Back From France! Film hard to find there too.

[tom thomas]

My wife and I returned from our three month stay in southern France and I must report that true film is nearly gone there too. I couldn't find but a few rolls of 35mm in photo processing shops where the owners sadly reported that they are reduced to printing digital snaps for folks. The film developing mostly gone in storefront shops.

I did take a circa 1953 Rolleiflex with me and took it out for a visit to Glanum in the Alpilles near Avignon. The Alpilles are mini-Alps if you will. Glanum was a early Gaul people settlement in a mountain pass where springs were abundant. The Greeks conquered the locals when they occupied today's southern France. They build baths, deep wells and fortified walls around their settlement to protect the fertile plains feeding their colonies. Later the Romans overran the place and expanded the settlement, building over the Greek ruins.

This sure left a beautiful place for photographers today. I attracted some attention with the Rollei as all the other tourists were snapping digital. An older German was thrilled to see it. He described the model, age, features, accessories to me from memory as his wife (and mine) rolled her eyes in the background.

I did get a roll of color there but haven't had time since coming home to drive across town in holiday traffic to get it developed. I couldn't find a local place who could develop 120 format. Internet access was so poor that I couldn't browse to find any stores to do it. I hope the film isn't fogged by airport security procedures. Even customs zapped our bags on the way home.

I hesitated luckily to take my Graflex 4X5. Glad I didn't. Next Spring when we return to the area I'll scout around in Avignon to see if I can find a pro shop that can at least develop 120 film.

I will be taking a newly won (about an hour ago) a Graflex Century 2X3 with Graflok back. That will allow me to easily use 120 roll film adapters that I already have. I was goofing around on E-Bongle and accidentally (ha!) won the Century. I'd been hoping to find just a 2X3 Graflok back for either my 2X3 Minature or Speed Graphic springbacks but wound up with the entire camera and some accessories. This one, I will take to France even if I have to carry the exposed film back here for development.

If you will forgive me for posting digital shots, here are a couple I took in the local area. I included one of Glanum, a couple of the arena in Nimes which is the best preserved Roman arena left. It seated and still seats nearly 28,000 people. Lastly, the Pont du Gard which was an aqueduct built to provide water for Nimes under Roman control.

Merry XMAS to all, happy holidays to each as well as I realize not all celebrate XMAS.

Tom Thomas

[Dan Fromm]

Tom, before you return to France ask here http://www.galerie-photo.info/forumgp/list.php?2 for advice on where to get film and processing. If you must, ask in English, they put up with it very well.

[tom thomas]

Merci beaucoup Dan. thanx alot for the URL. Hopefully I'll have better internet access next Spring when . Our neighbor got the last DSL hardware connection in our little town of 800 so I'm sharing his "Wi-Fi" connection. He set up his wireless LAN especially for me. With 40 inch thick stone walls, signal strength where my wife wants the computer is dodgy. It's OK at times where I want the computer so we will have to compromise.

Tom

[ceb83]

Hi Tom,

Found this, amongst others, with a 'Google' for "Avignon, France, Photographers".
Hopefully, it wasn't the outlet you tried!! :D :D

http://www.photolaboservice.com/accueil.htm

Another possibility is ordering film from a UK supplier??
Don't know how you're fixed regarding accomodation, i.e. hotel, travelling, etc., but you could get it mailed to France in around a week from UK.

http://www.silverprint.co.uk/

Cheers,
Carol

[john biskupski]

Ironic you not being able to find film, with nearby Arles being the host to one of the world's great annual photo festivals! While true that 120 film has mostly disappeared from retailers shelves, in France as elsewhere, there is still plenty of interest in film photography, and as Dan indicated, you will get lots of tips from the French site he indicates. Their related on line store is one outlet to use 'boutique de galerie-photo'. As the issues you raised have been noted previously, there is also an earlier thread here on European resources. As for carrying film through xray scanners, you can always stuff your trouser pockets with 120 film, the plastic reels pass through OK, or go equipped with the Domke lead bags.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Hello from France !
I' m glad to read a report about an enjoyable trip to southern France, place of inspirations for many artists in incuding Van Gogh, but excluding Saint Ansel who reports in His "Making Of" that he once accepted an invitation to the Arles Photo festival to please Jacques Lartigue, but he felt extremely uncomfortable there. Even Lartigue's portrait by Saint Ansel is not sharp ;

---
Back to film supplies in France : getting even 120-rolls from a street shop (not mentioning cut-film in 4x5" and above, whihc could turn into Mission : Impossible !) is actually a challenge in France, but the situation is the same across Europe.
Even in Germany, if I drop you at random somewhere exepet dowtown a major German city, you'll have hard times to find a street shop where 120 rolls are available on a day-to-day basis.

The galerie-photo.[info, com] web site is keeping a list of pro labs in France and nearby countries where users of the forum galerie-photo.info have found appropriate service for processing 120 rolls and sheet film. Usually those labs know where to find film, or will sell film themselves.
The document to download, in spreadsheet format, it is a compilation of answers by users of the forum.
http://www.galerie-photo.com/resultats-formulaire-labo-tr.xls

And as Dan Fromm mentions, you can place a post in English on http://www.galerie-photo.info, most people there live in France, Belgium or Switzerland, but we do have, for example, people livong in the French Carribean Islands, so please ask for advice, you are welcome !

