Film photography, a dying art, still alive in a digital world

by Ethan Johnson
How the photography industry has developed over the years. 
131 years ago, Eastman Kodak took the Film camera, which was something that was more for professionals and a novelty for the rich, turned it into something for everybody. They popularized the cheap camera; they also made the film that went in the cameras and they set up developing labs everywhere.

 Kodak held their place in the market of selling film and making chemicals, machines, and other products for developing film. They continued to pioneer in the industry by creating ways to make cameras easy to use, including instant load cameras. By the 1970s, Kodak had many types of film on the market, ranging from novice to professional use.

In 1975, Eastman Kodak developed the first digital camera, but did not continue to put more research and development into the camera, due to the success of film, and the products made to develop the film.

This did not affect Kodak throughout the 1980s and 1990s, even though companies produced digital cameras, they were often thousands of dollars, and took grainy low quality pictures. Into the early 2000s, companies such as Sony and Fuji started producing digital cameras for the masses. Kodak tried to make affordable digital cameras, but still missed the boat in the digital industry.
 Kodak continued to struggle as their film was being undercut by Fujifilm, which was excellent quality, for a much lower price. Kodak finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008.

Many of the film labs at drug stores, and large grocery stores began to shut down. Chemicals for developing went up in price, developing a roll went from $3 to $7, then to 10 or more dollars in recent years. People stopped buying film, so people stopped bringing film in to developers, closing even more labs. The fall of Kodak hurt the film industry, but it still continues to thrive with enthusiasts.

People continue to shoot with film, for professional and hobby uses. Toy cameras have also taken the market by storm. Toy cameras are cheap, plastic cameras that take lo-fi, often soft focus pictures. The results are often unexpected, which makes for an interesting picture taking experience. The internet is a major source for buying new and used film cameras. Websites like Lomography and Four Corner Store carry almost every kind of film still on the market, and sell new and refurbished film cameras, which they sometimes can’t keep in stock for longer than a few days. Thousands visit their websites on a daily basis, and thousands of dollars are exchanged every day.

For the few local film labs that are still around, such as the local Walgreens in Garden City, Still get tons of business from people who can’t find a film lab. “We are one of the last labs in the Myrtle Beach area” said Shelly Smith, lab technician “We get all of the business that the other labs lost when they shut down” Even though digital cameras have dominated the market, film still holds its place. It doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, anytime soon.