Another battle in the war on film

I forget how fortunate I am. I live across the lake from Seattle.

I've got Kenmore Camera a mile north. They have plenty of older film cameras, gear, film, etc.

Down a few miles south is Omega Photo who does 35mm/120 color and b&w film processing. They take slides but send them across the lake. Over there, Panda does all sorts of processing. We also have 60 Minute Photo over there, though I haven't been to either.

On the gear/film side, Seattle Glazers which is fairly well equipped and Camera Techs. I purchased plenty of film at Glazers but haven't made it to Camera Techs yet [I haven't been there yet but I've met one of the guys there - seem like good, knowledgeable people]

Bteween all of the support and a few passionate film users, I know a good dozen digital photographers who have started mixing in film (or shooting mostly film) over the last year.

Its easy to forget how fortunate we are.
 
healyzh said:
How much of this is the whole, "Keep Portland Wierd" thing? Not that I'm complaining. It's reached the point where I walk into the Lab I use in Portland and they either fill out a new envelop from memory, or they start ringing up what I brought in the last time. It is nice to find service like that in this day and age!

I normally buy my film, chemistry and my gear from these local shops, though there are exceptions, like the 4x5 lens I bought today. The one local business that has lost some of my business is the lab, as they lost my B&W work, since I've started doing all that myself, but they've gained my 35mm colour, as I'm no longer happy with the results from Costco (they've really gone down hill). So in the long run, they've probably come out ahead. They get more lab business from me, and I buy more film and chemicals from them.
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Yup, we do like it weird here. I like walking into Citizens Photo and having them know my name. Also, the guy at Hollywood Camera can fix anything mechanical it seems! 😀
 
Yeah I'm really looking forward to seeing my NYC negatives. I ended up taking a lot of photos while underground tending to trains and the like. Subways are very photo-inspiring for some reason.

It's also nice to discuss such a topic on a global scale. Representstives from the USA, Japan, Austrailia, Ireland, Canada, Belgium, and England have all touched on their own film woes. I guess mankinds problems are pretty similar regardless of location huh? Thanks for the regional input everyone, it's nice to hear what's going on with film globally.
 
Some things I can't get from the local place...then, I may order from Freestyle. But they stock the films I love (they even had TXP right up to the end, I still have 3 boxes left) and most of the papers too.
Bless their heart, they even have Rodinal.
 
I'm lucky... Here in Singapore, we still have a Ruby Photo with almost everything I need... mainly Ilford stuffs though. Stocks keep running out so I buy spares to keep. Other than that, I'm happy!
 
unixrevolution said:
It's not this way everywhere. The Penn Camera branch I like still sells a bunch of Film stuff. Other camera shops I've been in, in Williamsburg VA and Milford, CT, had scads of B&W on the shelves, and store space for secondhand cameras, developer and fixer.

Film is dead. Long live film!
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I've mentioned it before. Dominion Camera in Falls Church, for those in the VA, DC, MD area, still sells film and used film cameras. It has a couple of bins of used filters and such. They also develop on site, including all formats from 35mm to 4x5, giving prints as desired. It is fairly accessible from 495 at the Rt 7 exit east. You can also send them film by mail, but I think they still require in-store pick-up of the developed film.
 
Spyro said:
Αctually I think that freestylephoto is a new kind of bastion that didnt exist before.
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Of course it existed... I think the first time I bought stuff from Freestyle.. I must have been in Elementary school.. and they were still on Hollywood and.. In High School I used to get all my film and papers from them.. and sometimes later when passing through town.. heck.. the last time I was in the shop I think George Bush (Sr.!) was still President... Back then they were the place to get Oriental Paper, cheap East-Block film and really cheap but stale film and outdated papers.. oh.. and all kinds of oddball surplus stuff.. Just the thing for school kids.. When one had a bit more to spend the money went to places like Sammy's....
I don't think Freestyle has changed much.. only the world around it! 🙂
 
Buy from B&H and get a year supply at a time. Get 200 feet, a few bags of D76, Xtol, or mix your D76. Fix comes in powder and that works for non t grain film so they ship that.
 
