Featured Artist: Leia Morrison

Feb 16, 2025

Kicking things off for us in 2025; a little bit late, but with a bang; is the amazing Leia Morrison.

Leia has been using Jack’s Lab for both development and scanning for a while now and we’ve been such big fans of her work ever since.

We spoke to Leia about her own journey with using film, and here’s what she had to say:

JL: Hi Leia, so firstly thanks so much for speaking with us. Perhaps you could start by telling us some of the things you love most about using film for your work?

LM: I love how shooting film completely changes my creative process. You can’t be preoccupied with how the images are turning out- you have to have faith in your art and wait to see how it comes out.

I’m also quite private when I work. I get uncomfortable when someone wants to watch me edit or see photos as I shoot. With film, there are no interruptions- people literally can’t see the results until they get back from the lab.

I also love how deliberate it makes you. Especially now that film is so expensive, you really have to think before you shoot. With digital, you can just fire away, but film forces you to be more considered- I like that conscious way of working.

JL: What was it that first encouraged you to use film as a medium in photography?

LM: I’d never shot film before going to uni. I remember meeting my friends Tom and Rob in the first week at UWE and they were completely immersed in film photography, always geeking out about cameras and knowing everything.

I was jealous of their connection to photography, so I borrowed a Hasselblad from uni and shot a roll. The next day, I spent my entire student loan on a Mamiya RB67. I absolutely fell in love with it.

JL: Tell us a bit about your style of photography, or the things you love to photograph the most? And perhaps why film is complimentary to that?

LM: I think my photography often feels quite nostalgic - maybe that’s because the sea; a subject as old as time; frequently sits at the centre of my work, or because technology barely ever makes it into the frame.

I like that people might wonder when my photos were taken- I’m not sure this could happen if I shot on digital.

My work focuses on human connection, and maybe more specifically the female experience- I try to tell true stories with my work, and film naturally complements that- it has an authenticity to it.

Hyper-edited, glossy digital photography just wouldn’t have the same effect. Film helps my work feel timeless (I hope).

JL: What is your go to film stock and camera of choice?

LM: My go-to film stock is Portra 400, and my go-to camera is still my Mamiya RB67. It breaks my bank, and my back, but I like to think the results are worth it.

JL: And finally, If you could choose to photograph one thing/place/person/historic moment in time, what would it be?

LM: Such a good question! I think it’s quite impossible to choose just one thing, and I think my answer would change on any given day.

Today’s answer would be Gertrude Ederle crossing the English Channel in 1926.

She was the first woman to swim it, and she was faster than the men’s record by two hours. What an incredible, incredible woman. I wish I was there to see it!