The Shattered Horizon is a photographic exhibition which hopes to provide a glimpse into a place that only exists within the dimension of time. The exhibition showcases a series of multiple exposures onto expired film using a primitive camera. The exhibition explores the dimension of time and how that can influence representations of real world places. These images are comprised of representations of real work places, which can only exist with the intrusion and influence of the motion and time.


Anyone who has tried to put on an exhibition knows that it is no cheap undertaking. There are many underlying costs including gallery hire, printing costs and promotion. In the case of The Shattered Horizon, there is the additional cost of flying over to Sydney to put on the show. Perth is one of the most isolated cities on the planet and as such there is often the need to fly large distances to get things done.
Then there is the medium. Film and film development is becoming increasingly expensive as the chemistry becomes harder to find, smaller batches are being produced which mean costs are going up and up. I am fortunate in that my work doesn't suffer from strange colour shifts, which means I can shoot with pretty much anything that is light sensitive. But film is still expensive and its a time consuming process.
Once each roll is shot, it is then sent to the lab for development. The next step is to scan each frame. At this stage its easy to assess which image out of a series or a single location is the hero and then begins the spotting process. Sometimes removing dust and marks can take up to 40 minutes per frame, as the scan resolutions are so high and makes dust much more obvious. So the process is a beautiful one, but a slightly time costly and expensive one.


These images came about as an extension of a happy accident. When I was relatively new to using a Holga I used to always forget to advance the film, as its doesn't force you to after a shot it taken. This meant alot of my early films were huge mash ups of multiple exposures. When I began to get a little more confident with the process I started to play with multiple exposure and this introduction of layering images onto one another created a whole new realm to exposure. I got a feel for how far I needed to advance the film in order to get desired effects and the series started on its own.

The camera I have used for this project is a Holga 120N. Its a very basic camera with limited settings. This often means you have to think a little out of the box to get the result you are looking for. Its a  labour of love, and many a time have I had a film come back and be disappointed, but I think that's what gives the camera its charm.
The most common type of film I have been shooting for this series is some Fuji colour negative rated at ISO800. It expired back in the 80s so its not quite as sensitive but with the Holga's relatively slow shutter its a benefit.


My name is Natalie Blom (heeeeeyyyy!!) and I am a photographer based in Perth, Western Australia. My love for low-fi photography spread from months spent building pinhole cameras from matchboxes, into the far reaching realms of Holgas and opshop camera finds. I shoot everything from weddings to corporate events, but the work that comes from my heart is experimental and film based.
I am scared of deep water and space, and addicted to chai, Googling animal photos and photographing powerlines. I don't like having to take derpy self portraits.