And they said it wouldn’t last! Hmm. . . seems that has been said before. What am I talking about? Well. . . FILM of course! It’s amazing to see the resurgence in the interest in and the use of the worn out old technology of photographic film. Sort of like vinyl records, tube amplifiers, buggy whips and saddles. What becomes old is new again. I honestly had this feeling something like 15-20 years ago when that tired old chant started; Film Is Dead. I didn’t believe it then and now it looks like I was correct in my assessment. I didn’t fall for the sell your film gear now while you can still get something for it. Truth is, we bought even more film gear. And what is happening now? The prices of film photographic equipment is once again rising. All of the manufacturers closed up shop and went chasing after high-tech gizmos. And now, suddenly there is a growing market with a finite supply of hardware. You have to choose what you can find used or refurbished. How could that happen? What is going on in the world of photography?
It’s all because of young people. They grew up with all that techno stuff and one day someone, like me, showed them there is something else. Something different. . . Wow! A different way of seeing, creating, photographing. . . making your artistic statement. The key word is different. Fred Picker used to say, “different is not the same!”
I hear all kinds of comments. Look at the size of that camera! You can still get film for that? You can get film that big? Oh, you make prints? And the look of them! That seems to be something else that is new to the younger generation. I grew up looking at photo albums put together by my family. You didn’t have a little screen to view your snapshots instantly as you made them. You had to send the film off and wait! And those prints you got back in that envelope had value. You didn’t make a thousand snaps and pick one to look at once and then discard. You kept real printed photographs and looked at them over and over. And if one was really special, you had an enlargement made!
Yes the story of film and film cameras has come full circle, just as I had predicted way back in the Film Is Dead days. I said there would be a mass exodus by film and film camera manufacturers. But I also said that film would not go away. There would always be someone out there that would keep making it. Because there are those of us that are not willing to give it up. I predicted there would be someone to fill the niche market. I also predicted the price of film would go up. . . and it has. But, what is the cost of what you love? How can you put a price on that which you have spent most of your life learning, exploring, refining and experimenting with?
Another thing I feel strongly about is knowledge and passing it on to future generations. I feel it is near a responsibility to preserve what you have spent a lifetime learning. This commitment led to the four book series that Susan and I put together and self-published 20 years ago. Those books have been revised and are now available in e-book format. Through our web site and this Blog we have further endeavored to highlight what we do and how we approach photography as an art form.
It’s been an interesting and fulfilling journey to this point and that journey is just beginning. I feel I can now say with confidence, FILM IS NOT DEAD!
JB
