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The future of film again

tobey bilek

By tobey bilek
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wattsy
wattsy

Quite possibly, but I also suspect at that same point we'll be rummaging around old derelict supermarkets looking for a can of baked beans whilst a couple of family members keep watch armed with a mak

adan
adan

I think there should be a sticky "Bad News for Film" thread and a sticky "Good News for Film" thread - where people can post their individual, anecdotal (and thus not representative of the Big Picture

earleygallery
earleygallery

I'm more concerned about the risk of alien invasion. We can't do anything to stop it, and we have absolutely no idea what the consequences will be. It's scary!

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JBA

JBA

Posted
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The future of film is exactly 36 frames of E100 VS freshly loaded into my R3 MOT, 18 frames left in my chrome MP, and 36 frames of Tri-X in one of the black MPs. :D

 

I've had 36 rolls developed in 2011, including my last 18 rolls of Kodachrome and 12 rolls of assorted B&W.

 

My fridge contains 6 rolls of E100 VS, 5 rolls of Velvia 50, two rolls of Ektar, two rolls of 400CN, a roll of Neopan 1600, a roll of Delta 3200, and two rolls of PanF. About a half dozen rolls are awaiting processing.

 

Then, there are a few rolls of Astia, Provia 400, and Neopan 1600 in my fridge back in the States.

 

Have yet to find a lab I'm satisfied with since my local lab closed a year ago.

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AlanG

AlanG

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Posted (edited)
Traditional b&w film is silver based. TriX, Delta etc.

 

Most color films consist of 3 layers of b/w film - "integral tripack" is the terminology. (Reala added a 4th layer.) When processed, color is formed by dye couplers and the silver is removed. A lot of the silver is recovered and reused.

 

Film uses about 5-8 grams of silver per square meter. (Depending on type of film and film speed.) A roll of 35mm 36 exposure film is about .05 sq meters so it will use approximately .3 grams of silver. (based on 6 grams per sq meter.) At $40 per ounce, ($1.42 per gram) this makes the silver content around $0.43. Silver cost was about half this price around a year ago.

Edited by AlanG
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adan

adan

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Just to be clear - ALL photographic films generally available use silver as the light-sensitive ingredient.

 

In color films (negs or slides) - and chromogenic "B&W" films like XP2 - all the silver is removed during processing - bleach and fix. The final image is dye(s) - but they are created by the color developer reacting with silver in the film.

 

In traditional B&W films, some of the silver is removed (fixing) and the rest forms the image.

 

But it is the silver that responds to light in the camera - so it is a required part of any film up until processing.

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jacarape

jacarape

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Personally I guess I don't care. I know what my future is, I really couldn't give a rat's ass about the future of film or digital.

 

Watch out for the Red Rocket! (K64, MP,. 35/1.4 ASPH) Jupitor and Kong.

 

ed.the photo didn't upload, it was only film.

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Xmas

Xmas

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Hi

 

Commercial processors (and minilabs) need to recover the silver as the water processing people do not like it in waste water in commercial quantities (in UK). Recovered it is fully recycleable, though hardly carbon neutral.

 

Memory cards & sensors not much better.

 

Noel

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AlanG

AlanG

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Hi

 

Commercial processors (and minilabs) need to recover the silver as the water processing people do not like it in waste water in commercial quantities (in UK). Recovered it is fully recycleable, though hardly carbon neutral.

 

Memory cards & sensors not much better.

 

Noel

 

Removing the silver makes it available for other uses but there are still chemical hazards associated with film and print processing. These are taken much more seriously today than when I was a student 40 years ago. I don't see people dumping gallons of memory cards and sensors down the drain on a regular basis.

 

Below is a link to the stringent chemical handling guidelines at Florida Atlantic University. It is no wonder that schools and corporations are/have gotten away from this. An instructor friend there sent me this last week, "we're actually going all digital except for a small group darkroom. FAU will finally enter the new century. I still call it a lab, tho. I guess I'm still old school."

 

http://www.fau.edu/facilities/ehs/info/Photo-Chemicals-Safety.pdf

Edited by AlanG
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andybarton

andybarton

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I was expecting that Florida Atlantic University were dropping film because film cameras don't do Live View. How wrong could I be? :D

 

Given that film is still available as are developers, fixers and all the other chemicals, which century to the University consider that they are entering?

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AlanG

AlanG

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I was expecting that Florida Atlantic University were dropping film because film cameras don't do Live View. How wrong could I be? :D

 

Given that film is still available as are developers, fixers and all the other chemicals, which century to the University consider that they are entering?

 

First, they are not totally dropping film.

 

That particular instructor mostly shot b/w infrared film. She is a film advocate and has tried to keep the department instruction "traditional." When she talks about entering the 21st century, it is with remorse and not joy. I've known her since my college days and she has a Phd in the field. But if starting fresh today, I doubt if very many schools would set up darkrooms despite how the professors preferred to teach.

 

Did you read their safety guidelines and warnings? Do you know how difficult it may be to expect students to follow these? And the costs involved are substantial. I've never seen any home darkroom enthusiast who followed similar guidelines. A state institution (or any other) cannot simply dump chemicals down the drain. (Which is exactly what we used to do when I was a student.) Of course it is easy to just dismiss this as being over-reacting but schools in the US are very concerned about exposing students to chemicals of all sorts and the environmental impact of chemical usage. All of this can't just be ignored and dismissed by saying, "I prefer to shoot film."

 

My cousin was a chemist with Monsanto and once he looked at my color lab and said, "You better be very careful with those chemicals, nobody has any idea what they may do to you years from now." Personally, I'm glad that I am not dealing with those chemicals any more.

Edited by AlanG
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AlanG

AlanG

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Amazing how some people love to gnaw on this bone. Incredible really. :confused:

 

You are referring to yourself I suppose?

 

Since when is educating fellow photographers about their risks to chemical exposure a bad thing? If you are going to process film and prints, I'd suggest you try to do it in the safest manner with the least harm to the environment. That is the minimum you can do if you want to responsibly advocate film usage. There probably are countless people who are so ignorant and stuck in their ways that they still put their bare hands directly into the chemicals when processing prints.

Edited by AlanG
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