Man waiting

Man waiting to cross the road, Chicago.  What a snappy title, eh?  It was a dreary wet morning here in The Liberties yesterday (Sunday) so I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the darkroom, where amongst others I printed this shot from downtown Chicago from a couple of years ago.  It's rather sad to think about when I might be there again.  The Brother and I video-call every Sunday but there's no substitute for the real thing.  Having said that, I'm not inclined to go again in mid-summer (too hot) or Thanksgiving (too cold) so that only leaves Spring and Autumn, which usually coincides with The Brother's busy time at work.  We'll see.  Who knows what 2021 might bring - on current form, it would be a brave person who would predict anything.

Somewhere downtown Chicago, 2018. Ilford MGV RC paper.

It appears that Ilford is raising its prices again.  Coming just after May's increases this seems a tad worrisome.  The headline increase in May was 15% but that was only for certain products (chemistry, I think - paper was increased by a more modest 3% and sheet film hardly at all).  Now the word on the street is that Ilford are talking about a 6% increase in October for all film and paper.  Will it drive people away from film photography?  For established film and darkroom users I doubt it.  Most of us are only too delighted to still be able to use film and paper at all in 2020.  It might mean that more people do a mix of film and digital photography.  Perhaps it will deter newcomers from dipping their toes in the world of film.  There are alternative suppliers of film and darkroom paper, of course - Foma perhaps being the most obvious.  I was going to write how much cheaper Foma film is to Ilford's but after checking online I realise that's not always the case.  I looked at one UK supplier that I've used many times and for 120 film, the price of Fomapan 200 and Ilford FP4+ is almost the same.  For 35mm, 30m of FP4+  comes in at just over £72 and the same for Fomapan 200 is just shy of £50, so a pretty big disparity there.  For interest, 30m of Tri-X 400 is available on special order at the knockdown price of...drum roll...£120!  But for 4x5 sheet film, the difference in price is quite astounding - 100 sheets of Fomapan 200, for example, is about £80...the same quantity of FP4+ is currently £150, or nearly £160 after the increase!  

I'm glad about the 120 film prices, as this is probably the format I use most of these days and for that format I'll be sticking with Ilford for now.  For 4x5 sheet film, though, I doubt I'll be buying Ilford in the future - the price difference is just too great for all the work I do in that format.  I've still a good few sheets of FP4+ Delta and HP5+ in the garage fridge so when that runs low I'll probably try my luck with Fomapan.  The jury is out for the moment for 35mm film.  I do like to support Ilford - as well as making high quality film that I know well, Ilford manufactures in the UK and, perhaps more importantly, it takes me back to my youth.  But I can see myself using 35mm film from other manufacturers from time to time.  

As I say, there are alternatives - this wasn't intended to be an exhaustive 'What films are out there?' sort of post.  I've a mate in Belfast who is into these ultra-low ISO recording films such as Kodak 2238 or Fuji 4791.  These are shot at ISO (20 and lower), so they're not for every situation but they seem to scan well enough from what I can see. Anyway, my mate has bought 1000s of feet of this stuff for not-very-much-money...enough to last him a few decades no matter how extravagant he is, I think.  

Darkroom paper is, of course, another thing entirely and that's where most of the cost of B&W photography lies.  When I started printing seriously again, about 7 years ago, I began with Resin Coated (RC) paper.  Then, as soon as I thought I knew what I was doing and could run with the big boys I switched almost completely to Fibre paper (considerably more expensive but oh so nice).  Now I find myself using more and more RC paper again and only printing on fibre when I think the shot (and the negative) warrants it, which is altogether a much more sensible approach.  Ilford paper is legendary, of course - but Foma make some lovely emulsions too, as do Adox. And then there's Slavich for when you need something completely different.  Like most darkroom printers I must have a dozen or so varieties of paper from all these manufacturers lying about (well, mostly in the freezer, to be precise.  I only keep a few sheets of each in the darkroom for convenience).  It's not so easy to compare prices as every manufacturer's offerings are different but Ilford fibre papers are about 10-20% more expensive than Foma and obviously that price differential is going to stretch a little once Ilford raise their prices.  But variety is the spice of life - especially in the darkroom - so I think I'll continue to buy a range of papers from different manufacturers as the notion takes me. 

When all is said and done I don't really look too closely at the cost of it (probably a good thing!).  It's my only hobby and if I was a member of Portstewart or Portrush Golf Clubs I'm sure I'd be spending a heck of a lot more every year with not so much to show for it - you can't frame and hang a decent drive on the wall, to my knowledge...