Film photography has seen an amazing revival in the past 10 years and it continues to grow. Kodak is now back in production with both colour and b/w films. Several entirely new film companies have appeared in recent years. Fujifilm reported over $3 billion last year with a significant portion of that being their incredibly popular Instax film. Last year Fuji announced they would discontinue their Acros film which was (in my personal opinion) the best b/w film made. In June Fuji shook up the photography world by announcing they were going back into full production with a brand new Acros film called Fuji Acros 2.

Whats amazing is who is buying film and film cameras. Some are folks like myself that started with film but according to industry representatives, the largest single demographic shooting film is the 20-30 year olds. The kids who grew up digital are swarming to film in record numbers! Why? My son, who is in this demographic, has just taken up film photography and I think he sums it up well “I like shooting film because everything in my life is digital, everything involves computers, I love that film is entirely analogue ... no computers, no technology!”

Another very enjoyable aspect of film is that film gear is very affordable. Camera prices are steadily rising as more people are discovering or re-discovering film. You can still get an excellent SLR for $100-$200. In fact for a little more you can find yourself shooting a camera that years ago was only within reach for the worlds top photojournalists or studio photographers.

I find I’m frequently being contacted by people asking questions and wanting to know more about shooting film. We may just exchange messages to get them on the right path or we may even end up doing a photowalk together or spending some time in the darkroom as I introduce these newcomers to the very different world of film photography.

I love this quote from Josh (25) below. "I like shooting film because everything in my life is digital, everything involves computers, I love that film is entirely hands on ... no computers, no technology!”