Young shutterbugs driving revival of film photography in Halifax

The novelty of an old art and the abundance of spare time during the pandemic seem to have piqued the younger generation's interest in film photography.

The Atlantic Photo Supply is one of the few remaining businesses that sells and develops film in Nova Scotia. Allen Sutherland, who manages the store's locations in Dartmouth and in Halifax, said there has been a 200 per cent increase in film sales over the last five years.

"It's kind of like vinyl records. It's the same trend,"said Sutherland."Vinyl records came back because of the appeal for something that was more analog."

Younger customers are bringing in cameras passed down to them by their grandparents or are finding them in thrift stores, he said.

"They bring it to us and are like,'We'd like to buy a roll of film. Can you show us how to put it in?'"Sutherland said, adding that there are still a hardcore group of seasoned photographers out there whonever got rid of their film cameras.

Customers acrossAtlantic Canada and as far away asnorthern Quebecship rolls of film to his store to be developed, he said.

Allen Crooks has been running the Halifax Darkroom for the last seven years to teach peoplethe art of processing film.

He saidthe pandemic shifted the way people think of photography, experience it, and share it.

"It's just the pure curiosity of a certain generation that wasn't born into analog photography," said Crooks, adding that most of the 30 members ofthe darkroom facility are under age 30.

Many young people tookthe pandemic as an opportunity to learn an art that takes them away from computers, he said.

They could also use the darkroomsafely duringlockdowns.

Keeping the art of film photography alive, one snap at a time

2 years ago

Duration 3:29

You can't develop a roll of film at the grocery store these days, so a group of shutterbugs in St. John's are building a community darkroom. They call their group, "Dark NL".

What's the appeal?

Sutherland saidpeople are also drawn to the retro look of the final product.

Film cameras capturewhat is in the environment mechanically, without an image processor. There's no sensor that interprets what it sees. "That's as true and pure as you can get," he said.

Albert Lee, a photojournalist whose work has beenpublishedin newspapers and magazines,saidthe trend hasonly caught on in the Maritimes recently.

"It's a big thing on the West Coast in the states right now," said Lee, who has dabbled in both digital and film photography.

He believesthe young people who are embracinganalog photography see it as a mode of self-expression.

"People are too usedthese daysjust to squinting at a two-inch-square screen on a smartphone, or maybe just like a 12-inch display on their computer monitor. That sense of esthetic isn't quite the same as watching it like on a print say, even aneight-by-10or 11-by-14 print hanging on a wall," said Lee.

Will it last?

Sutherland said he believesinterest in analog photography will lastif it isaffordable.

But today, aroll of Kodak film thatwould normally have cost$8is now $28, he said, and people are selling themonline for about $40.

The price of analog cameras has also shot up. For example, he said the Pentax K1000 and the Canon AE1, which used to cost about $400 and $300 respectively five decades ago, now sell online for up to $1,000.

"It definitely is a trend, and it probably is one that's not going to last forever," Sutherland said.

MORE TOP STORIES