Does anyone shoot FILM these days?

I own several film cameras. Mostly Minolta cameras but a few Polaroid and Kodak instant cameras, too.
I also own several Sony, Canon and Nikon digital cameras. Of course, I own a plethora of lenses, filters, and other paraphernalia, too.

Since the advent of the iPhone and other smart phones, I hardly carry any other camera on a regular basis.
I guess I’ve gotten lazy with the pocket convenience of the smart phone camera.

Recently, while making room for some other stuff on my shelves I decided to inventory my film cameras.
Two of them still have slide film in them. I also have several boxes of unused film that is at least a decade old. (Yeah I know they need to be properly disposed of) It made me think though, does anyone shoot film any more? I used to love the unique photos that black and white film afforded me, but I haven’t shot a B&W picture in years.

Oh well, this is just a stroll down memory lane I guess. As a small side note, my Minolta Maxxum 7000 is worth about $40 today. It would probably cost that much to have a roll of film developed :grinning:

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Polaroid cameras are being sold again for some reason. I received one for Christmas - I love it but I always end up using my smart phone.

I don’t shoot film any more but I remember the days of shooting film.

I unfortunately don’t have a good spot to develop currently, but I still have my chemical processing equient for the RA-4 colour process prints (no idea where my enlarger went). I used to do all my own back in high school and early college. Unfortunately it just comes down to time.

Cheers,
-Jim

I shared the expansion on my FB page and severa folks wanted to know if we had a darkoom

I was surprised at the interest i on

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I can’t bring myself to get rid of my old film cameras either. I can’t even imagine where to get film developed.

I also have an old Rollei that belonged to my Dad. It was working when it went into the box. I guess I ought to dig it out and play with it …

I’m in the process of getting my Black & White Setup started again. I can’ t wait ! I have always loved B&W.

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I’m a traditional and alternative process photographer. Lots of people still shoot film and many of the alternative (19th century) processes are becoming more popular. Polaroid has been on the rise within the past 10 years with Impossible Project, now rebranded to Polaroid Original. I believe they’ve also slightly dropped their price so its a little easier to swallow the cost. This has allowed a new generation to get the film feel without having to do much processing. While your old favorite film might not still be available you can still easily get film and new films are still being made. Development is super easy, even at home, but locally there are several shops that develop film no problem. There are even still local darkrooms where you can pay to print or have them print for you but most film shooters process and scan. Here at DMS we have our Photography SIG that meets once a month or so. Not sure how many of them actively shoot film but many have in the past. I ‘plan’ at some point to teach several classes on traditional methods like alternative processes and developing film at home

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I also used to make my own print papers and canvases using a silver chloride emulsion suspended in gelatin.

required Silver Nitrate, Potassium Chloride (Sodium Chloride also works, but I ended up with KCl because of what was available as a reagent), knox flavorless gelatin and a razor edge to apply to the material. If we setup a dark space I can teach on making photographic canvases.

-Jim

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After the expansion we will have a classroom with a sink (current galley). Maybe then we can setup some portable film development lab.

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I have the print rollers that can operate in a fully lit room for the chemicals once loaded; these are useful for improv setups, so only loading & enlarging will need the darkness. I think I have about 4-5 tubes, ranging up to at least 14"x24" prints.

-Jim

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Ken that was my thought, I think classic photography would be a great addition
to use

How much of the items needed could be kept in a rolling cabinet or cart?

My hubby used to process film in our bathroom

The science of it would be a great thing for science do

This is all that is required, beyond water and a darkroom to load, that is needed to develop B/W film. Color requires a few more items and a little more work as you need to maintain a constant 102F temp (its best to have a water bath but a cooler and hot water works in a pinch). You also have a few more chemicals depending on if its C41 or E6 or which ‘kit’ you’re using.

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I for one am interested in shooting film. I have a Nikon FG20 which appears to be broken (unreliable shutter) and a couple of lenses for it, which I frequently use with my Sony a6000 digital camera. Given a workspace and knowledge, I would love to shoot some film. I am sure I could pick up a working body for under $100. I would also be interested in a class on using a view camera, as I find the possibilities with variable focal plane intriguing.

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Something I’ve seen done is really cool with twin reflect lenses. Made into table lights than shine of the lenses.

Inside the camera body an LED is mounted. Can two of same color or different colors, one behind each lens. One I saw had White and Blue.

It was used has table top desk light when you want just enough light to see when watching TV or to move about. The Blue color wasn’t intrusive and kind of mellow.

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Not sure if there is enough information to warrant teaching a whole class but I can definitely bring my Graflex and maybe my Agfa 5x7 to the next Photography SIG meetup. I’m getting the bellows repaired on my 5x7 so those might not be done by then. The Graflex has some of the view camera movements but not all.

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Artists have been known to use very old cameras with self made glass plates to make large black and white prints. Making ones own film seems like not that large of a stretch if someone was motivated but that’s probably unnecessary as there appears to be a comeback for film.

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Interesting.
I can’t find any actual numbers on what the ubiquitous “5% increase in 2017” means. Let’s face it, if I sold 100 units last year, and I sold 105 this year, that’s a 5% increase, and, though interesting, is still hardly meaningful…
The only article I found with actual dollars/units numbers (as opposed to “% increase” type figures) was this one:
https://petapixel.com/2017/11/15/kodaks-ektachrome-reboot-track-despite-46m-loss-425-layoffs/

which says that despite a $46,000,000 loss and 425 worker layoff, Kodak is moving forward with making “New Ektachrome”…

:popcorn:

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Let’s be honest. How many ‘selfies’ are people really going to bother to keep years after? I think most digital photos are going to end up deleted or lost but that old trunk of 19th and 20th century photographs in your attic is going to still be there decades from now.

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The truth is that while cleaning out my mother in laws place we came upon some amazing old photos. Some dating back a hundred years or so. They were mostly of my wife’s mom’s grandfather and their family and friends, but they have held up for a long long time in the boxes they are kept in. It prompted my son to decide he wants to digitize them so we can attach them to our family tree maker program Anybody see the irony there? Does anyone have any digital pictures you no longer have the means to view? Who even knows if the predominant digital photo file formats will exist in another 100 years.

I have a collection of VHS tapes. You probably do, too. One of them is of my son being born 30 years ago. Will I have to digitize these VHS tapes just to sustain their existence? What if I had some Sony Beta tapes? (Thankfully I don’t but…) I also have a lot of Helical Scan 4mm tapes which I now only have one camera to read them.

My point is that the digital age has in some ways made us dependent upon an ever evolving medium for storage and formats for the images.

I know, I’ll just print the ones I really want to keep. Yeah, that’s it.:grinning:

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