Do you think film photography could ever have a come back?

You know trends come and go. I was reading a interesting blog yesterday where one guy was forecasting film photography would have a come back and grow in numbers. Interesting considering the process of getting the finished photo. What do you think?

It never left the fine art realm. I doubt most "snapshooters" are going back though. Digital is just too easy, cheap -- and fast.

My 2¢

I believe that film will always be around. With the advent of digital photography, film cameras both 35mm and medium format have become very accessable and affordable to many people. Many local colleges are still telling students to get a manual film camera! My prediction is that film will always be available and a viable option.

I suspect that film will gradually fade as slides have done. There will be a usage for quite a number of years but processing will eventually become harder to find (like the venerable Kodachrome). Even B&W film processors are getting harder to find (but they are there). Keep shooting but don't look for a resurgence.

I don't think it will totally go away either. Personally, I will never use it again. It's nice to know whether or not I captured an image properly before I leave, rather than finding out too late and can't go back to try again.

Baydream wrote: I suspect that film will gradually fade as slides have done. There will be a usage for quite a number of years but processing will eventually become harder to find (like the venerable Kodachrome). Even B&W film processors are getting harder to find (but they are there). Keep shooting but don't look for a resurgence.

It's dying.

I mean, I can still find cassette tapes if I look hard enough, but who used cassettes?

I'm sure there are some people out there with 8-tracks too.

Heck I have a VCR in my cupboard.

People looking for a taste of the nostalgic (I can understand this feeling) or people way too alternative to use something mainstream (hipsters and MLK's "fine art" friends ) will continue to find a way to keep it alive for as long as they can.

I suspect it will fade into it's proper place in history somewhere between tintype and digital. It might take decades more to accomplish this but even our new megapixel digis will find their place on the self when they get replaced by some newer, better, grander technology.

In a generation most people won't even know what film is. It is like kids these days not knowing what a record is. Film will go the same route...

Unless we get photographic hip hop that is... (who gets my joke?).

I'm trying to imagine scratching a photo... might help if I try using 16mm film. Cool!

I still shoot film once in awhile (have a boatload in the fridge/freezer) but for the most part I'm digital anymore...Nothing like a good B&W film shoot though...The digital B&W's don't seem to quite measure up.

Silver Fox wrote: ...one guy was forecasting film photography would have a come back and grow in numbers.

I'm trying to think of reasons why this might happen? I'm drawing a blank.

I agree with everyone else here, it's a dying breed. I still have a couple SLR film cameras that I do use, but now mostly for stills that I set up & don't mind waiting for. I do like the "feel" of a good film image, but the sharpness of digital has prevailed & I think it's here to stay. In my people album I posted a few film images in the mix & most that commented said they were "soft", but back in day they were taken they were considered top notch. (ha ha now you found my evil side..I posted both film & digital to guage the comments on film vs digital as well...LOL, thanks to those who commented. I learned a lot)

Stealthy Ninja wrote: In a generation most people won't even know what film is. It is like kids these days not knowing what a record is. Film will go the same route...

Unless we get photographic hip hop that is... (who gets my joke?).

When my grand daughter was young we took her to a restaurant where the walls were decorated with old LP vinyls. She turned and asked, "What are those big black CDs for?" And that was about 15 years ago.

Film will be back, and so will the rotary phone...................

Obviously Digital SLR's are mainstream and in most photographers bags but i don't think film photography is going to disappear. (It certainly wont for me. I have no plans at all for a DSLR anytime in my foreseeable future. I'm happy w/my little point and shoot digital for family and friend shots but thats it. In fact very soon i plan on purchasing a medium format film SLR and later a large format film camera).

It all depends on what your intended use is, the direction you want to go with your work and what impression you want to make.... I dont think film is dead at all. If you are a professional "people" photographer, there is really no use for film and i can see why. If i were in the business of weddings/portraits/sports, i would not use film either. In that field, yes, film is dead but on the other hand, If you are into landscape photography, B&W, or some other artistic vision of photography, film never died or came anywhere close to disappearing. Many photographers are still using film.

I think in the "photography as art" world, film will be around for along time. It's like any other type of similar art. In painting you have acrylics, watercolor and so on. There is a certain look, feeling, and depth to film that is quite different from the flat screen digital image a DSLR creates (and thats not a knock on digital at all). Film grain to many is a beautiful thing and creates a very nice image. It's all relative to the artist.

The resolution and sharpness argument is kind of silly too. a good 35mm film scan is roughly equal to the image created b a 12MP camera, (of course this depends on the quality of the lens used and the development process, but that's another story...) My 35mm Minolta with good glass produces beautiful 12x18's and 16x24" prints that i would be proud to show in any gallery. A medium format SLR film scan can produce a massive photograph and a large format film camera can produce just monsterous prints w/out loosing any sharpness or quality.

Some say film photography is expensive and a waist of money but i would just argue that if you know how to take a photograph, there really is no waist or high cost involved. In fact, I could get a complete medium format film SLR kit or even a large format film camera kit if i look for less than many newer DSLR's and even get sharper and larger images. As for waist, Film photographers usually work slow and make sure they pay attention to all the fine details and technicalities of "taking a photograph" and get the shot right the first time before they even trip the shutter. For those, there really is not alot of film waist. I think film forces you to become more involved in the picture you are taking and in turn forces you to be a better photographer rather than just a button pusher who takes 100 photos and hopes for a good one, or a photographer who tries to make good photographs out of a bad photographs in a photo editing program.

Anyway, what i'm getting at is as long as the "art of photography" exists, there will always be a place for film. It's not an issue of which is better, It all depends on your intentions with your camera. If you are a people photographer, you would certainly want to shoot digital, and in the art world, you may appreciate and like the look of a film photograph more. There's pros and cons to both and it's not worth argueing. You wont find many film photographers here on this site though... since it is geared more towards the entry level photographer and digital enthusiast.

I think with the introduction and mass injection of the digital SLR into the hands of millions and millions of people around the world, it just makes a quality film print that much more valuable and desirable in the world of art. For me and many more, film photography is like a good bottle of wine or a classic car/truck.... It just gets better with time.

Maria21, how did you reproduce your film photos to digital formatt? did you use a flatbed scanner, a dedicated film scanner, a drum scanner or some other professional scanner? Are the scans in your gallery of 4x6" prints? they would be really soft if they are scans of 4x6" prints... or scans made from a low res scanner. Softness is not really a characteristic of a film photograph, rather the limitations of your gear and/or the quality of scanner. If you like, check my galleries... All my galleries are film scans except for a few images in the last gallery. Except for those few shots in the last gallery, they are not soft at all.