Whether You Like It or Not, Film Is Having a Resurgence

The world of analog photography went through a dry spell for a while but has been making a strong comeback in recent years. 

This video is one of the more recent productions put together by NBC Left Field. It features 3 heavy hitters in the YouTube film photography world: Matt Day, Nick Carver, and Willem Verbeek. In addition, it also features an interview with Ed Hurley of Eastman Kodak Company talking about their recent uptick in film production. In particular, he states that they have manufactured and sold more than twice the amount of film in 2019 than they did 5 years earlier in 2014. With their current expansion in production, it’ll be exciting to see which films they will decide to resurrect or what films to create that’s not previously been part of their lineup.

If you’re familiar with my articles here on Fstoppers, you know I’m a big believer in film. I’ve written about it enough to know that many digital shooters are sick of hearing about it. If you’re one of those people, I’m not sorry. This medium isn’t going anywhere any time soon – perhaps you should shoot through a couple rolls and see what it’s about. Additionally, I’ve written about it enough to know that the film photography community is made up of a lot of good, supportive people. If you have no experience with shooting film but have considered getting into it, there’s no time like the present. Ask anyone you can find that currently shoots film. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help.

Do you have any experience with film photography or any other part of the analog process? Do you have any advice for those that haven’t?
 

James Madison's picture

Madison is a mathematician turned statistician based out of Columbus, OH. He fell back in love with film years ago while living in Charleston, SC and hasn't looked back since. In early 2019 he started a website about film photography.

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That's great to hear! Good luck with the Youtube channel!

I use film & digital. In my life so far, my film images is probably a higher number than my digital images.
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I shoot digital for weddings (work) and most photos of my family. I shoot film because i like to shoot with my Rolleiflex or Widelux, and the experience is more fun to me than digital is.
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Film photography has simply transitioned from mainstream, to art. It is finding a new level, due to people like me shooting film for fun.
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I've also used a team of draft horses to plow a farm field, way back in 2014. That was fun too.

I cannot speak to plowing a field with draft horses being fun but I understand the need/utility of shooting both film and digital.

You would think someone who works for Kodak would know that silver halide photography is not an analogue process.