Dominion Camera- been around for a long time, I went there in 1970.

Freestyle- did a lot of phone orders way before the Internet.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
Dominion Camera- been around for a long time, I went there in 1970.

Freestyle- did a lot of phone orders way before the Internet.
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I have only been in the area since 1987, but didn't discover Dominion Camera until around 2000 when visiting the local Kaiser, it is probably under new management, but still chugging along.

I was buying Adox and other stuff from Freestyle while in Korea, about 1975 if memory serves correctly.

EDIT: Some one mentioned Penn. They have several stores in the area. The one near Springfield Mall used to have some friendly and knowledgeable folks and supported film users. I am told the one in Tysons is bigger with more offerings, but no doubt more expensive due to the location.
 
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anitasanger said:
So I've been out of the black and white game for about 3 years...

I walked to the back of the store where they've always kept the darkroom chemistry. The shelves were loaded down with tripods, lighting equipment, pelican gear, SD cards and every other DSLR knick-knack one could imagine - but no chemistry. Oh well, it had been several years since I'd been in to buy chemicals, they'd probably moved them. I scoured the store high and low, to no avail. I flagged down a store worker and asked him where they'd moved the d76, rapid fixer, stop bath, etc…

The man looked at me as if I had sprouted 3 heads and a pair of feathered wings. "Oh no, we haven't carried chemistry for about two years, he said."
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Of course they stopped selling chemicals, it's people like you who stopped buying.
 
I have to drive for an hour to buy film for ridiculous prices - tri-x is about $10us a roll, for a roll of 400vc about $15us, and for a good slide film roll like provia about $30us.

Pricks.
 
Film does not equal digital. And therefor digital will not substitute film.

The Netherlands were an early adaptor on digital and now are an early adaptor on the comeback of film. Sales are rising again. My local shop stocks film again, as do others.

Fotohuis RoVo (owned by fellow RFF-member Robert Vonk) stocks new films from Rollei and earlier this month announced they are again stocking Amaloco chemistry, which has not been available to them for five years. It was re-introduced for the old (!) price, so I guess they are testing the market. Fotohuis RoVo recently has launched a mail-in film development service, as has ArsImago in Switzerland.

Rollei have announced they will continue TLR productions after all.

Macodirect.de sell 50 sheets of Efke 100 ASA 4x5 film for EUR 43 (lots cheaper than Ilford and Rollei and a fine film, too!), and are carrying lot of other sizes of (sheet!) film as well as chemistry. They ship throughout EU, possibly worldwide?

Those ignorant shop salesmen will have to read up on film very soon, film is on the rebound.
 
My local store has changed a lot since a visit 3 years ago and last year. Back then they had a HUGE selection of film on the shelf, refridgerator and freezer. Dark room supplies and equipment section that was great. I ended up buying buying a selection of bricks of b&w and color print film from their freezer and freezing it at home; sufficient for a few years of shooting. Yeah, they gave a good deal as it was all short dated from the bottom, they did not rotate it as normal. Last time I went in, no darkroom equipment or supplies. only 35mm film was Kodak asa400 print film, think Gold, but not sure. No 220 and a small supply of 120 only in bricks as they still had a decent number of MF wedding photographers coming in according to the manager but as the film orders were getting smaller, the discounts for quantity buying were not as good resulting in higher customer prices and they expected to eliminate film altogether within the year. I've had not reason to go back so do not know if the prediction came true.

Another local, part of a chain of photo developers/camera stores was very sad. Neither of the clerks knew what I was saying when I asked for 120 film. Why it was so sad was that on the wall, there were a few rolls sitting gathering dust and neither clerk even knew they were film or film came in other than 4 packs of 35mm. I bought all the 120 and dumped it into the freezer so it did not hit the dumpster.
 
Guess I compromised--or sold out, depending on your point of view. Still shoot film--but I scan it in to my computer, and work it up with Photoshop....
 
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