Is there really a strong interest in film photography?

Pieter12

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The pharmaceutical and retirement living and cruise ship industries would beg to differ.
After all, it is a group that is growing, and constantly being replenished.
But will the fresh replacements be interested in film photography? If its Gen Z that is driving the new interest in film, there is going to be a big gap. Film might survive, but I doubt it will grow and flourish. It will remain a niche market.

And not all Seniors/Boomers take cruises. A death trap if you ask me, being cooped up with a bunch of old farts in a disease breeding ground.
 

Pieter12

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That's OK, I already have you blocked. I just don't subscribe to the blindly rosy outlook some do. I consider myself a realist.
 

faberryman

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And not all Seniors/Boomers take cruises. A death trap if you ask me, being cooped up with a bunch of old farts in a disease breeding ground.
Who in their right mind would want to spend a week in a floating hotel with a couple of thousand other people who want to spend a week in a floating hotel with a couple of thousand other people?
 

MattKing

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Discussions about site policies respecting posting behavior really don't belong in the normal threads - please either communicate directly with moderators, or in some situations raise an issue in feedback and discussion.
However, speaking generally, the tool referenced is the "Ignore" function, not a "blocking" function.
And while the reasons that people are put on Ignore clearly vary greatly, it appears fairly clear that one of the major reasons is boredom with the member's posts!
I'm relatively new to the fold, but since I've been on duty, no bans have been based on this factor.
 
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You don't mind old farts too much once you become one.
 

Helge

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Nope.

If you want to ignore someone, by all means do so, without any drama.

Well that’s what was explained to me. Might have changed though.

And no drama. I think it’s kind of callous to just ignore someone.


Well, just goes to show how little I use it.
Mainly thought it was fair, considering that I actually appreciate some other of Pieters posts.

That's OK, I already have you blocked. I just don't subscribe to the blindly rosy outlook some do. I consider myself a realist.

Yet you reply to this?

Yeah that’s the line that you continue using. A “realist”, pessimist, cynic, gloom-monger call it what you will, can in whatever small way, help push the world in their biased direction.
And in this case it’s very hard to see a good reason from whatever twisted viewpoint or stance.

Plus it’s tiring and frustrating when it’s obviously not true, and you continue doggedly pushing the same line, without responding to, listening to or acknowledging counters.
With that worldview everything could be a fad.
 

Craig

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And not all Seniors/Boomers take cruises. A death trap if you ask me, being cooped up with a bunch of old farts in a disease breeding ground.

Of course not every single senior takes a cruise, but plenty do; more than enough to be a very profitable and growing industry ( covid excepted). Not all cruises are giant ships with thousands of people either.

Why all the doom and gloom? Of course film photography is a niche market, but that doesn't mean it can't be viable or profitable either. Classic car restoration parts is a niche industry too, and last year it was worth £7 billion to the UK economy alone.
 

Pieter12

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It’s not gloom and doom. Just my opinion. I would love for there to be a resurgence of film, but beyond what seems to me to be a faddish interest in 35mm color film, I only hope it can make a difference for the rest of the photo industry. There really aren’t any new film cameras being made and support for the ones still out there. Same for enlargers. When I tell others that I shoot film, they look at me like I have a horn growing out of my forehead. Other film photographers generally encourage me like we’re some sort of dying breed or secret society. Most photographers that I have known from my time as an advertising art director have abandoned film entirely and for the most part don’t miss it at all.
 

Helge

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Personal and anecdotal experience should always be approached highly critically. Especially by the originator.
It’s one sample point statistics in one sense.

You might live in a place that is not like others.
You might have a social circle that is not in touch with what is happening in photography. Or not in touch at all.

We have sources from all over the globe telling us of varying amounts of long lasting and growing resurgence. Especially in global trendsetting hot spots. Like New York, Berlin, DC, Rome, Milano, Tokyo, London etc.
It’s absolutely undeniable.
Yet you chose to ignore that completely.

My personal experience, for what it’s worth, is that people are super enthusiastic and positive around use of film and film cameras. Even if they don’t participate themselves.
I’ve only once or twice met with curmudgeonly attitudes, like “it’s a waste of money”, or the worn out hipster trope.
 

Craig

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There are plenty of film cameras being made, particularly in large format. I bought a new Chaminoux this spring and had to go on a waiting list for months to get one, as they couldn't produce them fast enough to meet demand. Ilford has been reporting increasing sales of all their products for a number of years now. If you think this is just a passing blip of 35mm colour film, you're really not seeing what is happening in the industry at large.

As for advertising photographers, prior to 15ish years ago they all used film simply as a means to an end - that's all there was and they didn't use it out of a love for the medium. Of course digital is better suited to a commercial workflow, that's never been debated. But commercial photographers are not what is driving the increase of film use, it's artists and hobbyists who do use film for being film. Just like the car parts market I mentioned isn't being driven by building new Toyotas, Fords etc, it's individuals doing restorations of 1966 Jaguar E Types and spending $200K to do so.
 
