Film isn't any more likely to die out than wooden spoked wheels. No way. And on the plus side, I expect that with by our particular passion we will not have to grow a beard, wear a flat topped hat and eschew electricity. So it's all looking good.
But on a serious note; film is going to die. None of us wants it, however none of us would have taken seriously the future, say ten years ago. We would have scoffed at and shreaded that nut (from the future) who would have predicted that what has happened over the last ten years, back then. So what makes us any more reliable for predicting film's next ten? And we shake our heads at Kodak about not waking up and getting it?
I read things here about strategy. Bit by bit it slips. First ... no film is not going to die. Then; well perhaps Kodachrome. But you can just move to other film. Next Velvia. Ditto. Change what you shoot. Perhaps color film may die off it is sometimes conceded, here in 2012. But we can change to, ummm, yeah, black and white. Well for some people "film" WAS Kodachrome. Perhaps velvia was what kept your camera off the shelf. Those will be some great black and white sunsets I'm going to shoot in a few years!
Every time another product is discontinued or the price raised, somewhere for someone .... film dies. You turn is coming - somewhere. We are in the middle of the death of film, all of us seeing it accelerate like a car, already off the road, stuck accelerator - wall up ahead. That strikes me as an odd time for bravado. yeah, sure we are still alive. Someone will rescue us. That wall will move.
In 2004 and then more in 2006 I re-entered the film world after slowly being disenchanted more and more with digital. Actually, I like digital in as much as I can get the photos I want and photos I am proud of. But something was/is lacking for me. At that time I was worried because I thought the writing was on the wall. I thought film scanners may one day disappear. I had the Nikon coolscan 5000 but wanted the 9000. That was a lot of money though and I wanted to buy film and film gear (and did) but I had this nagging feeling. People said "don't worry, it will never die" well the Epson 750 I have now as a consolation prize ... does not substitute. Fortunately I now have a full darkroom and have moved on from the need or desire to scan. In 2008 as film prices started to creep upwards I said to myself "if you are going to do film ... really stick to you guns" I set a ceiling of 5 dollars per roll of film. That was kind of a pchychologically important step for me because back then it felt outrageous to pay a price like that for a roll of 35 or 120. It was liberating in a funny way to give myself permission to spend no matter what the cost! I was serious about it.
Well, I've just recently upgraded that figure to 15 dollars a roll. That works for me because I don't want to get stuck on cost.
I know that this post of mine does not seem very positive. My issue is not with film. It is with the blind pretend that all is ok and we will somehow come out of this car-wreck ok. I don't think we will. I'd like to then instead suggest that we square ourselves with the fact that everything dies and now the mortician seems to be talking in slow, sad, soothing tones to film's loved ones. Naw, lets wake up to the facts so we can get on with things. I just ordered 100 rolls of neopan 120,because I don't trust Fuji's commitment to film any better than its commitment to movie film, but I do like neopan and it is still cheap. A gallon of gas or a roll? I'll take the roll, while I can.
I encourage others to see that film is dead, or will be in a few days or weeks. And then get on and shoot more of it than last year. Don't take it for granted, the way we do with breathing. The end IS nigh.
