Looked in the fridge the other day and wondered if I should be nervous or not. Kodak discontinued Plus-X several years ago and it was a sad day for many of us. Since that time I have been nursing a stash of rebranded and now expired Plus-X that I purchased from Freestyle Photographic Supplies in Los Angeles. Not the most convenient to use… 24 exposures per roll instead of 36, but I took what I could get and have about 50 rolls or so left. Ok, so that’s the bad news, because I love Plus-X and have used it on and off for years. Sort of like my LL Bean waxed field coat that is about 15 years old and is no longer being made. Yes, it has holes in it but I love it. It’s an old friend. My wife thinks it is time for it to be retired, so I need to find a different version from Bean, Eddie Bauer or someone else and learn to love it too.
Back to the Plus-X … I will adapt, find a near replacement or perhaps something even better.
Don’t get discouraged or caught up in the argument that film (and paper) is dead; instead, just take a look for example at the black and white films Freestyle lists in its inventory:
- Adox
- Agfa
- Arista
- EDU Ultra
- Ezox
- Foma
- Fujifilm
- Holga
- Ilford
- Kentmere
- Kodak
- Rollei
And there are others out there that Freestyle doesn’t carry! In fact, there a number of black and white film alternatives that didn’t exist or where not easily available 5 years ago!!!!
So there really is a wealth of black and white film … and the opportunity out there for those that want to use this wonderful medium!