[B.I.S.H.O.P.]

Since this is turning into a resource for French photo suppliers, I will throw in my two cents.

I spent 4 months in Toulouse earlier this year and was absolutely spoiled by the quality of the stores and labs. My two favorites: Numeriphot (http://www.numeriphot.com/) for any and all equipment, including darkroom supplies and fresh film; they stock everything up to 8x10. For processing: Photon (http://www.labo-photon.fr/), the best lab I have ever had work done at, hands down. They offer one hour E6 processing and they have an imacon flextight on site. They are more than happy to do mail in orders(french only...mostly).

Perhaps it is because of the photography school in Toulouse, but there seemed to be a serious interest in at least medium format while I was there. I cant say that I think that the state of film in France is nearly as bad as it is stateside

[cdholden]

Merci beaucoup Dan. thanx alot for the URL. Hopefully I'll have better internet access next Spring when . Our neighbor got the last DSL hardware connection in our little town of 800 so I'm sharing his "Wi-Fi" connection. He set up his wireless LAN especially for me. With 40 inch thick stone walls, signal strength where my wife wants the computer is dodgy. It's OK at times where I want the computer so we will have to compromise.

Tom

Tom,
I'll leave the French film resources to others, but I can offer you a bit of my wifi fu. They make external antennas for some "routers" and network cards. If your "router" or NIC is one that works with an external antenna, get it as high as possible. If you can get it in, or close to, attic space above the thick walls, this should help out your connection issue.

Chris

[tom thomas]

Thanx to all for the help. I apologize for not responding earlier. Actually I tried and was frozen out of IE and lost all my input. Then I got busy with other things and couldn't easily find this thread again. Today I searched to find the places mentioned to find film.

My wife and I are heading back to our little home in Domazan, near Avignon, on March 3rd for another 3 month sojourn. I'll definitely check out the photo shops in Avignon and will visit Arles this time to look for both photo opportunities and film.

It will be early Spring so hopefully the drab skeleton-vined vinyards will be showing a bit of fresh color. One of my favorites has rosebushes planted at the end of each row. They should be in bloom. I thought that was just the owners personality but the roses have a function. They are sensitive to the same fungus as the vines so serve as guardians. California wine (and vines) is too expensive to drag back to France now as they did more than a century ago.

Tom

[Two23]

As for carrying film through xray scanners, you can always stuff your trouser pockets with 120 film, the plastic reels pass through OK, or go equipped with the Domke lead bags.

Film in checked baggage gets zapped with very high powered x-ray, and film is typically ruined. Film in carry on bags is hit with much lower dose, and film slower than 800 should be OK. I would not suggest using a lead bag. Screeners will simply turn up the power level until it's enough to go through the bag. That would be really bad news. In the past I've always been able to have film hand checked with carry on bag.


Kent in SD

[tom thomas]

Made it to Domazan safely. Having a Grrrr!, Dummy me moment though as although my 120 mm film made it safely (not opened anyway) in a carry on camera case along with my Crown Graphic 23, I'd forgotten to pack my RH8 120mm roll film adapter. I didn't pack any film holders, planning just to use the roll film adapter.

I've frantically emailed home to friends to locate and mail it to me. Darn, I have to use digie substitute until it arrives (if it even does.)

Weather is clear, sunny and beautiful here near Avignon today. Was smoggy for most of the trip driving down from Paris last Monday, speed was limited to 110Kph (about 68 mph) instead of 130Kph (about 82mph) on the autoroute because of it. Stinky dark haze hung over normally beautiful countryside from Lyon south to Avignon. Not a nice day to photograph the medieval castles and fortresses clinging to the rocky hilltops along the way.

Should any of you plan to be in our area from now to May 31, post a message here and I'll give you directions to our little town. There are so many photo opportunities within 20 miles that one could spend a lifetime here catching the beauty and uniqueness of the area.

Tom

Oh, I'm up on Wifi sharing my neighbors router through 40 inch thick stone walls. He moved his equipment while I was gone. Strong fast signal now.

[tom thomas]

Emmanuel mentioned the film festival in Arles earlier in this post. I haven't found any film but I was surprised to find the National School of Photography just a block away from the Roman Theatre. The third photo shows the street signs just in front of the entrance to the theatre which is just out of view on the right.

I included this "weary traveller" shot taken in front of one of the churches. This guy is "sagging" even as he sleeps.

[Ray Van Nes]

Congratulations on the little Speed Graphic. I have also, and it is my main travelling view camera for the same reason that I can use 120mm film. It has been to England, Amsterdam, China and Tibet. I now have several lenses in addition to the 100mm Zeiss that came with it, from 65mm to 240mm ( tele). I have a Lowe pack that it all goes into and can be used as carry on - along with the film.

I generally bring all the film I need with me and process it when I get home. I generally let the film go through the check in x-ray with no issues so far. In China, where there may a number of flights I ask for hand inspection which they do not generally have an issue with. I carry the film in a zip-loc bag for visibilty. Interestingly, the only time I had an issue was coming home from Beijing. The security person removed all the foil wrappers to ensure that is was indeed film. Sigh. No harm done.

Enjoy your new camera and your future trips.