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MattKing

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Personal and anecdotal experience should always be approached highly critically. Especially by the originator.
It’s one sample point statistics in one sense.

Perhaps this is true if one is creating an in-depth analysis of societal and market trends.
But I don't think we are set up well for that here.
We are better set up for functioning as a clearing house for the personal and anecdotal. Given the international flavour of Photrio, we might actually be particularly well suited for that clearing house role.
I have no problem with someone sharing their pessimistic outlook, plus their concern about how some of the positive information seen elsewhere seems high in enthusiasm but low in data.
That is part of the clearing house.
But donning the moderator's hat for a moment, I would say that we don't favour members criticizing other members for holding a differing opinion. You can however feel free to challenge the substance of that differing opinion, and to state the reasons why your opinion differs.
Moderator's hat off again.
 
  • jtk
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jtk

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My all-time favorite cameras were Leica 2F and those negs nikonscan/inkjet beautifully.

If "Kodak" or even Eastman Kodak produced or re-branded a fairly good film camera (of any format) I'd bet their shareholders would rejoice. But those companies do know what the rest of us also know...
 
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Tylaar

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The first and best answer so far, seconded by Sirius Glass' quips.

Same reason we still warm up valve amps on a Sunday morning and play Coltrane on vinyl …… there’s pleasure in the process and the tactile nature of the equipment as well at the audio output ………..
 

guangong

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Same reason we still warm up valve amps on a Sunday morning and play Coltrane on vinyl …… there’s pleasure in the process and the tactile nature of the equipment as well at the audio output ………..

My wife-to-be way back then bought me A Love Supreme album as a present when it was first released.
 

Agulliver

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Being cooped up in a big boat with hundreds of people (probably mostly old folk) and occasionally docking somewhere interesting isn't my idea of fun either....but I am not going to knock it. Plenty of people don't think we are in our right minds for shooting film.

If I do ever go on a cruise, I'm taking a sh!t load of film cameras and film with me.
 

MattKing

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The river cruises look like they might be fun.
And if you can afford one, you probably don't need to look for a $10 Leica
 

Sirius Glass

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I took a cruise to the Greek Islands on Alpha Omega Cruise lines. Our ship was the first to leave each port and the last one into the next port. The schedule was set up so that one could only take their excursions and local transportation was out of synch so much that one could not use it. We were never at port at night so we could not try the local restaurants. Years later we went back, flew to each island and stayed a minimum of three days and flew to the next island. That was a much more enjoyable and much better vacation. We actually got to see and do things. Besides we were not trapped in a petri dish waiting to be attacked by a virus.
 
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The boats are huge and have entertainment and great food. There's plenty of alcohol if you like to get loaded. Just don't fall off the ship. The ships stop at ports every day sometimes two. And you book excursions at the various ports for sightseeing. It's nice to check in and unpack once as you sail around from city to city.

I live near NYC so have taken cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, Bahamas, and Bermuda where I can conveniently drive and park or take a cab from home to the ship departure point in New Jersey or Manhattan. I've even flown up to your Canada and took a ship back from Quebec City to NYC stopping in great towns in Canada and Maine. My first cruise twenty or thirty years ago was from your BC province - the Alaskan inside passage out of Vancouver. That was one of the best if not the best. Watching the mountains pass by from your cabin balcony was great and terrific for pictures. Here's one I took at Hubbard Glacier with a medium format camera Mamiya RB67.

 
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What were they rowing? Sounds like a slave ship. What kind of food did they serve? Gruel?
 

Sirius Glass

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Cruises can work for places one cannot fly or drive to such as the Norwegian Fiords or the inner islands of Alaska. But to see places that one can travel to one their own, they trap one into only offered excursions at the cruise lines profit and keep one from spending time to get to see the location's life, such as nightlife and restaurants, and do not provide enough time to wander around. Just in and out, wham, bam, thank you mam!
 

Sirius Glass

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What were they rowing? Sounds like a slave ship. What kind of food did they serve? Gruel?

A slave ship would have been better. Even the air conditioning on the ship was out of order.
 
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There's truth in what you say. What we do is add on a few days before or after the cruise. So when we cruised Alaska, we stayed an additional three days in a Vancouver hotel renting a car sightseeing up to the ski resort, Vancouver Island, Burkart Gardens, and Victoria. When we cruised down from Quebec CIty, we flew up there a day or two early and stayed in the grand hotel Le Chateau Frontenac up there eating the best French dinner I ever had as well as touring the area by rental car. You have to be flexible and think out of the box. Just add a stay for a few days at the port of departure for the ship.
https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/fa...le_property_sr=1&from=searchresults#hotelTmpl
 
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A slave ship would have been better. Even the air conditioning on the ship was out of order.

Well, at least you wouldn't get Legionnaire's disease.

That is one downside to cruising. Disease can be spread easily. Of course, you could do what newlyweds do on a honeymoon. Lock yourselves in your cabin and have them deliver your meals.
 
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