Everyone has their own reasons for using film. For me it's the enduring nature of the physical images. I just resurrected a series of memories from my high school days that have been patiently waiting in their negatives for more than half a century.
Nine years ago, the future of film photography looked so dim that I bought an old Graflex 4x5, took a series of courses at the George Eastman Museum, and learned how to make simple B&W emulsions so that I might coat my own glass plates or AZO-type printing paper. It now appears that I was ahead of the curve by a decade or two, but the writing is still on the wall for most commercially manufactured analog photo products and processes, especially color.
We must accept the fact that the photographic technologies of the 20th century that most of us have known for a lifetime were all enabled by a worldwide mass market that no longer exists.
There will always be small numbers of faithful devotees who hunt with black powder muskets, paint with water colors, play mechanical pianos, farm with horses, write with fountain pens or record images with silver halide. The key word here is "small". Commercial films or products for photochemical fans will be limited and expensive, while all else will have to be home-brewed. Cameras will either be carefully preserved antiques, hand-crafted luxuries or plastic simulcra. Lenses will be treasured originals, adapted from digital devices or even manually shaped and polished.
Life will go on though. Mechanical shutters will click and prints will be made. Hobbyists and artists will get to do their thing just like before, except that it will all be increasingly slow, laborious and costly. Ironically, the results will surely be much more valued and appreciated because of the effort involved, and the process more enjoyable without any worries about keeping up with the latest gear and gadgets.
