Our Story

Welcome to Brooklyn Instant Film Initiative aka BKIFI Films, where curiosity, playfulness, and collaboration manifest in analog photography. What began as a personal quest to reimagine instant film has blossomed into a vibrant community exploring the magic of image-making, one frame at a time.

 

Brooklyn Instant Film Initiative began as a revolutionary delivery service on Juneteenth 2018, when photographer Sharon Steven began curating rare and obscure film stocks for NYC photographers searching for something beyond the mainstream, ASAP. Hearing how meaningful these unique materials were to photographers as we paused to chat on drop-off sparked an idea: what if we could create our own films, blending experimentation with personal expression?

Fast forward to the first day of Black History Month 2019, and that idea became reality: BKIFI Films, our original 35mm series, launched. Made possible through months of tireless testing and driven by a desire to serve as a unique gateway to creative photography with a sense of ease and whimsy.

BKIFI started with grids: inspired by frequent use of grid organization in software and interior design, as well as a long-standing desire to handle the elusive Spectra grid film, Sharon began experimenting with hand-drawn grids on photographic materials in 2016. This playful tinkering evolved into 35mm Grid film, one of our first patterned styles, designed to interact with a photographer’s vision by giving the artist a preposed 35mm roll that layers a vibrant pattern onto images.

First sample on instant film (2018)

First sample on 35mm film (2018)

35mm Grid Film (2019)

Along the way, BKIFI has expanded to 20+ original 35mm styles, pattern solutions for instant film packs, pre-loaded film cameras, 120 film, in camera pattern adapters and our pride: a custom film design service, each offering a new way to see film and the world. As we celebrate our 7th year, our workshop continues to be a space of curiosity and creativity.

Join us on this adventure: explore our growing library of analog solutions and share your own creations or ideas with us.