(Would you like) duplicate prints?
Based on my limited study of history, I assume that technology has always had a Came/Saw/Conquered/Left Town arc. I mean, I know about blacksmiths and feed mills, even though I have never got close to a horse. Well, except that one that like to hug me, but that’s a tale for another day. Moving along.
I had a short conversation with my youngest, this afternoon. He had found a roll of exposed colour film in a box of things, and wondered where he could have it processed. He remembered those room-size robotic machines at the mall of yesteryear, even though he had never actually needed or used one. And so I did a quick “deep dive” on his behalf.
Film processing labs used to be everywhere. People took photos, but they didn’t set up a darkroom to check out the blurry results. They paid for that. My son remembered the concept. I had actually processed (a lot of film), including various colour platforms. As it turns out, there are a handful of companies that still process C-41 (sorry, no Kodachrome), at a reasonable price. However, as I mentioned to the kid, it was akin to jumping out of a plane with a parachute. No do-overs.
And once you had a set of negative strips, you were only half way to paradise. Prints are still available, but the price point means that you do it because you need to, not because you want to.
I think I’ve distracted him on this quest. We’ll see how it goes in the months to come.
