Skip to main content Digital Camera World Digital Camera World THE HOME OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Search Digital Camera World View Profile Accessories Buying Guides The Photography & Video Show Digital Camera Australian Camera Australian ProPhoto Photography Magazines Why subscribe? Issues filled with product reviews, latest updates, expert advice and more Delivered to your Android or IOS device Every issue is packed with photo tips, kit reviews and inspiration From$12View Camera news Camera rumors Photography & Video Show Photo mag deals Cheatsheets Recommended reading Compact Cameras This Nikon compact camera was buried for 7 years – but images on the SD card survived! Trade Shows The Photography & Video Show 2025 to showcase lost 1948 Olympics photographs Film Cameras This six-lens analog camera is so strange, even the Internet’s stumped… Photography 'Ernest Cole: Lost and Found' might be the most powerful photography film of the year – and now you can watch the trailer Galleries and Exhibitions Magnum Photos is using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II to digitize its extensive color archive Film Cameras Researchers just uncovered a lost camera trap set in the 1970s to capture the Loch Ness Monster – and the film survived Photography Sorry, Leica – iconic 'Napalm Girl' photo may have been taken on a Pentax camera Film Cameras “None of these photographs were ever seen by the photographer…” Lost 1960s film collection mystery baffles internet sleuths Hillary K. Grigonis 12 May 2025 The mystery of how more than 75 rolls of undeveloped film ended up in a storage locker has gone unsolved for decades When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Kickstarter) Many digital photographers know the pain of losing files to corrupt cards or hard drive failure, but a San Francisco photographer is on a mission to find the photographer who lost five years' worth of historic images shot on film. A collection of 102 unprocessed rolls of film and 53 pages of film slides was discovered in a storage unit in the 1980s, passing through different dealers and collections until 2023 years ago, when San Francisco photographer Bill Delzell stumbled upon the mystery. Delzell was immediately devastated by the thought of losing what appears to be five years of historic work, and is now spearheading some of the efforts to find out who was behind the iconic images. You may like This Nikon compact camera was buried for 7 years – but images on the SD card survived! The Photography & Video Show 2025 to showcase lost 1948 Olympics photographs This six-lens analog camera is so strange, even the Internet’s stumped… A post shared by SpeakLocal (@speaklocal_) A photo posted by on “This film is completely unprocessed, and none of these photographs were ever seen by the photographer that made them,” Dezell said in an interview with CBS Mornings. While 75 rolls of film remained undeveloped at the start of 2025, the more than 5,000 images that have been developed so far hint at a passionate photographer who captured a number of historic moments in San Fransisco in the late 1960s. The images include civil rights demonstrations, Vietnam War protests and a Grateful Dead concert, along with historic figures including Muhammad Ali and Timothy Leary. Newly discovered vintage photos reveal San Francisco mystery - YouTube ABOVE: Watch the CBS report on the mystery photographs Get the Digital Camera World Newsletter The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. “I was stunned by the quality of the work, and to think that someone spent five years capturing these moments in time and then to have lost the work just hit me really hard.” A successful Kickstarter campaign raised more than $60,000 (around £46,000 / AU$94,000) to pay for the development of the rest of the film, with a book and documentary also part of the campaign’s goals. Now, Dezell, who also leads the nonprofit SpeakLocal, is continuing to share the mystery in hopes of identifying the photographer behind the images. Internet sleuths on Reddit are chiming in, while Delzell has also secured help from the Internet Archives as media outlets help spread the mystery photographer’s story. A post shared by SpeakLocal (@speaklocal_) A photo posted by on One of the biggest clues so far is a photograph of a window that shows the photographer’s reflection, but the image of the person with a camera over their face shows little more detail than a thin build. The project's Reddit page has generated a number of suggestions, from fingerprinting the film canisters to the suggestion that the collection could have been from a photography class and not a single person. It’s unclear how the images wound up in a storage facility, with the possibilities ranging from losing track of the film rolls to not being able to pay to develop so many rolls of film. Photographers – and internet sleuths – can chime into the conversation on the Who Shot Me Reddit thread. You may also like Browse the best film cameras or the best 35mm film. See more Film cameras News Hillary K. Grigonis Social Links Navigation With more than a decade of experience reviewing and writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer and more. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. This Nikon compact camera was buried for 7 years – but images on the SD card survived! The Photography & Video Show 2025 to showcase lost 1948 Olympics photographs This six-lens analog camera is so strange, even the Internet’s stumped… 'Ernest Cole: Lost and Found' might be the most powerful photography film of the year – and now you can watch the trailer Magnum Photos is using the Fujifilm GFX 100 II to digitize its extensive color archive Researchers just uncovered a lost camera trap set in the 1970s to capture the Loch Ness Monster – and the film survived Latest in Film Cameras This new compact film camera is weird – but that’s exactly why I want to try it out Harman proves film is not dead with a brand-new wallet-friendly 35mm camera film I had no idea Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber was made from a vintage camera flash The Pentax 17 compact film camera wins two further major design awards The Nikon F3 turns 45 years old! 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This new compact film camera is weird – but that’s exactly why I want to try it out LATEST ARTICLES 8849 Tank 3 Pro review: this rugged phone with a list of unusual features is quite extraordinary Yashica’s upcoming retro cameras will have working “film” wind levers, but smartphone-like sensors inside Vivo X200 Ultra review: more camera than phone This cheap security camera can be in two places at once – and it doesn’t require a subscription Leica rolls out mass firmware updates for ALL its recent camera models Digital Camera World is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Terms and conditions Contact Future's experts Privacy policy Cookies policy Advertise with us Accessibility Statement Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Please login or signup to comment Please wait...