches me to slow down, savor the process, and ultimately enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
In analog photography, the work doesn’t end once the photos are taken, in addition, digital editing is widespread, there are filters and presets in any application. After finishing with the film do you like to take part in the complete developing experience? How do you approach post-production in analogue photographs? What techniques do you use to enhance or modify images?
In analog photography, the post-production process definitely adds another layer of creativity and satisfaction to the overall experience. Personally, I’ve gone through the whole process in the darkroom, and it is nice to take part in the complete development process, from developing the film to making prints in the darkroom. But that was a while ago, I prefer to send my rolls off to a Lab and get them done there to save some time. But I can see why people like to go through the whole process. I find a lot of people who like to send images to us and like to go through it all. I like to leave my images raw straight from the scan, I very rarely whack them into lightroom and edit them, I like them to be untouched.
Graffiti writers are used to photographing all their pieces and thus begin to become familiar with video and photo cameras. By starting out in photography in this way, there are many cases of evolution from writers to photographers, thus capturing the actions and lifestyle of writers. Have you found yourself in the moment of having to decide whether to paint that much desired model or just photograph? Which it was the result?
To be honest, I can’t really answer this one for everyone, but people who I have spoken to would much rather take photos than paint. Myself I’d rather get home and get my rolls sent to the lab and sit there like a little kid at christmas waiting for the rolls of film from the previous night’s mission to get developed and get the whole team memories I can cherish forever. There is no better feeling than looking back and getting gassed with a group of pals when you pull that successful mission off and you have some belting images to look at.
Who are your favourite graffiti photographers? And what do you value most in a photograph that shows the lifestyle or action of a writer?
I’ve been a massive book/zine collector since I was young, and I think this was the main reason for starting out the AD collective as I wanted to meet new artists/photographers along the way and see what work people are putting out. I think the most important value to me is how the mission is documented, I love seeing the whole build up to the action. The preparation, the access, the emotion. This to me is way more important than the final piece of work or the final goal. This also goes for not just a mission goes for how a place is documented, the people etc.
Some of my personal favourites are:
Alex Fakso | Nils Muller | Pablo Allison | Boogie | Euguene Richards
(In no particular order and not all graffiti related)
In the early 2000s it was very common to find more than one Olympus Mju II, among train writers, a compact full frame camera, bright and ‘all weather’, quickly became the favourite of writers. What is your opinion about this iconic camera?
Yeah, these cameras were dope and super bomb proof, from using a couple myself I can’t say I have a bad thing to say about them. These along with the Contax t2 are super popular against writers and film enthusiast. I think this is because they are super good in low light for those dark nights. Personally, I like to use cheap and cheerful cameras that I’m not to arsed about losing or breaking.
After the publishing of 11 fanzines, how do you see the collective evolving over time and what are your future plans or projects?
So up to now we have published 11 zines featuring over 60 photographers from all parts of the world. Along with a book focusing on freight hopping, we have a lot of plans in the works at the moment, and hopefully, some of them will help us evolve to a higher degree, I can’t really speak too much about them at the moment, but all will unfold soon. Now we are working on a new website and some other small changes to how we are doing things. We are also working on some new clothing and will be hopefully releasing a zine in the summer with people we have had our eye on for a while.
What types of analog cameras and films do you prefer to use in your work? Is there any special reason behind these choices?
I wouldn’t say I have a choice, and I think everything reason is different who shares images with us. But personally, I will use whatever I can get my hands on from eBay/charity shops & friends. At the moment I’m shooting on a Pentax that I’ve been using for around 4 years and it’s been all over the world and is still a work horse. My personal favourite film is AGFA vista, they used to sell this for £1 a roll in the UK and ive still got a couple left so I’m rationing them! After that would be Fuji200 this is a great film stock and produces some amazing images.
For those interested in getting started in the world of underground analog photography, what are your tips for getting started?
Grab a camera from anywhere, rack some film and get active. Expect some mistakes and an empty wallet, but enjoy the process of what is the most enjoyable way of taking images. There is nothing better than getting that roll of film back with some solid images on.
We would like to thank anyone thats supported us, sent in images, collabed with us, helped us out, brought a zine and stocked our zines.
Shout outs to @dsy.me @wigtopwelsh @exp.dition for all the help along the way!
