Is Shooting Film Getting Too Expensive? (Yes)

Shooting film has always been a little pricey, especially if you shoot a lot of it.

Now, though, it is getting downright unaffordable.

Earlier today, as I was placing a $100 order to get 3 rolls of film developed (yes, you read that correctly — $100 for 3 rolls, and only one had special instructions), I got to thinking about the cost of film photography in general and how, if film prices were what they are now when I was in college, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to shoot film the way I did — hell, I can barely afford it now.

For reference, back in 2017, I was paying $5.09 for one 24-exposure roll of Ilford Delta 400 on B&H’s website (yes, I pulled up some old order receipts to check); today, a 24-exposure roll of Ilford Delta 400 goes for $8.12 — $3.03 more. A 36-exposure roll of Ilford Delta 3200 back then cost $8.95 — now it costs $4.00 more at $12.95 per 36-exposure roll. A 36-exposure roll of Kodak T-Max cost $4.95 back in 2017, and, today, that same 36-exposure roll costs $9.19 — a $4.24 difference — nearly double! In only four years!

I understand that inflation is a thing, and I also understand that the pandemic that has been raging on for nearly two years now is also a thing, and that both are driving the prices of everything up (have you seen the prices of used cars lately!? Yikes). However, it does not change the fact that the cost of film, combined with the cost of development and scanning, if you don’t have the ability to do those things yourself (it still isn’t cheap even if you do), is becoming cost-prohibitive — and, though I haven’t asked around too much, I doubt I’m the only person who feels this way.

The good news in all of this is that the prices of used cameras seem to be coming down a little; when I was looking around at used Nikon film cameras a couple of months ago, I was shocked to see that most of them were going for at least double what they were worth. Looking at them today, however, the prices seem to be a little more in-line with what they should be, at least on eBay. The other good news is that, if you are a Polaroid shooter, Polaroid film is no more expensive now than it was pre-pandemic — an 8-exposure box of 600 film costs $19.99,, which is actually less than it cost back in 2016 — I was paying anywhere from $20.99 a box to $24.99 a box at that time, depending on the stock. I sure do feel lucky in that respect.

This is not one of my better blog posts, I know, but I wanted to throw this one out there because it has been on my mind lately and, again, I am certain I am not the only film photographer who is feeling this way.

Let me know your thoughts, and, as always, if you have any suggestions about future blog topics, feel free to share them, as I am (clearly) in a bit of a rut writing-wise!

Thanks for reading!

The Love of the Analog

We live in a digital age.

You’ve all heard this statement a million times, and you all know it to be true.

Everything, from listening to music to watching movies to taking pictures can be done on a device we all carry around in our back pockets every day. When I talk to kids about how we used to watch movies at home, they are dumbfounded — they have no concept of what a VHS tape or player is, and, slowly, they are even moving away from DVD’s because it has become so much more convenient to watch your favorite films on various streaming services than to go out and buy physical copies. Kids don’t even realize that Netflix wasn’t always a streaming service, and don’t even get me started on video rental stores like Blockbuster. Even the word “films” has lost some of its meaning to people — most movies you see in theaters now are shot digitally as opposed to being shot on actual film. The idea that, not so long ago — within my lifetime, even — the world looked like a totally different place in terms of technology is astounding. Even for those of us who lived through it, it is hard to imagine life without all of the modern conveniences that we have now (especially smart phones — how did we function back in the day!, am I right?). However, in a time when technology seems to be taking over every aspect of our daily lives, there are some of us who are nostalgic for a time when cassettes were still a thing, for when phones were tethered to a line, and for when film photography ruled the land.

Like most photographers these days, I do shoot digitally for the convenience, but, at the core, I am an analog photographer. I love analog photography because the physicality of shooting film is like nothing else in the world to me; unwrapping the canister or film pack, placing it in the camera, and taking each shot, not ever truly knowing exactly what it will look like until it is developed, is a feeling that never gets old. I am always excited to develop a roll or to watch a shot develop (remember, I shoot both 35mm and instant film); it is like Christmas morning is happening all over again each and every time.

