Other darkroom and studio bits, I drooled over at the town centre camera store. I got a variety of part-time jobs,which enabled me to buy a Zenith suitcase 35mm enlarger.
I didn't even have a camera of any kind at the time even! Once home, I started using a 126 cartridge film camera that my mum had used in the past, but had then been put at the back of a kitchen cupboard, for many years. I got the bug, after buying and reading a thin paperback book about darkroom work in 1974, whilst on holiday, aged 13, in Great Yarmouth, with my mum and dad and brothers. There was no choice, digital was not even heard of. Then look at the Railway Heritage groups, most of their workforce who repair and in some case build new stock are all time served and skilled engineers but all have one thing in common - they are getting older and once they are gone where do they turn to so they can carry on.Ĭan I ask where members of this forum first wet their fingers in a developing dish? Mine was after joining a photographic club in the North East of England. (nothing to do with the virus).Ĭompare this with the skills used in heavy engineering, metal working, ship building they are have gone over to use of a computer to design and fabricate essential parts. Even the group within Durham University where I spent a while mentoring those interested has folded. Most senior schools used to have a darkroom and they were well used but in the area where I live there isn't one. Photoshop was the new God and the skills developed over many years in a darkroom was an unknown black hole (no pun intended). The new generation of judges' standards were appalling and they would not know a good well composed print or projected image if it came and bit them on the backside. It was also apparent that the club competitions had also changed but the standards of judges had plummeted.
We used to call ourselves the 'Lepper Colony'. I left only because of outside influences! They could list about 150 members on the books, but I was the only one who still used a darkroom! There was one other who developed his films but scanned them and digitally printed his results. I was a member of probably the largest Society in County Durham until about 4 years ago. BUT! the skills learned over many years and passed on to new users was gradually lost. Since than some of the clubs were in decline and with the advent of easier printing around the 1980's they started to blossom again. Principally the lack of knowledge and skills.Ĭan I ask where members of this forum first wet their fingers in a developing dish? Mine was after joining a photographic club in the North East of England. To go along with Bob's last post, could it not be possible that with the massive drop in the use of darkrooms could be down to a generation loss of people who used to use them but will not/can not resurrect them for a number of reasons. In short our hobby is likely to grow more expensive. What is almost inevitable is that such companies cannot take advantage of economies of scale and thus their products will be expensive to buy The other bright spot might be small companies like Adox or even Foma who can produce at a profit the materials that analogue requires and even in the case of Adox bring out new films and paper
On the other hand the arrival of Ilford MGV suggests that there is a viable market. While film processing, including home processing might be increasing and that's good, I must admit that I scratch my head wondering where the like of Ilford gets enough sales of b&w darkroom paper to make it worthwhile. Some love trying so-called new films( such as old cine-stock with exotic names of Babylon 13 and Fantome 8 - yes I kid you not! )Īll of this is fine but as I said my fears are that (1) this increase in demand will never get to the stage that film camera manufacture becomes viable and (2) without the space and extra commitment required, few if any, might graduate to a darkroom My worry is whether it will remain a steady hobby as they grow older and there then arises matters such a marriage, mortgage and kids:D They are likely still to use their iphones for the bulk of their photography but may well spend quite a lot on film as it is something new and exciting To those it is a "new and exciting discovery". You can now be 30-35 yrs old and still have no user experience of film. Rick, there may be a few in the groups you mention who have returned to film but who may no longer have a darkroom or have even kept the equipment but I think that the increase in demand for film probably comes from a much younger group who barely knew the world of film or darkroom in its heyday.