Photoworks no longer does film

Vonder · Mar 13, 2009

Just read this today... ironic, really, in that I haven't been to their website in years, and picked today to go see what they were up to!

http://www.photoworks.com/photo-film/

nickandre · Mar 13, 2009

wa wa waaah

nickrapak · Mar 13, 2009

Photoworks developing == Qualex developing.

'Nuff said

Ektagraphic · Mar 13, 2009

The Kodak Gallery just stopped too....

Jeff Kubach · Mar 14, 2009

I hate to see that happening. I geuss that they are not making enough profit on film processing.

Jeff

nickandre · Mar 14, 2009

Amateurs don't want to use film. It's the hypnotoad brainwaves. We just need more people like my grandma, or maybe some people to convince budding amateur photographers that film is cool. Granted nobody is ever going to use film for snapshooting of family pics (except me) but there are people who could be persuaded to use film.

clayne · Mar 16, 2009

tiberiustibz said:
Amateurs don't want to use film. It's the hypnotoad brainwaves. We just need more people like my grandma, or maybe some people to convince budding amateur photographers that film is cool. Granted nobody is ever going to use film for snapshooting of family pics (except me) but there are people who could be persuaded to use film.

I couldn't agree more.

That sad thing is that consumers have typically always had their head up their collective ass as far as quality and approach in photography. I guess that's why we have photographers. Additionally, people are led to believe they can do many things on their own - but 99% of them don't want to take the time to actually learn a craft. They go around shooting color everything when color just gets in the way, don't get close enough, compose in horribly bad ways, and/or just execute all wrong without taking the time to reflect on mistakes or error. I'd like to think a simple photography class could help immensely but honestly I don't think if it's important to them they'll care enough.

I find family "snaps" on film, done right, to come out quite full of life and withstanding the effects of age better than any digital medium out there. Linear curves (digital) just don't do it for us.

I personally have never taken a single course in photography (then again I can rebuild an engine and haven't taken a course in that either). The one thing I did do is open my eyes and spend a lot of time looking at other great work and learning how to see.

cmacd123 · Mar 16, 2009

from a usability standposint it is not a great loss, Photoworks was not known for their outstanding work, but it will reinforce the "they don't do film anymore" mindset.

Lukas Werth · Mar 20, 2009

Just for the uninitiated: what sort of company is photoworks anyway? (was not obvious on the website)

srs5694 · Mar 20, 2009

PhotoWorks started life as Seattle FilmWorks. Originally, they bought short ends of motion picture (process ECN-2) film, loaded it into 35mm still camera cartridges, and sold it to consumers for use as a still film. Actually, that's not quite accurate, since their economic model was one of "free" film returned with each roll of film sent for processing. This had the advantage (for them) of a product lock-in -- few other photofinishers would process ECN-2 film, so once you started using the stuff, you either had to throw or give it away or keep using their services.

In the 1990s, they switched from ECN-2 film to C-41 film, but they initially tried to hide that fact by giving their film some other process name ("process SFW" or some such). Thus, they became just another mail-order film photofinisher. At some point they changed their name and, like most photofinishers, began an increasing emphasis on digital imaging rather than film photography. Discontinuing film processing is just the latest step along that road.

TerryM · Mar 28, 2009

These "specialty" Photo Stores are not going to be very profitable. They have to charge high prices to pay for the cost of operating Stores. Qualex would have been viable if it hadn't vested so much of its business in Walmart who summarily dumped them! Qualex also conducted daily delivery which is too expensive. I'm advising Fuji on how to take over Qualex's business, and to cut delivery costs to their affiliated Stores. Delivery costs are the one part of Film developing where there is room to cut out the fat.

tiberiustibz said:
Granted nobody is ever going to use film for snapshooting of family pics (except me) but there are people who could be persuaded to use film.

People who don't use Film to capture their precious family memories will be very sorry in ten years hence when they can't find their Digital Picture Files!

thisismyname09 · Mar 28, 2009

TerryM said:
People who don't use Film to capture their precious family memories will be very sorry in ten years hence when they can't find their Digital Picture Files!

too true. Digital information is too easy to lose, unless the said person happens to be a backup-psychopath.

My family's had a digital camera since 5 or 4 years ago and honestly I think none of the pictures taken on it still exist, whereas I've still got a 8x10(i think?) color negative of my very young self and my grandfather floating around the house somewhere.

jordanstarr · Mar 28, 2009

I still have photos from my grade 10 photography class of my friends and I goofing off and trying to learn the art of photography. I also have negatives from countless snowboard trips and other memory-saving moments. However, I can't find that digital file of a photo that got published in Guitar Player Magazine (2006) to save my life that was only 2 years ago.

Leighgion · Feb 16, 2010

I have every digital picture I've cared to keep since 2002 and many before that on my current main computer and also backed up, but there's negatives from last year that I've mislaid and one strip that almost got accidentally thrown out in the trash.

SilverGlow · Feb 16, 2010

TerryM said:
People who don't use Film to capture their precious family memories will be very sorry in ten years hence when they can't find their Digital Picture Files!

You mean like the billions across the globe that have severely damaged unprintable negatives in their possession? Deteriorated prints? You mean to tell me some digital shooters are in that same boat?

Lets get real, unemotional, and knock off the religion, and xenophobia, shall we? The TRUTH is digital shooters and film shooters that don't archive PROPERLY will be sorry in the decades to come.

I love film no less then the next poster here, but lets stop with the bashing and outright lies about other photographic media ;-)

It's all good, and instead of focusing on the medium, lets focus on the pictures, the compositions, when done right, transcend the medium.

marylandphoto · Feb 16, 2010

tiberiustibz said:
Amateurs don't want to use film. It's the hypnotoad brainwaves. We just need more people like my grandma, or maybe some people to convince budding amateur photographers that film is cool. Granted nobody is ever going to use film for snapshooting of family pics (except me) but there are people who could be persuaded to use film.

This "budding" amateur, barely a quarter century old, shoots film 90% of the time.

clayne · Feb 16, 2010

SilverGlow said:
It's all good, and instead of focusing on the medium, lets focus on the pictures, the compositions, when done right, transcend the medium.

Take a good hard look at the way film responds to light. Composition is one thing - but light is another. I've seen plenty of well composed and well lit crap, yes, but light and film work together. Perhaps my eyes are just fucked or too oldschool for the current crop of Facebook addicted digital-universe kids - but I know the medium when I see it and I know why I choose this medium (film).

Photoworks no longer does film

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