Every January, Kodak announces yet another price increase on their film stock offerings. A roll of Kodak Portra 400 in 35mm is now over $20. Developing and scanning is more than $30. Shooting film seems more and more expensive. However, compared to what it used to cost, it’s still cheap. My parents were telling me that in the 1990s, in Czechia, a middle-of-the-road colour film, and then processing and printing would cost $240 in today’s currency. They said that this was as much as a tenth of a factory worker’s salary, and that it made them deeply consider each photo they took.

It 1954, a roll of Kodachrome used to cost $75 (adjusted for inflation). This is absolutely insane. You can see more of these numbers in Mike Eckman’s wonderful article.