Industry giant Kodak has seen demand for film roughly double in the past few years. File photo. Photo: 123rf
While most photos are taken digitally these days, film photography is in the midst of a resurgence, with the younger generations leading the return to analog.
For many people, its been a long time since they've thought about using a film camera. In the age of digital, why would you bother with the cost, time and energy?
Splendid Photo shop co-owner Duncan Manning has a theory.
"I definitely think it's something that goes along with people trying to get in touch with something they can actually touch, something tangible, something physical, something real."
A wedding moment captured on film by Poet Pictures. Photo: Supplied / Poet Pictures
Splendid - which began in Wellington in 2018 and now has a shop on Auckland's Karangahape Road - deals exclusively in film.
"Every single day we have new customers that we have to add into our system, and I would say nine times out of 10 it is someone under the age of 25."
Industry giant Kodak has seen demand for film roughly double in the past few years, and Britain's only film manufacturer is investing millions of pounds into new equipment.
Earlier this year, the Pentax 17 was launched, the company's first film camera in over 20 years.
Manning said the renaissance was similar to musical tastes.
"People compare it all the time to the vinyl resurgence. I do think it is something around that, something that not just slows you down, but something you can actually pick up."
It's not just amateur enthusiasts who are stocking up on rolls of film.
Ophelia Harradine-Bayly is the co-founder of Poet Pictures, a boutique photography group who shoot weddings on film.
"Film photography attracts a certain type of client and we are also a certain type of photographer. So if you want 10,000 photos of your wedding, then we are not for you."
Harradine-Bayly said it was the nostalgia factor - and quality over quantity - that created memorable moments.
"If you're in my generation, you probably have some sort of memory of a film photo on the mantelpiece of a wedding. There's usually only one photo - we give you a lot more than one photo - but you're getting the best photos. Because instead of taking 400 pictures of you kissing, you're taking five."
Despite the minimal approach, Harradine-Bayly said her team still went through about 12-20 rolls of film every wedding.
She said they did not get stressed about it all going horribly wrong on someone's big day.
"It's important to remember that pre-digital cameras and iPhones, the history of the entire world was captured on film of some kind, so it's got a pretty good hit rate."
At Splendid Photo, Manning was also seeing an uptick in people getting physical prints of photos.
He said in a digital world, photo albums that you can hold in your hands were making a return.
"I think it will be one of those things that in 15-20 years, none is going to huddle around an iPad like that, it will be more a photo album or a shoebox full of old prints and there is something way more delightful about picking something up and flipping through it, rather than scrolling through on a screen."
