Reconstructing E-E KOZLOV's photo archive from the 1980s

Research and documentation: Hannelore Fobo, March / April 2021

Chapter 3. Soviet black and white negative films

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Chapter 3. Soviet black and white negative films

In the Soviet Union, amateur photography was a popular hobby. Yet other than in western countries, where amateur photography was also very popular, we are talking almost exclusively about black and white photography. Since the 1960s, countless clubs for children and adults provided opportunities to learn not only the basic principles of taking pictures, but also of developing and printing Svema and Tasma 35 mm negative films – the main Soviet film brands – on photo paper of different sizes and types available in many shops.

Detail of a box for a black and white film from 1960 produced at Chemical Plant No. 3, Shostka, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, with the imprint
Харковский Совнархоз УССР
химзавод 3 г. Шостка;
see below
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive

I haven’t yet counted all prints that are still in Evgenij Kozlov’s own archive, but he also generously gave them to those people who are in the pictures – Timur Novikov, New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev, Ivan Sotnikov and many others. The total number of Kozlov’s black and white prints must go into the thousands, and the total number of those painted and / or used for collages into the hundreds.

Both Svema and Tasma negative films were produced in large quantities – in Shostka (Ukraine) since 1931 and Kazan (Russia) since 1933, respectively, although in both cases, the brand names were created later. In Valentin Kozlov's archive, we find them with their earlier names “Factory No. 3” and “Kazan”, respectively.

SVEMA (since 1965) stands for Светочувствительные Материалы, Svetochuvstvitel’nye Materialiy, light-sensitive materials, and TASMA (since 1975) for Татарские светочувствительные материалы, Tatarskie Svetochuvstvitel’nye Materialiy, Tatar light-sensitive materials. Both factories produced many other products related to film and audio recording, but I will restrict myself to the 35 mm films sold to the ordinary consumer.



Three TASMA boxes for black and white 35 mm films. The design slightly changed over the years. Top to bottom: 1966, 1974, and 1990. The respective year of production can be deducted from the "Проявить до" (process before) date on the reverse; the date of expiry is two years (see picture on the right). E-E Kozlov Photo Archive, photo Hannelore Fobo		The same three boxes with imprints on the reverse, indicating В РУЛОНЕ (on a roll), which means that these boxes contained films sold without a spool. An interesting detail is the price of the films: spanning a period of 24 years, the price is actually the same on all three boxes – 35 kopek. E-E Kozlov Photo Archive, photo Hannelore Fobo

Svema and Tasma films were sold with 36 frames, but it was it was possible to shoot up to 39 frames. The most common film speed was 65 GOST, a Soviet norm that corresponds to 20 DINA or 80 ASA (70 ASA according to the Svema packaging); in 1987, 64 GOST (19 Din, 64 ASA) became the standard. This is acceptable for taking pictures with daylight; in the West, 100 ASA were more common. A lower speed (23 GOST or 40 ASA) and a higher speed (130 GOST or 160 ASA) were also available. Later, films were sold with up to 320 GOST or 320 ASA.

Box for an “Isopanchrom” negative film produced at Shostka in 1960 "for FED, Zorki, and Smena cameras".
The film is sold “Без катушки” – without a cartridge, which means without a spool.
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive, photo Hannelore Fobo

The same “Isopanchrom” box photographed on the other side, with the imprint of the date of expiry (March 1962) and a hand-written note by Valentin Kozlov. The price is 4 rubles 25 kopek. Taking into account the monetary reform in 1961, a redenomination of the ruble by a ratio of 1:10 external link>>, the price for same film would have been around 40 kopek a year later.
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive, photo Hannelore Fobo

Box for a black and white 20 DIN film from 1960 “Без катушки” (without spool), produced at Chemical Plant No. 3, Shostka, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. E-E Kozlov Photo Archive.

Before Kazan became TASMA, the films were called KAZAN FOTO, and before Shostka became Svema, the films it produced were called Изопанхром (Izopankhrom). The Latin version “Isopanchrom” was also printed on the little box, together with three corresponding speed ratings in Weston, DIN, and ASA, also in Latin letters. Valentin Kozlov used Isopanchrom 90 (90 Weston, 110 ASA) and Isopanchrom 65 (65 Weston, 80 ASA). The multicolour boxes look quite stylish. Printed in shades of green contrasting red and white, the design displays some of the constructivist features from the 1920, especially with logotype and script. The content is defined (in Russian) as негативная фотопленка для аппаратов ФЭД, Зоркий, Смена – negativnaia fotoplenka dlia apparatov FED, Zorki, Smena / negative photofilm for FED, Zorki and Smena cameras.

Isopanchrom negative 35mm film box from 1960 produced by “Slavich”, Preslavel’, RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic). Slavich had a seagull logotype. E-E Kozlov Photo Archive.

