I miss the films!

Tintype.
But, only because I like making people
be perfectly still for ten solid minutes,
for a picture that would maybe take five
seconds with modern equipment.


No special reason.
I'm just an a-hole.

There’s definitely nostalgia in the days of dropping your film off and axiously
awaiting the pictures. It was like reliving the experience. But, I do think I prefer
the instant gratification of digital. :)

It had a certain charm, and photo development centres became faster and faster. At some point in Indonesia you have centres that did it in 20 mins or 30 mins. You could just nose in some shops while waiting.

But the having to be careful to not waste precious film... that's what I love about digital. You can take a hundred photos and dump them all and it doesn't cost anything.
Plus... no one else ever has the chance to see your photos.

So for me absolutely digital!

Speaking of someone else seeing your photos — there’s a funny episode of a show
where a couple picks up their pictures only to find out they were given the pictures
of another couple and they relalize how boring their life is. It’s hilarious as they try
to be that couple. lol

I took classes on photography in high school.
Not only did I learn to use different film camera I learned to use a darkroom.
I loved it.

Digital is so much easier and cheaper.
You can do things digitally that take extra-ordinary measures to do with film.
Plus, like said earlier, you can take hundreds of pictures without the materials and costs of film.

Decades ago, a flood ruined my negatives and my photo albums.
I will never get those pictures back.
With digital, its easy to upload your albums to gmail and as long as you have that gmail account, you will have those pictures. Plus, any picture you send someone is available if you know where to look.

Then there's the fact you can easily modify any picture without the processing effort of film. There's also batch processing when working digitally.

Having extensively used both, I prefer digital.

.....and when in that dimly red-lit room when a picture you have taken floats onto life on a white paper.... Can't express the excitement.... Almost like child birth.... A new life coming into being...

Yes, I remember that.

I also remember wishing it could go faster so I could finish the roll and go do other things.
I also remember how wrong temp, wrong mix and wrong exposure could waste stock and time and cause issues with the people waiting for their pictures.
Then there were the contaminants; a stray hair, some lint, a wayward insect...
Plus, even when everything you've done is right on the money, there's the occasional bad product which scraps the whole endeavor.
The smell, the cleanup and the storage room.

Digital is not only easier and cheaper and faster, you can quickly get the effects you want without ruining your pristine image. You can do things you can't do in a darkroom. Plus, you can do it with your phone while sitting on a nice warm sunny beach.

Digital is fast approaching the quality of fine film. I also spent a lot of time in darkrooms doing both color and B/W. I've shot every thing from large format 8x10 view cameras to 16mm film. For a long time I used a small Elph camera that had a good lens, fit in your pocket, and took great photos. But it used a specialized battery and film that is no longer made. I have yet to find a digital camera that "handles" as well.

Hihi, that sounds funny! Makes me giggle

Yes, initially when I'd take mostly candids, I remember losing out on those moments, just hoping, the photographic moment is yet to arrive! And we had to keep the cost of those expensive emulsions in mind!
Digital has made life a lot easier, but somewhere inside me there is this feeling, it has taken some thrill away! Maybe, I am somewhat obsolete, lol! The need of the hour has also made me move over to digital, mainly. But I still use films!

Nearly everyone has a phone in the 'civilized' world.
Nearly anyone can snap a picture, record a sound or film a video nearly anywhere at nearly anytime.

Using film is like listening to old phonograph records.
It becomes an expression of art in itself.

Participating in photography competitions and salons have become much easier with digital. Previously we had to send the large prints properly jacketed and packed, in itself was time consuming and costly.

There is a place for both film and digital and I hope we never completely lose the old art . The convenience of digital opens up so many opportunities especially for spontaneous photography and capturing those unexpected , one in a million experiences .

@Blondey111: Yeah I wish so too - coexistence! But sadly photography is also market driven; hence survival of the fittest! Films and papers are both hard to come by in the open market these days!

don’t feel too disheartened . That may well change . .., Technology is very much dependent on infrastructure ., when there is chaos we often fall back to what we once knew . I remember when hospitals went paperless ., the first time there was a glitch with technology .. paper systems reappeared , If only temporary . We now know we need both . Would be great to see some of your photography if you feel like sharing

Would love to....

do they even still sell 35MM film any more??
I could not find it so I sold my old equipment for next to nothing. and switched to digital.

Tri-X is available. I am not sure of the E6 films.

Film/Camera Supplies:

Unique Photo
http://www.uniquephoto.com/film-cameras-and-supplies

Film Supply Club
http://filmsupply.club/

mPex Darkroom Supplies
http://mpex.com/photography/film-darkroom-supplies.html

Samy's Camera
http://www.samys.com/c/Film--Darkroom/1/482.html

A simple search by keyword yields pages of links to supply stores all over the world.