‘You only have one shot’: how film cameras won over a younger generation

[raydm6]

Saw this article on another forum and found it interesting given the recent film price increases and crazy used camera prices across the various camera configurations.

I like the comments about delayed gratification: waiting in anticipation of their images coming back from the film processor. Something we all experienced when younger.

 

[neal3k]

Very interesting article.

Film sales have increased 20 fold was the statement from one photography shop. That helps explain the (color) film shortage. I imagine so many of the young users mainly shoot color.

 

[raydm6]

Here is another (older) article pretty much saying the same thing.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

It's not just Sydney, either. Even here in little old Hobart, (population circa 200–250k) one of the two shops processing 135 & 120 C-41 has informed me they're developing hundreds of rolls a week. Every single time I'm in there, I encounter a few young photographers dropping off or picking up their rolls. It still feels strange—for many years I never saw another person with a film camera. A welcome change.

 

[raydm6]

It's not just Sydney, either. Even here in little old Hobart, (population circa 200–250k) one of the two shops processing 135 & 120 C-41 has informed me they're developing hundreds of rolls a week. Every single time I'm in there, I encounter a few young photographers dropping off or picking up their rolls. It still feels strange—for many years I never saw another person with a film camera. A welcome change.

That's great to hear!

A thought occurred to me this morning: if this is sustained, I wonder if it will spawn a new - albeit small - resurgence in new younger camera repair people to service these cameras to support future demand?

 

[Exploring RF]

That's great to hear!

A thought occurred to me this morning: if this is sustained, I wonder if it will spawn a new - albeit small - resurgence in new younger camera repair people to service these cameras to support future demand?

Aha! If a younger person were so inclined, they could do no better than to apprentice with one of the few remaining technicians we all know.

 

[Coldkennels]

A thought occurred to me this morning: if this is sustained, I wonder if it will spawn a new - albeit small - resurgence in new younger camera repair people to service these cameras to support future demand?

That's already happening. I asked on Twitter for recommendations for camera techs and an old friend of mine recommended Pierro at https://pppcameras.co.uk here in the UK, so I sent my Leotax T2L off to him for a full service; I didn't realise at the time that he was only in his mid-20s.

There was a bit of a faff with the Leotax - he originally replaced the top plate with one from a parts camera he obtained to replace fungus-damaged optics in the viewfinder, so I had to send it back to get the original refitted - but it seems like he did a pretty good job, and it's running smoothly again now.

We're definitely going to need more folks like Pierro. Everyone else in the UK is either retiring, costs a fortune, or has huge wait times - or a combination of the three - so I hope more people follow in his footsteps.

 

[jsrockit]

I am now seeing a late 90s trend on Instagram where people are using those 1,2,3 MP early digital cameras. That was unexpected. About the article, it is the same old cliches about film again. Nothing new here. I see it in all analog. Plenty of audio cassettes out there now too. These things are cool and always will be. But believe me, there will be nostalgia for digital items too. We see it in video games, computers, etc. I am starting to see CD collecting becoming big now. It is all nostalgia even if you were not there the first time.

 

[ptpdprinter]

About the article, it is the same old cliches about film again. Nothing new here.

I have suggested on several occasions that film enthusiasts need to get some new material, because most of the reasons given for shooting film are just regurgitated nonsense.

 

[punkzter]

That's great to hear!

A thought occurred to me this morning: if this is sustained, I wonder if it will spawn a new - albeit small - resurgence in new younger camera repair people to service these cameras to support future demand?

I think that it is. There is a tech that I just discovered from this article: https://www.35mmc.com/20/04/2022/th...-photography-and-camera-repair-by-ryan-jones/

He's expanding his operation and training new techs. I'm not a good judge of age, but he appears relatively young.

 

[Mooshoepork]

Interesting article.

shame the Alibaba plastic landfill cameras get a shoutout though. How can you “delve into product design” when you didn’t design the product? You just bought them on Alibaba and added a 500% margin to beginners?

 

[raydm6]

That's already happening. I asked on Twitter for recommendations for camera techs and an old friend of mine recommended Pierro at https://pppcameras.co.uk here in the UK, so I sent my Leotax T2L off to him for a full service; I didn't realise at the time that he was only in his mid-20s.

There was a bit of a faff with the Leotax - he originally replaced the top plate with one from a parts camera he obtained to replace fungus-damaged optics in the viewfinder, so I had to send it back to get the original refitted - but it seems like he did a pretty good job, and it's running smoothly again now.

We're definitely going to need more folks like Pierro. Everyone else in the UK is either retiring, costs a fortune, or has huge wait times - or a combination of the three - so I hope more people follow in his footsteps.

Thank you for the link. Looks like some reasonably priced equipment there also.

I think that it is. There is a tech that I just discovered from this article: https://www.35mmc.com/20/04/2022/the...by-ryan-jones/

He's expanding his operation and training new techs. I'm not a good judge of age, but he appears relatively young.

Thank you for the link and article. Very interesting this theme appears again - i.e., space/time separation between shooting and viewing - and I think it's cool younger folks are experiencing this:

The film camera in the social setting combats the classic question that we are grappling with these days: if you go somewhere or do something, and you are on your phone capturing it the whole time, reviewing the images, posting them to social media, rinse and repeat, were you really there at all? Film provides a work around.

And then the magic happens. You clutch that camera, or roll of film and protect those memories greedily until you can take it to your local camera shop or ship it off. Perhaps the event fades in your mind, perhaps you dream about it or discuss it with peers, analyzing the social dynamics and events of the weekend. And then a week or two later, those moments are back in front of you, in prints or digital scans in stark relief. Those moments were able to live in your memory and accrue the true meaning and mediation that only occurs in human memory. So when you look at them again, with the passage of time between, they are richer photographs than if you saw them within the same 30 seconds they were created.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Thank you for the link and article. Very interesting this theme appears again - i.e., space/time separation between shooting and viewing - and I think it's cool younger folks are experiencing this...

