Is Film Photography Really Saved?
Film Photography is certainly recovering from its wounds but we are missing a few things to consider it saved. In this episode, I share with you the plan of Cameraventures.com to make sure that film stays alive.
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ViDEO : Directed & Edited by myself
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TRANSCRIPT :
The present and near future seem very promising for film photographers and you can read everywhere that film is back...but aren’t we celebrating a bit too fast? I recently had an interesting talk with Juho Leppänen who’s behind cameraventures.com about the future of analog photography and its whereabouts in the next 15 years.
Juho studied the situation over 9 months and interviewed over 300 people directly involved in the industry - from CEO’s to famous film photographers or even teenagers - just to have a global picture of the current situation and how we could make sure that film won’t die a second time. He looked at the situation from his baby boy's eyes and asked himself “will my son be able to shoot film, like I did, when he’ll turn 15?”
This question made him look at the situation from a broader point of view and wondered what happened to the major actors of the industry. Because saving film is one thing but who’s going to process all these rolls once the last mini-lab will stop working?
The truth is that most labs are relying on old equipment (often running on Windows XP) and parts are becoming more and more difficult to find. Another forthcoming obstacle will be to find staff skilled to maintain these pieces of equipment.
So he decided to knock on their doors and ask what are their plans for the coming back of film? When he could find them, the answer he received was nothing but a cold shower and seemed unanimous…none of them seems to have a plan of bringing back new solutions or at least updating the existing machines. We are on a sinking ship!
My guess is that none of these companies has anticipated this comeback and they are now waiting to see if it’s not just another fashion that will fade in the next years. I believe they are well aware of the situation but don’t want to risk investing too much in a technology that could potentially re-disappear as quickly as it came back.
Sure, there will always be some labs capable of processing films and incurable photographers developing at home but that won't be enough to keep up with the current dynamic in the resurgence of film.
Another sad truth is that every day, there are fewer analog cameras available and without cameras, there is no demand for film (and all that gravitate around). This is another endangered species because of the collectors with cameras molding on their shelves or simply because it cost too much to repair or CLA. The point is not to blame anyone or point fingers but rather draw a realistic portrait of the situation and what are the difficulties coming up on the horizon.
In today’s society where we have been accustomed to replacing our equipment frequently, I don’t see why manufacturers (like Nikon or Canon just to name a few) would bring back to the market new analog cameras capable to last for decades, when they count on us to replace our equipment every 2 or 3 years. That would go against their business model and shareholders would start raising eyebrows. Sure we can always play with toy cameras from Lomography or the recently re-introduced Holga but that will never be enough to fulfill everybody’s needs.
Since we are not ready to see new durable mechanical camera anytime soon, the solution is to maintain the ones that already exist. To make this possible we have to help photographers to easily get in touch with qualified individuals or shops. There are plenty of people that still know how to CLA a camera but we still need to know where to look for them. By ensuring that a maximum of cameras is in circulation and working order, we can help to preserve a constant demand for films stocks and supplies that come along. This also keeps the fabrication costs at an accessible level so a maximum of photographers can afford the luxury of the analog workflow.
Nowadays, everything happens on the Internet and building an online presence takes a lot of time and energy (I know what it takes!). I can certainly imagine that small shops or individuals don’t have the resources or knowledge to do such a tedious task.
That’s where Cameraventures.com comes to save the analog world!