DREW WILEY
Allowing Ads
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2011
- Messages
- 15,222
- Format
- 8x10 Format
I was at our local store again yesterday. A whole sea change there in terms of new clientele and even staff, many of whom have little knowledge of traditional techniques. They still have a very good selection of 35mm, 120, and 4x5 sheet film, in both black and white and color (no 8x10), but very little darkroom paper any more except in small sizes (8X10 and 11X14), and only a tiny amount of darkroom chemicals compared to before. All that space is now taken up with inkjet papers. I understand. People who need serious darkroom supplies have largely converted to big internet dealers like B&H and Freestyle with better pricing, leaving them just the odd quickie sale. Still, that walk-in convenience model kept them running for decades before.
Business now involves a lot of new digital camera and accessory sales, but also refurbished used film cameras and their lenses in all formats. Used Nikons are especially popular, and film use still is going strong locally. But most people have that film developed and inkjet printed by local specialty labs instead of doing it themselves. Prior to the pandemic, this same store hosted its own beginner darkroom courses; and they still plan to start that back up once it's realistic pandemic-wise. But those kind of classes just need the token sizes of discount printing paper they keep on the shelves. Everyone knows students have little money to spend, since they already spent most of it on their Starbucks addiction earlier the same day. Once they graduate from the University with a degree in Computer Science, they'll land a 150K job in Silicon Valley, marry someone at the same workplace also earning 150K, and that will bring them enough joint income to buy a rusty camper shell down on the marsh halfway flooded at high tide, with no extra income or space for either furniture or a darkroom. So it goes.
Business now involves a lot of new digital camera and accessory sales, but also refurbished used film cameras and their lenses in all formats. Used Nikons are especially popular, and film use still is going strong locally. But most people have that film developed and inkjet printed by local specialty labs instead of doing it themselves. Prior to the pandemic, this same store hosted its own beginner darkroom courses; and they still plan to start that back up once it's realistic pandemic-wise. But those kind of classes just need the token sizes of discount printing paper they keep on the shelves. Everyone knows students have little money to spend, since they already spent most of it on their Starbucks addiction earlier the same day. Once they graduate from the University with a degree in Computer Science, they'll land a 150K job in Silicon Valley, marry someone at the same workplace also earning 150K, and that will bring them enough joint income to buy a rusty camper shell down on the marsh halfway flooded at high tide, with no extra income or space for either furniture or a darkroom. So it goes.