Reverse of the same Isopanchrom film box from 1960. “Slavich”, Preslavel’, RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic).
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive.

A third company, “Slavich”, located in Preslavel’, Russia, where it was founded in 1931, also produced (and still produces) “Izopankhrom” films, in the first place for movies. Valentin Kozlov used those, too, and the design of the boxes is also quite nice, with stripes of light and dark orange and a seagull as logotype. The Slavich “Izopankhrom” has all information only in Russian, including the name Изопанхром, and instead of three different Western speed ratings Weston, DIN, and ASA, it goes with the GOST norm. Perhaps the Slavich films for cameras were just a side-product of films for movies, produced at that time for the local market. No Slavich negative films are in Evgenij Kozlov’s archive. Slavich was, however, one of the largest producers of photo paper in the USSR, so he must have used the photo paper.

With regard to sharpness, the quality of all films is quite good when they are properly exposed, and they are not particularly grainy, either.

The Kirov Stadium, located at Leningrad's Krestovksy Island, was the largest stadium in the Soviet Union. According to Russian Wikipedia, the stadium was included into the Russian federal heritage list In 2001, and in 2006, it was again excluded from the list and demolished to make way for the new "Gasprom Arena".
Valentin Kozlov took this picture around 1960, during a “Spartakiad” sport competition organised by the Kirov Factory where he worked. This new print from 2000 renders the contrastness and sharpness of the negative.
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive.

Black and white medium format negative films

Photographers wishing to print large formats used 120 roll films – “medium format” films approximately 60 mm wide shot with special cameras. In the Soviet Union, a standard medium format camera was the Lomo Lubitel 166, while the Kiev 60 was somewhat more sophisticated; both shot 6x6 cm frames. Medium format films were produced by Svema which sold them wrapped around a spool and protected against the light by backing paper displaying the frame numbers.

Fragments from light backing paper of two Svema 120 roll films Evgenij Kozlov used in Augst 1985.
120 roll films allow shooting in different medium formats, depending on the camera – 6x9, 6x6, or 6x4.5 cm. With 6x6cm frames, the film shoots 12 pictures.
E-E Kozlov Photo Archive.

In Evgenij Kozlov’s archive, there is a series of eighteen black and white medium (6x6cm) format negatives the artist shot in the summer of 1985 with Evgeny Yufit’s camera. These medium format negatives constitute an important example of Kozlov’s technique of drawing figures and other elements into the wet emulsion of the negative.



Left: (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov. Three 6x6cm (medium format) negatives from a photo shooting for the LP cover “Popular Mechanics - Insect Culture” with Sergey Kurykhin and New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev. The picture at the bottom was selected for the album cover more >>, while the top picture was used in a number of articles more >>. Right: This Lomo Lubitel 166 Universal camera I bought in 1993 is the last medium format model of the Lomo Lubitel series. Evgeny Yufit, who lent Kozlov his camera to shoot his "Insect Culture" series, might have possessed one of the ealier Lomo Lubitel versions, or perhaps a Kiev 60. Photo: Hannelore Fobo.

Most pictures show Sergey Kuryokhin and New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev at the Leningrad Passage department store, a motif Kozlov selected for their album Popular Mechanics – Insect Culture. This was actually the reason why he borrowed Yufit’s camera.

Kozlov printed the negatives on 39.6 x 30 cm photo paper; one of his pictures became indeed the cover of the album released in Liverpool two years later. I discussed these pictures in my article Popular Mechanics 'Insect Culture' from 2018 more >>. A large print in a 113 x 99 cm format was painted by New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev.



(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev Vintage print, painted, 39.6 x 30 cm , 1986. The Kozlov & Fobo Collection, Berlin		(E-E) Evgenij Kozlov (photo) with New Composers Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev (drawing) Painted vintage print, 113 x 99 cm, 1980s. The Kozlov & Fobo Collection, Berlin

In 2016, for the exhibition Notes from the Underground. Art and Alternative Music in Eastern Europe 1968–1994 at the Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, we created a number of new prints which were displayed next to the album cover. In 2018, the exhbition was shown at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.



	Notes from the Underground. Art and Alternative Music in Eastern Europe 1968–1994 Akademie der Künste, Berlin, 2018 more>> (E-E) Evgenij Kozlov with his 1985 series of photographs for the LP cover of “Popular Mechanics: Insect Culture / Насекомая культура" with Sergey Kuryokhin, Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev Seven digital prints, 30 x 30 cm, 1985 / 2016 Bottom right: Album cover “Insect Culture / Насекомая культура". Photography by Evgenij Kozlov, cover design by Collin Fallows Offset print, 31.3 x 31 cm, 1987 (ARK records, Liverpool), more >> Photo: Hannelore Fobo