Free Fuji Neopan 400 for a good cause – and some for sale too!

Once in a while, I receive a message from someone wishing to donate either money or a camera to the website. It’s not a common occurrence, and often comes from a regular reader wishing to make a gesture in return for sometimes many years of happy reading. I am, of course, always incredibly grateful. Sometimes though, offers of donations seem almost unbelievable. This was one of those occasions.

I don’t even regularly check my 35mmc messages on Facebook, but I am glad I did this time. In my inbox was a message from a chap named Joseph who wanted to give me a whole load of fridge-stored Fuji Neopan 400. He had brought it over from Japan some years ago, but had since slowed down his use of film and so wanted it to go to a good home. He had found the website and me and asked if I wanted it. We are talking about a couple of hundred rolls of film here, so my gut reaction was that there must be a catch, or indeed that it was some sort of elaborate scam. I had a bit of a chat with Joseph, and after a few messages, it seemed entirely legit, and he seemed like a good guy. The issue was, I am in the UK, the film was in the US; South Carolina to be precise. I even wondered if it would be viable to fly over to the states to fetch it. I quickly ruled that out. What I needed was a friendly collaborator in the US who could fetch it for me and share the spoils.

I emailed a few of my website regulars, but couldn’t think of anyone off the top of my head who was in that part of the world. I am sorry if you’re now reading this wondering why I didn’t give you a shout – my brain is sieve-like, what can I say… In the end, I asked on a Facebook group chat where a bunch of film camera bloggers I know have too-and-fros about the wonders and pains of the sub-niche of writing about photography. By some coincidence, all-round good chap Jim Grey was traveling to South Carolina the following week, and quite conveniently to a place that was only about 70 miles from the home of the film. I introduced Jim and Joseph, and a time was arranged to collect the film from what turned out to be a fridge within Joseph’s dad’s house. Jim got the impression he was very happy to have his fridge back too. The collection was made, and Jim sent half the film to me.

Now I should add at this stage that whilst I am very happy to receive such a gift, it does come with a hint of guilt for me. I can’t help but wonder why I deserve it beyond someone else potentially more deserving than me. I had mentioned this to Joseph and Jim in our various conversations, and so the agreement that specifically me and Jim came to was that we would give some of the film away. But to who…? Which is the first part of where you come in…

Some of this film is located in the US, and some of it is located in the UK. Both me and Jim would like to give some of it away, so we would like your suggestions to whom we should give it. Do you know of a little charitable organisation that would benefit from a little care package of film? Ideally, for the sake of keeping shipping costs low, we are looking for an organisation that’s in the US for Jim and the UK for me. So, answers below please – nominate your favourite film photography-based good cause.

Clearly, we are also going to shoot some ourselves, but there will also be a little left over to sell too…

I am always looking to raise pennies to help keep the website afloat, and I know Jim suffers the same problem. So, if you would like to buy some from me or Jim let me know. Again, ideally locally to us, though if you’re happy with potential import costs, I’m happy to ship it to you pretty much anywhere in the world. Though if you are in the UK come to me, and in the US then go to Jim as it just makes sense that way.

I have listed it on eBay for around £15 a roll, but if you message me I’m sure I can do you a little bit of a deal, especially if you wanted to go for a few rolls. If you want to pitch a project that you would shoot with it that could be published on the website, I’d be more than happy to do you even more of a deal too!

For ref, the film is mostly dated around 2014 and has been reliably fridge-stored since purchase. Of course being the age it is, we can make no promises that it will be perfect, but Jim’s test rolls have proved very promising so far.

Finally, obviously, a big shout out goes to Joseph who made all this possible with his kind donation. Thank you Joseph, you are a legend!

If you would like to see some of Jim’s test shots, you can find them on his website here

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