Half Frame Snaps

Half frame photography traces its roots back to the late 1950s when the demand for compact, portable, and affordable cameras was on the rise. The half frame format was born out of this need, capturing images on 35mm film at a smaller 18x24mm frame size, which allowed twice the number of exposures on a single roll of film.

There was a vogue of half-frame cameras in the 1960s, mainly from Japan, originating with the Olympus Pen models. It allowed to build a very compact camera, yet using the regular film that can be bought anywhere, unlike the other subminiatures that used exotic films (16mm, 9.5mm, etc.) - and also followed a tradition in Japan of small formats made for economy of film. This vogue ended when cameras like the Rollei 35 or the Olympus XA showed that it was possible to make cameras as small as the half-frame ones, but taking full 24x36mm exposures.

Port Campbell Ice Creamery
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

At the pictures
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Off Season
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Day’s End
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Mustard, Tomato, BBQ
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

No more paddling
(Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Brighton Bathing Boxes (Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Cars and Boats (Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Seaside Fun (Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)

Melbourne, Melbourne, Melbourne (Olympus Pen F, F. Zuiko Auto-S 38mm f1.8, Ektar 100)