The comeback of film?

[Drew Wiley]

I thought I was the one who invented 35mm wet plate photography back when I was sixteen years old ... in fact everything was wet. That happens when you slip crossing a creek. But I got wonderful highly minimalistic images from that incident.

[goamules]

Is it coming back (to previous levels)? No. It's being given more visibility by those that do still use it. Like riding a horse to work.

[John Kasaian]

Is it coming back (to previous levels)? No. It's being given more visibility by those that do still use it. Like riding a horse to work.

Dang!
My horse just went hooves up a short while back.
She was a good one!

[Pere Casals]

What is clear is that film market is expanding steadly, some manufacturers are reporting 7% yearly growth. I never would have said that kodak was going to manufacture Ektachrome again...

To me what is clear is that film is a first class creative tool that amazes many people.

I often review what wedding top notch Pros are doing with film, and I feel difficult to give credit to what my eyes see. Impressive... While pros in that sector sporting a last model digital camera have a huge handicap, compared. One may say that's about personal aesthetic preferences, but my view is that there are technical facts involved favouring a contax loaded with portra or ns

[Peter Lewin]

I'm surprised that the majority of posts deal with the technical aspects of film versus digital, especially the color palates of various color films. Few deal with the process differences between film and digital.

First, let me position my thoughts based on my annual visit to the AIPAD (Assoc. of Int'l Photographic Art Dealers) show in NYC. This is the largest collection of photographs for sale that I know of, and each year everything from the earliest daguerrotypes and collodion prints to the newest work off the gallery walls is on display. Virtually all current work is digital, and I am certain that the photographers consider themselves just as much artists as those from the film era. Also, many excellent photographer/printers are now offering digitally-produced versions of their earlier film-based images, so they must believe that digital quality is as good as the older wet prints. So in many ways (all?) the argument that film is technically superior is hard to maintain, at least as demonstrated by those making and selling photographs for a living.

But what clearly separates digital from film is not so much the final product as the process used to produce that final product. The very reason that most of us use large format cameras is that we find the process of making the negative with this equipment more rewarding than creating an image file with a DSLR (I will exclude most digital backs, since they cost about as much as a car, and few of us use them). Similarly, those of us who produce prints in their darkroom enjoy that process more than using Photoshop on a computer terminal. So the question of whether film is "coming back" depends on whether enough people learn and enjoy the physical process of working with film. Hand craftsmanship in woodworking, book binding, and all other "crafts" will always have its adherents, just as there will always be those who want to go through the craftsmanship of creating film-based imagery. Will it every "come back," i.e. attract the majority of people who love the ease of creating digital images with everything from a smartphone to a DSLR? I am certain it will not. But hopefully it will continue to support a base of those who enjoy the craft of photography at least as much as the images produced.

[Ben Calwell]

I hope film will not go away. For me, shooting film offers a greater sense of craftsmanship. I just don't get the same satisfaction shooting an image with digital as I do with film. I don't feel that I've "made" something when I shoot a digital image. With digital capture, I feel as if I've ceded control to the camera. I might feel better about digital if I start using my spot meter and putting a dark cloth over my head as I gaze at the LCD screen. Maybe I just like the theatrical aspects of shooting LF.

[John Kasaian]

Film is too expensive to buy, develop and print (if they even want prints) for most people. And digital prints, if the Photoshop guys can keep their booger hooks from over saturating colors, look pretty good.

I'll still shoot film because I enjoy it, just like some painters still paint with oils because they enjoy it.
Heck, I still enjoy painting with oils---the fumes make me feel like this guy---

[DougK]

I'm coming back to photography after having spent some time away and I'm bypassing 35mm, MF, and digital (most of which gear I sold years ago anyway) for LF. I've always been fascinated by it and now I have both the money and the time, so why not? I'd also like to see what happens with my photos when I'm forced to slow down and really think about things before I trip that shutter instead of being able to bang away and bracket the heck out of everything. It's a whole new world of things to learn and I'm pretty excited about it.

EDIT: As long as film stays around for the next 10-20 years, I'll be happy, but I don't ever see it going away completely. Too many of us weirdos out here who like it

[Drew Wiley]

... you just can't stay away from that Muffler Shop Hall of Fame on Herndon Ave can you, John? Ahh, the smell of oil .....

[gphoto120]

My wife taught at a private k-12 school until 2016 which had both a wet darkroom as well as media lab for digital. The film classes were always full as film to the kids was “new” as digital was all they knew. It never will be back to where it was, but we are still seeing a resurgence of film use now that we retired in New Mexico . She now conducts tours at the O’keeffe house . She said there are usually a couple of participants, primarily younger that bring film cameras, mostly 35mm and several oldsters shooting medium format on her tours. In asking them why film, most replies are that they realize that using film will help them With composition etc and hopefully make them better photographers. Also, with new small makers such as Intrepid and Standard Cameras many more are moving into large format from what I’ve seen online. Myself, I just bought a used Chamonix 4x5 and am looking forward to working with it !