Time to stop buying film

RattyMouse said:

I'd give ANNNYYYYTTHIINNNGGG to be able to live in Japan. A more fascinating place on earth to me does not exist.
I always would come back from a week in Japan with 40, 50, even 60 rolls of film shot. My fingers would be literally raw from rewinding my Fuji GF rangefinders so much.

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I always come back with a ton of film to develop! I try to get back every couple of years. A very fascinating and inspirational land, where the people actually respect us artists and teachers!

I think I place an order for film 2-3 times a year. I tend to buy large-ish amounts but when you are shooting three different film formats you tend to run low on one type of film or another. Life got a lot easier when I stopped shooting color, now I basically just need to worry about FP4 and HP5. I stopped freezing film although I do have a large pile of expired 4x5 film in the freezer that I've been given, several hundred sheets at least.

Paper, on the other hand... I have more 5x7 and 8x10 paper than I will use in a lifetime. I use 11x14 the most but even then I've got at least a dozen more boxes to work through. All of it given to me by people shutting down their darkrooms. It's mostly RC paper so I still have to buy fiber paper. Plus then you need warmtone fiber paper. And of course I buy special paper for lith printing. And rag paper for alt process. And....

I've got a decent stash but I'm always looking for more. I've got maybe 10 rolls left of C-41 and another 10 of ECN-2. That'll last me a few years. I'm burning through stocks of expired b&w though. I got some nifty Oly point and shoots and it's given me a fresh perspective. I also went from shooting slow films and making the best of it to preferring 400 and faster. When I started I would throw anything into the camera and just click away. I think I've learned a bit since then...

eddie said:

What stands out ( for me) in your post isn’t how much film you’ve stocked, it’s that you’re “ rarely finding anything worth shooting”. Time to light a fire, and find something worthwhile.

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You've got that right! I've been in that situation for the last year or so. Trying hard to get back my enthusiasm.

"I sure wish I loaded up on Acros back then when it was THE cheapest film at B & H"

Of course the way I look at it, the cheapest film today is Kodak TMY 400 - if you buy 5-packs. Maybe that tells you something, or signals we should call Kodak's next-of-kin?

I have a smallish freezer full (guessing 400-500) and a section in the fridge with maybe 100, and this doesn't vary very much. Probably a half to two thirds is my usual Ilford (and a few Kodak) fresh "shooting" stocks, while a lot of the remainder are older and discontinued films. Most of the latter were fresh when bought and frozen, a lot when the films were discontinued (Plux-X, Efke, Ektachrome) others back about 10 years ago when people (professionals?) seemed to be clearing their stocks cheaply on Ebay. A few are nearly as ancient as me(1960's!), awaiting when I have some spare time and mood to experiment.

RattyMouse said:

When I first returned to film, Fuji Acros 100 film was $2.50/roll. That wasnt all that long ago. Today it's nearly triple that. So I agree that buying now and freezing film is a possible way to hedge against inflation. I sure wish I loaded up on Acros back then when it was THE cheapest film at B & H.

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Yep, I bought 200 rolls Acros from B&H in 2006 and it was less than 2.50. I also bought 200 sheets of 8x10 TMAX400 which has since become insanely expensive. I had to buy a freezer but I also bought a lot of WTFB paper and several boxes 4x5 film. All this is well below zero in my freezer along with a lifetime supply of Kodak direct duplicating film in 9.5 inch wide rolls. Now my goal is to use it all.

bsdunek said:

You've got that right! I've been in that situation for the last year or so. Trying hard to get back my enthusiasm.

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Southern Michigan isn't really landscape country. Detroit is too dangerous to walk around in so I'm left with very little to shoot.

I no longer shoot color film, and I don't stock up on black and white film. It's pay as you go for me. I fully expect black and white film to be around longer than I am. I am happy shooting what Ilford offers. If I shot Acros I'd be stocking up though. It's not long for this world.

RattyMouse said:

Southern Michigan isn't really landscape country. Detroit is too dangerous to walk around in so I'm left with very little to shoot.

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Now the answer is obvious =======> You enjoyed Japan, so move back there.

I have about a 10-12 month supply, which is plenty for me. As I'm often switching between film formats and film varieties, I don't want to store up too much film because I'm never sure what I will be using next and for how long I will be using it.

I just had a peek in my freezer. 250 sheets of 4x5 HP5 left from 500 sheets I bought a bit over ten years ago. A few other films and various formats in there. The next time I buy film it will be for a couple boxes of HP5 8x10, as I'm down to about half a box.

I tend to accumulate film during the winter when days are shorter and it's cold outside (22F right now). I have fewer shooting opportunities and more online shopping opportunities. I'll use a lot of the film up over the rest of the year, and begin stocking up again next November