I’m Baaack!!!

Film Is Dead – Uhhh…Not

Film is definitely back. But, I recently went to buy some 35mm film, and they were OUT! What? Kodak folded overnight? WTF? No. Just the opposite. Eastman Kodak more than doubled its production of still films between 2015 and 2019 because of the huge rise in demand. (21% in 2019 alone) And with the advent of the pandemic, shortages on ALL films are being experienced worldwide. I’m not sure if I’m suppose to feel happy as a filmie, and yell, “I told you so!!!” to the naysayers, or start to worry. Hey, I’m all in for promoting film photography, but just maybe not at the expense of increased film and camera prices,and,….film shortages. Cow Paddies!!

Covid,…Again?

“Ilford released its first statement about COVID-19 last week, explaining that the company was still producing film while following UK Government guidelines in order to ensure the health and safety of its employees. But after receiving some criticism from concerned photographers, and as the virus has continued to spread, the company has made the difficult decision to halt manufacturing all together.”

I guess it all started with some “good news”. Ed Hurley, the general manager of film at Kodak, relayed having a huge increase in production in a short time. I think it even caught them off guard. “We are making more than twice the amount of rolls in 2019 than we made in 2015,” he said. “It’s been a steady increase, going up 15%, 20%, and even 30% some years.” They’ve actually been having some logistical problems with experiencing that type of growth. As shown below, with the relatively young photographers, Willem Verbeeck and Matt Day, the YouTube video reveals everybody is apparently being taken by surprise. While everyone seems to be crediting, (blaming), social media platforms such as Instagram, I think of it in more paparazzi terms. The day after Kendall Jenner showed off her Contax T2 on the tonight show, prices doubled. And other celebrities (Jason Momoa) showing off their film Leicas, etc. Now I can either lament their influence or welcome not being a lone wolf in the dark. (fat chance now) In the interview below, Hurley concedes that Kodak took a little time to react to this new, ever expanding audience. Production would have to be restarted, supply chains reestablished, dormant outlets regenerated. Pre-pandemic, there have been some issues with supplies in areas such as Europe, with some Kodak films that were unavailable for weeks or months at a time. Now,…as Ilford says above, it’s anybody’s guess

Bad Timing

This is really no time for a pandemic. Nick Carver, on the video, states that, “It was unheard of, five or 10 years ago, you’d never get an old film camera, that was ridiculous, people couldn’t give them away.” But Kodak believes the rise in film sales is set to continue, and this is not just a social media/celebrity blip. “We don’t think this demand for still film is a fad that’s going to go away,” he says. “It’s sustained itself for four years right now, and the growth just seems to be accelerating. The future looks bright.” Well,…did.

Just When We Thought the Coast was Clear

Ektachrome’s revival, which surprised and pleased many photographers, comes as the film photography market is on the up after more than a decade of decline. The film market today is about 20 million plus rolls a year. Surprisingly, that’s only about 2% of what it was at it’s peak. But it’s still growing. And now this. Right as companies like Kodak, Fujifilm and Harman Technology, which manufactures the popular Ilford Photo black-and-white films, have been experiencing a super comeback. “Our professional film sales have been increasing over the last two or three years,” confirms Dennis Olbrich, president of Kodak Alaris. Professional photographers are primarily fueling this growth, thanks to a new generation of practitioners who grew up with digital but have begun dabbling in film, says Olbrich: “They discover the magic of film photography and many of them simply fall in love with it.”

Professional Photographers Are Shooting Film

Many modern film photographers are portrait and wedding photographers in their 20’s and 30’s who are looking to “differentiate their art and their work by shooting film,” Almeida told TIME magazine. “That usually allows them to charge for a premium product because film has a different look and feel than digital.” That look is key, adds Olbrich. “At Kodak, we’re very data-driven,” he says. “We look at every aspect of an image and try to quantify it, but there’s just a depth and richness in a film image that’s hard to replicate otherwise. That’s really the reason why a lot of influential motion pictures cinematographers demand to use film.” And now, professional photographers are making the same demands. “This group of photographers often uses the fact that they shoot film as a competitive advantage in their marketing.” Film, meanwhile, pushes photographers to rethink how they shoot. “You can’t just shoot a hundred shots of your subject and review them immediately,” says Olbrich. “Film forces you to think about the image, plan the image and really create the image mentally before you actually do the shoot. Film photographers believe that this process results in much more artistic and, in some cases, much more spectacular images.”

Rejuvenation

Film manufacturers have taken notice. As the “professional goes”, so follows the amateurs. They’re now rejuvenating their sales and marketing efforts, with Harman pushing for the creation of new courses, new darkrooms and exhibitions across the U.K. and the U.S. Kodak is retooling its entire social media strategy and Kodak has struck a chord with film-curious photographers. While it took a year for Ektachome to be made available, the company is already working on what comes next. “That gave us some confidence to start to look at what films we would consider bringing back into the marketplace.” says Olbrich. Getting back to my original point, I hope we can alleviate our current predicament sooner than later. At least if it was a Zombie Apocalypse, I could get some good pictures out of it. Oh, well, I hope this is a very short term issue.

Kodak Film

Ilford Film

Fujifilm