Even though so many of my clients must shoot digital for their client base, they are still using their film cameras for everything else. As one photojournalist mentioned many years ago, they use their digital camera for work, but shoot film for pleasure.
Apart from the range of films still available, the options of developers also come into play. Many photographers still use their favourite soup and dev times for their film processing. I am still requested to use specialised developers every now then. And if a developer is no longer commercially available, we can always make it ourselves. I have been making up D-76 Rep from scratch even since Kodak ceased production. And I enjoy these extra steps, there just seems to be a greater sense of achievement. This is a feeling that a computer will never give, but I do work in a darkroom…
At Blanco Negro my passion for processing film to archival standards has never abated. Even today, after the final archival wash sequence and lid comes off, I still have that nerve wracking moment of “is there an image?!?!?!”
And of course there always is, but when you have one shot at destroying a film you MUST never take the processing for granted.
So long live film and remember: “USE IT OR LOSE IT
Chris Reid
Laguna darkroom
21st March 2022
You must be logged in to post a comment.