Andrew Spencer is a photographer based in Kaikōura, New Zealand. This work is made on film as a personal project.
I’ve lived in Kaikōura since the mid-1990s. Its light, weather, landscape, and community have shaped how I see and work. The Kaikōura Project is a personal body of work, made outside of commissioned photography and rooted entirely in this place.
The pictures are made slowly, often close to home. They aren’t assignments or commercial work, but a way of observing familiar places over time — paying attention to quiet shifts in light, space, and atmosphere.
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The Process
Capture
There are several film cameras in my cupboard — bits and pieces I’ve either had for years or collected over time. For medium format, the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II remains a favourite. From the mid-1990s, this camera was once a professional workhorse and is still a capable, if large and heavy, tool. Using a full-size 6×7 film back, it produces large negatives with fine detail.
Alongside this, I also work with 35mm cameras, including Leica rangefinders, which offer a quieter, more immediate way of working when the scale or pace suits.
My film stock is an eclectic collection. I often buy film on a whim, with projects in mind that never quite eventuate. When used past its prime, the results can be unpredictable — shifts in colour, texture, and contrast are all part of the process, and part of the appeal of working with film.
Develop
I hadn’t developed film since I was a kid. Back then, a friend set up a darkroom and we spent hours developing and printing, learning as we went. The excitement and anticipation of seeing an image emerge have never really faded — I still feel the same pull now as I did then.
Film is developed by hand using Paterson tanks or a Lab-Box, depending on volume.
Scan & Print
Rather than using a traditional flatbed or lab scanner, I now digitise film using a camera-based scanning process. This approach uses a high-resolution digital camera, a dedicated macro lens, and carefully controlled, colour-accurate lighting to capture each frame with exceptional detail and tonal depth.
This method allows for precise control over focus, exposure, and dynamic range, resulting in files that fully resolve the character and subtle nuances of the original negative. Because each frame is individually photographed, there’s no interpolation or aggressive software processing — just a clean, faithful capture of the film itself.
All colour correction and tonal work is done by hand, with a light touch. I aim to preserve the natural grain, contrast, and small imperfections that give film its unique personality, avoiding heavy automation or over-retouching. The goal is a high-quality digital file that stays true to the look and feel of the original film, not a “perfected” version that loses its soul.