The Return of Film Photography
Along with the advancement in technology, the photography industry has moved into digital with many developments of faster focusing, best 4K video, and bigger sensors. As a result, the film industry was diminished that its production stopped in 2011. However, the popularity of film photography has suddenly risen in the past few years that it is now commonly visible on social media.
According to the article, the price of a film camera has greatly increased, proving the high demand for film cameras. More specifically, the graph showed how the price for model Contax T2 raised from $280 in 2009 to $800+ now, which is the highest since its release in 1990. Not only with the cameras but also the price of film rolls has tremendously risen. A famous film company Kodak Alaris has announced an additional price rise in Kodak-branded films by between 10% and 20% from January 2021. This rapid rise in film price is more severe in South Korea. When it used to be around $2.74 for each roll with 36 exposures in 2019, it is currently over $9.14.
Now, some might question the reason for this rapid trend in film photography. One of the charms of the film comes from its rarity. From limited exposure, it is challenging while also rewarding and special. As the number of skilled photographers with better quality is growing, the attention and impact on digital photography are growing less. Therefore, film photography is grabbing interests for its unique style and novelty. It allows people who are bored with modern technology to back to analog. Film photography could also provide opportunities to slow down and enjoy moments in the lives, escaping from the busy modern society.
From the course INFO 2040, we learned about the diffusion of innovation, which is the spreading of new behaviors or thoughts among the networks. By looking at the ratio of neighbors with that certain behavior or thought, we were able to estimate if people are going to be influenced to follow those innovations. According to its theory, if half of the individual’s neighbors are practicing the new behavior, the individual is also adopted to practice that behavior or thought. In this case, although the cause of this trend in film photography could be contributed to many other factors, it could also be understood in this theory of diffusion.
As people bringing out the aesthetic of film photography are starting to appear in social media, including Youtube and Instagram, its popularity has increased. There are many Instagram accounts only for film photography. The impacts of influencers and celebrities are huge. However, this diffusion is limited among the younger generation of 10s and 20s, which is taking account of the cluster theorem from the course. From the differences in interests or weak ties between the younger and older generation, it is difficult to penetrate the dense clusters.
https://medium.com/@tom.grimbert/the-return-of-film-photography-in-2019-3cf4f479758c