Some trips start with an alarm clock.
Ours started with four of them, and still, I almost missed the first train.

Friday morning, 04:30. Eyes half-open, brain fully asleep. I jumped on the train from Lillestrøm to Oslo, then another to Son Station, where Kim picked me up with his usual calm “you look like you haven’t slept in 40 years” expression.

We loaded the car, grabbed snacks, and set course for Stavanger. My survival kit: one protein bar and an iced coffee that had clearly lost its will to live. Kim went classic with black coffee, the kind that could wake a Viking.

The trip? Ten hours, two charging stops, and one ferry from Moss to Horten that felt like a mini vacation. Somewhere along the way, our playlist evolved from modern-day rap to deep life poetry, the kind only people with too much experience and not enough sleep truly understand. It was weird, funny, and kind of perfect. (I’ll drop the links at the end… proceed at your own risk 😅).

By 16:00, we finally rolled into Stavanger Foto, just in time to catch the last part of the Fotomesse Friday program and the absolute highlight: getting to see Bjørn Joachimsen in action inside Europe’s largest darkroom, right there at Stavanger Foto. Watching him develop the very first image under the red glow, surrounded by the smell of chemistry and quiet focus, felt like stepping straight back into the soul of photography.

Saturday morning came early, coffee, cameras, and film in hand. We joined Bjørn’s black-and-white photowalk, a group of passionate photographers, all loaded with Ilford XP2 and good vibes. The streets of Stavanger came alive with laughter, rain, and the sound of shutters.

It was my first time using Ilford XP2 Super, and I was genuinely surprised by the results — the tones, the dynamic range, and that smooth contrast were way beyond what I expected. It’s definitely a film I’ll be using again.

Hasselblad X-PAN with ilford xp2 black and white film

On the way home, we talked the entire trip about the inspiration we got from this PhotoBreak adventure, and how much it reignited our love for analog photography. We even talked seriously about getting our own darkroom (and yes, we’re serious). The people at Stavanger Foto are unbelievably knowledgeable about film and analog gear — their setup is unlike anything we’ve seen anywhere. They even have a Heidelberg Tango drum scanner, which is just next-level. If you truly want the best of the best in film or camera equipment these days, Stavanger Foto is the place to go.

Link to the song/poetry/music/ meaning of life https://open.spotify.com/album/6oGRPQE7sLNmUy900dEn43?si=c8R0dw-3SmaAx1EY_3VIaQ

📸 PhotoBreak at Fotomessa Stavanger 2025

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