I love analog photography because there are so many options that come with it. There are hundreds of different types of film you can shoot with, from your basic 35mm black-and-white or color films to specialty films that have different effects (such as purple or red tinting) to medium-format to instant and beyond, and the same goes for the different types of film cameras you can purchase. The combinations of types of film and cameras you can use together to create images is mind-blowing, and with companies like Lomography and Polaroid Originals constantly working on new products to feed into this growing obsession with analog processes, the options for creativity are becoming increasingly limitless.

I love analog photography because it forces you to stop and pay attention to what you are doing. With film, you have only a certain number of shots you can take before you run out, so you have to be intentional with what you are shooting, otherwise you are wasting resources. I genuinely believe that digital photography makes us snap-happy because we know we can point the camera any which way, take a bunch of pictures, delete what we don’t like, and start the process again and again until it is time to insert the next memory card. Digital photography takes us out of the moment and keeps our eyes behind a camera lens; we see this especially with cell phone photography and applications like Instagram and Snapchat, which encourage people to take images of every single tiny moment in their lives instead of living those moments. Film is not like that; when you know you have only so many frames, you cherish each one, and you spend your time focusing on every moment until the right one to photograph comes along. I tend to remember the moments and feelings attached to my film photographs more than I do the digital ones, and, because of this, I have become more intentional with the digital shots that I do take. Which leads me to my next point…

I love analog photography because it teaches a better appreciation of photography overall. So many people ask why I got a degree in photography, because “anyone can do it.” I mean, yes, I suppose anyone can pick up a digital camera, set it to auto, and snap away, but where is the love and appreciation in that? Digital photography seems to give people the impression that photography is easy, that nothing much goes into it, and this, to me, is an extremely poor way of looking at photography as a practice. Something I learned while getting my degree and seeing numerous people take photography for the first time is that, once you hand them a manual film camera and teach them to use it, they begin to understand that there is a lot more to photography than we are led to believe in this digital age. Analog photography teaches discipline and awareness, because, as I said before, you have only a limited number of frames to shoot before you run out. It teaches us an understanding of camera mechanics and how to control the camera versus letting the camera control itself and us; once you learn how all of the functions of the camera work together to create an image, you can manipulate the camera to make images that are to your liking and, thus, images that are more unique to you and your vision of the world. Something I personally have noticed is that, because I have picked up these habits from shooting film, this translates to my digital work and into my everyday life; I pay much more attention to small details and to special moments, and I don’t spend all my time with my friends snapping pictures on my phone to post to social media platforms. This surprises most people, because I am a photographer, after all, but I have learned that there is value in quality over quantity in my work, and there is value in spending quality time with the people I love instead of taking a million pictures to prove to everyone else that I had a good time.

Lastly, I love analog photography because it gives me the freedom to express myself in a way that digital photography has yet to be able to give me.

I will never say that digital photography has no place in the world and is not a legitimate form of artistic expression; as I mentioned earlier, I do use digital from time to time, even in my artistic work, and it most definitely has its uses to me and to other photographers. However, I do not find that digital photography gives me the same satisfaction or freedom of expression that I gain from using analog processes. I stated earlier that I love all of the combinations of film and cameras that exist on the market, and the reason is that this gives me absolute freedom to change up the way I do things all the time without having to do a bunch of digital manipulation because, at the end of the day, that is not how I want to work. I like the simplicity of popping a roll or cartridge into a camera and going with the flow of the day. Analog photography has taught me to find freedom and creativity within myself that I did not know existed, and this is why, if I had to choose between shooting only analog or only digital, I would choose analog every day of the week.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. I wanted to pop in and let you all know that I think I am going to stick to making these blog posts bi-weekly, as that allows me the time to think through the topics I want to discuss and to research for posts that are rooted in history. That being said, I hope to see you in two weeks when I show you all my camera collection and wish list.