What the heck happened?

ChristopherCoy · Oct 20, 2017

I've been away from anything photography related for a few years now, and lately the photography bug has come crawling back slowly. I've been thinking about my analog cameras since I had to move them from one storage unit to the next last weekend.

Tonight I was thinking about my SX-70 and decided to look for film, and I found that Impossible doesn't appear to be Impossible anymore. Did they re-brand, and what all have I missed on that front?

And then I decided to log onto APUG to search for news topics, and found this Photrio thing? Whats that all about?

I ended up begrudgingly giving away my Besseler 23C enlarger to Good Will when we were cleaning out our storage unit, and I wondered what the status of the analog community was these days. Is it still on the upswing, or has it plateaued a little?

bdial · Oct 20, 2017

Welcome back.

As far as know, Impossible is still around, but googling suggests they've re-branded somehow. I don't know any details.

As for APUG, this summer Sean did the long planned integration of APUG and the Hybrid/digital forums into one thing which is now phototrio. It covers all the bases, and you can select to see or exclude analog, hybrid or digital content.

I'd say that analog has either plateaued or is on a slight upswing, depending on what evidence you look at. Film sales are increasing, Kodak has announced plans to re-introduce Ektachrome. Darkroom interest is slowly building from what I've seen.

Andrew O'Neill · Oct 20, 2017

Impossible is now Polaroid. Things are still looking good for analogue. Phototrio is the new Apug. Analogue, digital, hybrid.

MattKing · Oct 20, 2017

You have unknowingly transitioned into a parallel universe - penance as a result of failing to show that 23C enlarger the love that it was due.

Cholentpot · Oct 20, 2017

As said, Impossible bought out Polaroid and put out a new camera. Analog is now cool among the hip and the price of analog equipment is on the rise.

Sirius Glass · Oct 21, 2017

~~APUG~~ ==> Photrio
Go out and get another enlarger
Film sales have picked up so there is a small increase in film photography.

ChristopherCoy · Oct 24, 2017

MattKing said:
You have unknowingly transitioned into a parallel universe - penance as a result of failing to show that 23C enlarger the love that it was due.

Sirius Glass said:
~~APUG~~ ==> Photrio
Go out and get another enlarger
Film sales have picked up so there is a small increase in film photography.

In March of 2016 we decided to sell our house. We thought we'd stay in our RV after selling, and while we looked for a new house, but that ended up turning into a long term deal - and after a year and a half, we are still living happily in our RV. We don't have room for a dark room in a 38 foot trailer, and we've been working on slimming down the amount of stuff in storage, so unfortunately the enlarger had to go - along with a print dryer, and a few other things.

I'm currently trying to figure out a way to create a hybrid process, or figure out which friend I can persuade into letting me commandeer a space in their outbuilding.

Sirius Glass · Oct 24, 2017

ChristopherCoy said:
In March of 2016 we decided to sell our house. We thought we'd stay in our RV after selling, and while we looked for a new house, but that ended up turning into a long term deal - and after a year and a half, we are still living happily in our RV. We don't have room for a dark room in a 38 foot trailer, and we've been working on slimming down the amount of stuff in storage, so unfortunately the enlarger had to go - along with a print dryer, and a few other things.

I'm currently trying to figure out a way to create a hybrid process, or figure out which friend I can persuade into letting me commandeer a space in their outbuilding.

Just attach a darkroom in a trailer behind your RV.

Cholentpot · Oct 24, 2017

ChristopherCoy said:
In March of 2016 we decided to sell our house. We thought we'd stay in our RV after selling, and while we looked for a new house, but that ended up turning into a long term deal - and after a year and a half, we are still living happily in our RV. We don't have room for a dark room in a 38 foot trailer, and we've been working on slimming down the amount of stuff in storage, so unfortunately the enlarger had to go - along with a print dryer, and a few other things.

I'm currently trying to figure out a way to create a hybrid process, or figure out which friend I can persuade into letting me commandeer a space in their outbuilding.

Drive into the middle of the desert. No need for safelight, starlight will do the trick.

Sirius Glass · Oct 24, 2017

Cholentpot said:
Drive into the middle of the desert. No need for safelight, starlight will do the trick.

George Eastman founded Kodak in Rochester New York because it is the world's largest natural darkroom.

Cholentpot · Oct 24, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
George Eastman founded Kodak in Rochester New York because it is the world's largest natural darkroom.

Love that tale.

Here in NE Ohio we have the same Grey Card skies.

Sirius Glass · Oct 24, 2017

Damned lake affect!

Cholentpot · Oct 24, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Damned lake affect!

It's late October. I can hear the Lake Effect Snow Blower coughing to life. They're calling for a mild winter, this means more snow. On the plus side, grainy film looks nice in the blowing snow, so the freezer of expired 400 speed film will get good use.

Ces1um · Oct 25, 2017

ChristopherCoy said:
I've been away from anything photography related for a few years now, and lately the photography bug has come crawling back slowly. I've been thinking about my analog cameras since I had to move them from one storage unit to the next last weekend.

Tonight I was thinking about my SX-70 and decided to look for film, and I found that Impossible doesn't appear to be Impossible anymore. Did they re-brand, and what all have I missed on that front?

And then I decided to log onto APUG to search for news topics, and found this Photrio thing? Whats that all about?

I ended up begrudgingly giving away my Besseler 23C enlarger to Good Will when we were cleaning out our storage unit, and I wondered what the status of the analog community was these days. Is it still on the upswing, or has it plateaued a little?

Impossible is now polaroid originals and they have both a new camera and a new emulsion. The new emulsion is considerably better than their older stuff. Gone are the roller marks, inconsistent spreading, chemical traps that leak, and unclear images.
Photrio.... I'm still having a hard time getting used to that.
Status of the photo community? We have lost some films, and gained some new ones. We've lost some analog cameras (voigtlander's bessa is gone), and we've got a ton of new instant films/cameras.

ChristopherCoy · Nov 7, 2017

Ces1um said:
Status of the photo community? We have lost some films, and gained some new ones.

yeah, I've all but given up on my first 500 numbered roll of film from Ferrania. I backed it and haven't received anything yet.

What the heck happened?

ChristopherCoy

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