The comeback?

[jtk]

I don't believe it has to do with the resale value but rather an acknowledgement and appreciation of the fact that it was hand made. Non-musical analogy: A serving from the soup pot will taste the same if served in a bowl thrown, glazed and fired by a potter or in a plastic bowl from walmart. One just provides a more elegant dining experience.

A fine contemporary print is more likely to be made in this era by hand via inkjet than by hand via a chemical process.

 

[blockend]

People buy comic books with the resale value in mind. I think most people willing to pay serious money for photographic prints are doing so with at least some thought to their value, which includes long term resale value.

If someone buys a print for fifty quid because they think it'll look good on the wall, their investment is in interior furnishing. If they pay a grand or two on a print by name photographer, you can bet they have one eye on its future value.

 

[jtk]

"a grand or two" isn't big money to patrons and there's virtually no resale market. And of course, most "names" seem to sell big, decorative inkjet ptints(e.g.landscapes).

 

[Berkeley Mike]

One of my colleagues says of LA galleries that their photos are priced by the square inch.

 

[Agulliver]

Anecdotes only but I've spent time chatting with one of the proprietors of my local camera shop in recent weeks. Film processing is definitely on the up, indeed the lady who handles that says she really could lock herself up in the shop for 48 hours in order to make an attempt at catching up. Processing by mail order is up, and just today she sold three Olympus film cameras.

The store does do the latest digital gear but also sells darkroom supplies from paper to chemicals.....and a few recent inquiries about slide projectors has lead them to retrieve some from storage and put them on the shelves.

I still think something is tangibly changing. When I spoke to staff in a camera shop in Wales they said the same....film sales up, inquiries about film gear up....and usually from young people. Bear in mind I was also probably the oldest person in that shop at the time, aged 46. It's not just old farts.

 

[OGTrout]

Oh hi. I'm one of those young people (28) involved in the comeback, but I sort of just stumbled into it by mistake.
My girlfriend did film photography and darkroom printing in college just over 10 years ago. Didn't touch it for a long time, then a few years ago did an evening class in printing. She had most of the kit for printing (enlarger, trays etc) and maybe once a year or so would re-purpose the bathroom as a darkroom.
Then last year she was complaining that she didn't have any negatives to print, I said I'd buy a cheap camera and take some snaps and give them to her to print. I bought a cheap Trip 35, it was the first time I'd used a camera in about 15 years, the last time being when I had a short spell with a Practika I'd bought at a bootsale before something broke inside it. I very much enjoyed having a

Anyway I put a roll of film through it, gave it to my partner to develop, then a few days later we went to a local darkroom and she showed me how to print. I fell in love with it, I spent most of the last summer (the hottest in years) stood in the dark, learning to print.
I moved through a few different cameras, compact rangefinders, point and shoots, SLRs and I recently got a 6x6 system. I've replaced our small 35mm enlarger with a Durst 6x6, and I've slowly been building up our darkroom at home, increasing my chemical knowledge, improving my printing skills, learning new processes. I've got plans to increase my dry space, get some running water and waste in there, hopefully before winter if funds and time are generous.

I've still got a long way to go, I never did art or photography formally or informally. I don't think I'm a particularly good photographer, I have the occasional hit and a lot of near misses ("the real photo should've been from this angle"), but I think I'm okay printer. The darkroom is what I really enjoy, I enjoy working through a print, building it up. I'd be just as happy printing other people's negatives. I like that it gets me away from computers (which I work with and hate everyday) and I didn't really have a proper hobby before.

All through this I didn't realise there was a film revival going on, I only picked it up because of a throwaway comment, I don't really know any other photographers (other than a friend who I gave his first camera, and he prints in my garage) so

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Oh hi. I'm one of those young people (28) involved in the comeback, but I sort of just stumbled into it by mistake.

This is a great story of your conversion to film. Thank you for sharing and keep having fun!

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Oh hi. I'm one of those young people (28) involved in the comeback, but I sort of just stumbled into it by mistake.
...

Nice story. Welcome to the forums and enjoy your new hobby!

 

[KenS]

I have to admit that I have taken a somewhat two-pronged approach in my 'post retirement' years after those many years under the dark-cloth... and now I have 'combined' my film/digital approach. I scan my 4x5 negatives and print a little larger (around 8x10) inches onto Pictorico 'film' and now print onto 'water-colour' paper and using the 'archaic' print processes using my home-built UV light source. It has proven to be a bit more 'labourious' and 'time consuming'... as well as more 'hands on' work... but has proven to be somewhat more 'satisfying' than the 'commercial' B/W paper print

Ken