The International Festival of Analog Photography Lovers – called the Vintage Photo Festival – is a cyclical project born in 2015 out of the passion for traditional photography and a deep conviction that the old photographic techniques are experiencing a renaissance today.
Despite the great revolution and evolution in the field of digital photography, we can witness the return or rebirth of traditional photography. Film cameras are back in favor, which is confirmed by the observations of photographic film producers such as Kodak, which in recent years has restored the production of several types of negative films previously withdrawn from the market.
More and more young artists make the so-called analog photography their medium of expression.
The idea of the festival is based on rich photographic traditions of the city of Bydgoszcz, Poland, where until the 1990s the second largest factory in the country producing photographic materials FOTON operated. On the basis of this cultural heritage, we have created a precursor festival dedicated to traditional photography, whose strong point is a modern educational platform. The festival's goal is to promote traditional photography and present current trends in this field.
Vintage Photo Festvial is one of the largest analog photography festivals in the world, which places great importance on photographic archives. Since 2022, the festival has been part of The Analog Photography Festival Network (APFN), an international union of festivals dedicated to analog photography.
So far the festival's guests have been Eva Rubinstein, Tadeusz Rolke, Laurent Benaïm, Amy Friend, Rie Yamada, Eric Schütt, Teresa Gierzyńska, Wojciech Prażmowski, Marja Pirilä. In addition, we presented the work of Masha Iwaszincowa, Tomasz Gudzowaty, Bogdan Konopka, Tonje Bøe Birkeland and many others.