LET'S USE SOME FILM! - How about a National Get Out and Shoot Day?

You're thinking too small.

This is an international forum - make it the International Get Out and Shoot Day!

I'm off to Cape Cod with 12 loaded 5x7 film holders and my recently acquired Moskva 5 and five rolls of film.

I too was saddened at AIM's passing, as I showed up there a week ago with some Velvia to process for client. The doors were still open but the managament was there saying they were closing and weren't taking any more film. Now, it's gonna be mail in to A&I in LA.

I guess the students at the Art Center weren't using them as much as I would have thought.

I don't shoot large format every week, but I develop a roll or two of 120 or 35 mm every week -- in a good week, I develop four or five.

The bad news is, the only way I can afford to keep that volume is to shoot cut-price B&W film and process it myself, so far as possible in chemistry I mix myself (Parodinal and home-mixed plain hypo costs me about a dime a roll using home filtered water, not counting the distilled water for the PhotoFlo rinse). The good news is, I can still buy E-6 and C-41 chemistry if I can ever afford them, though printing the C-41 may be problematic (though I expect RA-4 materials and chemicals will be around for a long time yet, given they're used in most digital printing kiosk setups).

As much as I like the idea, and I plan to do it, the way to make this effort noticed to the manufacturers is to get out, and buy some film!

I have enough film stockpiled that I could work for a couple of years before buying some film, but I worry that not being a consumer of films (despite the fact that I bought all that film a year ago) for a few years would be detrimental. Fortunately, I'm exposing more TMAX-100 these days, so I can buy film.

So, I suggest that in addition to getting out and making photographs, get out there and buy several boxes or bricks!

John Clark
www.johndclark.com

Ah, 746.8 miles later, there are exposed sheets from good 'ol friend Dorff ready for the soup and hectic drive to the lab, a marvelous road warrior weekend with 8x10. 150mm, 360mm and 450mm got into the act and there is both Efke and Velvia now exposed. Feels good.

Yes, indeed this is international, and thanks for the suggestion. Let's make it International Get Off Your Arse and Shoot Film Week, (IGOYASHOFILWEE) retroactively starting Friday August 4th, 2006, and this coming Friday, let's all post one thumbnail here for the fun of it.

I have a suggestion if there are any other "takers". How about if we all syncronize our watches to a particular GMT hour, minute and second and then take one shot then, of whatever and whereever we like, yet at the same time, then post thumbnails. For those who fog film, you still have to scan it whether you intend to develop it or not, and you would have to fog it at the right moment! Anybody wish to suggest that time for this week?

Indeed, buying some film is a good thing, as would using some of the lab services before they go away, or to help prevent them from doing so. I thought that with more shooting, those things would happen anyway. Who knows.

And more good news ( but really, this part is for another topic ). Few, if any mosquitoes in Pine Creek, plus very nice mules and packstation people there. A ride is reasonable, less than Sabrina, and the upper areas will have nice colors in Fall. Also, very very nice scenery at the end of the road at the top of Rock Creek Canyon ( all of this around Bishop, California ). Many flowers, streams good days ahead still. We shall take those big half draft mules up then, and Dorff will go too - for that day.

Spiritually speaking and all of that, thanks so much to all who shot film this weekend, enjoyed it so far, and either developed or about to do so. And thanks in advance to those who plan to do so this IGOYASHOFILWEE. And for the shot that clicks around the world, the same moment ( or nearly so as we can make it ) exposure, thanks and advance, somebody propose the best moment and we can all second it and do it.

Hmmm, IGOYASHOFILWEE is too silly, need a better one.

for our part, myself, bob mccarthy, and eugene singer made it out for an early morning shoot of the old theater in historic downtown grapevine texas.