Photos: Harman Photo / Miles Marie

Harman Photo is keeping the ball rolling on new film, releasing a creative color film called Switch Azure. As the name suggests, the company's latest offering "switches" the colors for a more experimental look.

Switch Azure's color swap results in rendering blues as orange, bright yellows as azure and reds as hues of purple or blue. Harman says that greens are less affected, but even those will shift depending on the original hue. It promises to provide similar results to Lomography's Turquoise film. Sunsets effectively become inverted, skin tones are a bit alien-like and common objects become a bit strange. Those who like realistic, natural colors from their film won't be fans, but for creatives who like to play around with unexpected results, it's an interesting option.

Don't expect normal colors from this film. Photo: Vitor Lopes Leite / Harman Photo

Adding another layer of complexity is that Harman specifies that the type of scanner used will significantly affect the colors. An example image on the Switch Azure product page shows a scanned sunset photo: the Fuji scan renders a very blue image, while a Noritsu scan produces warmer colors.

Harman's new film is rated at ISO 125, and the company says the film is best used outside while metering for the mid-tones. It's available in 120 format and in a 35mm DX-coded cassette with 36 frames. The film can be processed with standard C41 processing.

Harman Switch Azure film is starting to trickle into stores, and you can use the Harman Photo website to find a location near you. Pricing varies by location, though most are around $13 for 35mm and $12 for 120.

Image: SilverBridges

Sometimes you just need some joy in your life, and, at least for me, watching other people experience joy can be a way to fulfill that need. A recent video of Jeff and Susan Bridges unboxing the first two models of their Widelux-X camera does just that, with Jeff absolutely giddy about what he's seeing. You'll have to head to the Widelux-X website to watch the video, as it is only hosted there, but it's worth a watch if you need some wholesome excitement.

For those unfamiliar, Jeff Bridges is a very big fan of the Widelux, a panoramic, panning-lens film camera that was originally developed in Japan in 1958. A factory fire and other factors ended production roughly 20 years ago, and they are now highly sought-after collector items. Bridges has said that most of the images he creates are with the Widelux, and he's taken some incredible behind-the-scenes shots on movie sets with it.

Image: SilverBridges

Bridges is such a fan of the camera that he decided to recreate it through his SilverBridges company. The team revealed a handmade working prototype in November of last year. Recently, two models were mailed to the Bridges in LA, and the pair unboxed them for a video that is hosted on the Widelux-X website.

It's very evident that Bridges is absolutely ecstatic about the camera, and the pair immediately took some portraits of each other and a selfie. It's fun to see how excited he is, and it's also neat to see additional shots of – and from – the camera. The team hasn't unveiled any new details, but it appears the project is at least moving forward, which is good to see, even if it will be well out of my budget.