You can recreate that feeling if, when you get back from shooting your digital camera, you put your SD card in a drawer. Just leave it there for a couple of days and savor that tingly feeling you get all over waiting to process it. It is a little like training your dog to wait by balancing a cookie on his nose. Wait...wait...wait...take it. Good boy! I'll leave to your imagination what the dog is thinking.

Query: if this space/time separation is such a compelling aspect of shooting film, how do you explain the rise of one hour processing during film's heyday? You never heard people say that they liked to send their film off for processing rather than having it done at MotoFoto because the anticipation of getting their film back in a week was so delicious. And then there is the enigma of Polaroid.

 

[das]

Ryan has been a tech at Pro Camera -- and it's great that he is striking out on his own and keeping the camera repair craft alive. Looking forward to following what he is up to on the socials.

Regarding any "delayed satisfaction" of film photography, that is certainly something that provides many some fulfillment. However, I interpret the film renaissance (along with other analog techs like cassette tapes, reel to reel machines, vinyl records, etc.) as some people "rebelling" in a low-level way against the digital age, especially by those who have known nothing else. I imagine for some younger folks, it must be somewhat exciting to discover that in the preceding era to when you were born, society produced music, photos, movies, and artwork using physical processes and mechanical objects. Like it or not, we live currently in an age where lives are dominated by computers, digital on-demand TV, and phones, existing in 1s or 0s, where all new technology incorporates planned obsolescence (filling landfills, strip mining the planet for metals and lithium), where corporations have theoretical access to any digital work you decide to share publicly, and where phones and computers contribute to the homogenization of culture. There is nothing wrong with wanting to reject that, at least in part. Also, some humans just like to "own" "real" things, and others are fine owning few things. In the end, most people will never take a photo, either on film or digital, that thousands of strangers will find to be great. So let's just live and let live.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Meanwhile one very good film photog purchased M10R...
Film cameras might be the novelty for young ones, but once you grown up, sooner or later you won't have time to wait in-line or develop, or waste money on mail-in.

Another factor of "won over" is huge forgiveness and awesomeness of film comparing to current digital cameras which are more and more on programing tool, rather than straight photography.
Fixed focus, one shutter speed, one aperture film camera gives more interesting picture (for some) than $$$$ A7something. 😀

As for main statement in the article, it is kind of stupid. Take digital camera images without chimping and wait as long as you want to import them to HDD. This is what I do often, no auto review, no chimping and importing sometimes after month of pictures where taken. Works like a charm to eliminate emotional attachment.

 

[zuiko85]

Interesting that in the photo she is holding the last model of the Olympus Pen half frame. Been a half frame fan for 50 years now but would never consider that camera because it is fixed focus and no manual control. It is a shame there are no new basic 35mm cameras that are full manual control with a range of shutter speeds, aperture selection and at least scale focusing. Wouldn’t even need a built in meter, just a exposure dial built in to the compact, spiral bound, carry with you instruction book.
One thought I keep thinking about is how in the world do these young folks afford a film hobby? Maybe it’s just that this old fart is way out of touch but what with cost of mailing, processing, and at least $10 for a 36x roll of color film total price can exceed $1 per shot!
I remind young folks that have asked me about shooting film that even if they pay $200-300 for a film camera that expense will soon become trivial compared to ongoing film and processing.

 

[ptpdprinter]

Film sales have increased 20 fold was the statement from one photography shop. That helps explain the (color) film shortage. I imagine so many of the young users mainly shoot color.

Here is the quote from the article:

“In the last two years, film sales have increased 20-fold and processing has quadrupled,” he says."

So if film sales are up 20x, but processing is only up 4x, what happened to all those other rolls of film? Are we to infer that most people are doing their own processing and scanning at home?

 

[punkzter]

Here is the quote from the article:

“In the last two years, film sales have increased 20-fold and processing has quadrupled,” he says."

So if film sales are up 20x, but processing is only up 4x, what happened to all those other rolls of film? Are we to infer that most people are doing their own processing and scanning at home?

That would be one reasonable explanation. It's also possible that there is a lot of film going into freezers. But I know that I shoot more film after I started developing myself.

 

[bluesun267]

These kind of articles are by nature limited in scope, rely heavily on tired platitudes, etc. It happens every time a complex subject is distilled for wider (mainstream) understanding. The key takeaway is that the subject is important enough to warrant the attention. That was not the case until recently.

What irks me most is the subtle and not-so-subtle tone of dismissiveness towards film photography that keeps cropping up here and in other forums ad nauseum. Yeah we get that you've seen it all before and you're too smart or emotionally advanced to doddle in ancient history. Talk about clichés.

I guess being a Gen Xer in 2022 leaves me in a strange, in-between sort of place. Not young enough to be cool, not old enough to rest on my laurels (or retire).

I've been cringing and pleasantly trying to ignore the petty jabs since the Sony Mavica came out, if not before.

 

[Mos6502]

A lot of people have commented (not in this thread, but in similar threads, for more than a decade now) that film photography would one day be seen the same way oil painting is. It wasn't going away ever, but it was going to settle into its own niche in the art world, and more or less be left untouched by most, except for pros and serious amateurs. The sentiment behind this thought is more or less correct, but the major difference is that photography in and of itself is more accessible than painting, and that includes film photography. People enjoy the craft involved in film photography, and the tactile satisfaction of working with physical media is lacking in digital workflows, that plus the accessibility of photography places film is a much better position vs. oil painting for the hobbyists of the general public. It shouldn't be surprising that people are returning to film, less for snapshots, more for the experience or art of it.