J. Cohen Photography

My friend Braga received this e-mail from J. Cohen Photography:

“Exciting things are happening at Victory Camera.

J. Cohen Photography has changed its name to Victory Camera to reflect our triumphant focus on analog photography and the growth in the business. We are picking up new lines, including Manfrotto tripods and Domke and Tamrac bags and opening our first Retail Store in Lafayette Colorado in March.

Our business has always been focused on film photography and as everyone knows the market has largely turned to digital. Does this make us holdovers or out of touch? We do not think so. Film is alive and well. We sell hundreds of dollars of film every day and are seeing more demand for film cameras than we have in years.

What is it about film? There are technical arguments for analog photography such as archiving, color tone and resolution but we think that people should shoot film because they like doing it. Film and film cameras just have an appeal that digital lacks. Our customers tell us that they like the look of film, the feel of the cameras, the sense of authenticity and, bottom line, they just like shooting film. If this is you, then brother, you are not alone.

We think that we are on to something with an analog focused store. We are getting a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from our customers all over the world and business has been booming. Locally, we are seeing great interest from a film photography community that has been neglected.

We have more in the works. We are working on getting the store open and turning it into a center for analog photography. We are not just selling cameras and accessories but pushing analog photography consciousness. To this end, we are working on Victory Camera apparel an informational website, social media, an art gallery, branded accessories and photography events. Exciting things are happening here. We believe in film and are going all in.

We love to hear from you, send your thoughts and work you have been doing!”

More about Kodak

A contribution from Denise: this is the e-mail that freestyle is sending to their customers.

“Dear Valued Freestyle Customer,

The recent announcement by Eastman Kodak Company that they have voluntarily applied for Chapter 11 restructuring comes at no surprise. This is a situation that has been brewing for quite some time and we have received many calls and emails from customers voicing their concern over the future of silver-halide, traditional photographic materials. We have never relied too heavily on any single supplier for our future. As opposed to what you are reading in the media, interest in Film, Wet Darkroom and Historical Photographic Processes is not declining. If it were, Freestyle would very quickly be forced to change course, focusing its efforts on other products. The media tends to dwell on the negative, ignoring the details of a situation to deliver quick sound bites that will capture your attention.

Here are some facts to consider:

Kodak’s sales in their film division increased 20% last year, and this division continues to be a profitable segment. They have billions of dollars in assets. Citicorp Group just gave them $950 million to help fund their restructuring efforts which will continue for 18 months.

Sounds like Kodak will be around for a while longer and that Citicorp is pretty sure they are going to get their money back with interest. The film division seems to be doing quite well and may even prosper under new management as a separate entity. Regardless of what happens, Freestyle is prepared to make a sizable investment in product to keep important products available for years to come.

Kodak film is not the only brand of product Freestyle sells. While Kodak is an important and high volume supplier of ours, in actuality, we do more business individually with Harman Technologies in Ilford Brand B&W Film and Paper, Foma, Fotokemika and Adox brands. These brands are totally committed to continuing manufacturing for the foreseeable future and have absolutely no plans to stop production as sales continue to be quite robust. They have already taken necessary steps to restructure their facilities for long term survival.

As individual items have been discontinued over the years, folks have adapted to the ever changing product selection and have continued creating their art and means of photographic self expression. While we are to some extent limited by the availability of products it by no means hinders creativity.

Hopefully some of these thoughts will reassure those who are nervous. Know that Freestyle continues to be THE driving force in traditional photographic products and that our commitment is stronger than it has ever been.

Sincerely,

Eric Joseph”

This is one good news. Kodak´s film division is not only profitable, but it also increased its sales by 20% last year. So, SUCK IT end-of-the-film prophets! We will have film available for a loooooong time.

News from Kodak

From petapixel.com:

“Film (still and cinema) remains a profitable business for Kodak, and we have the broadest and most respected portfolio of films in both segments. We have taken steps to sustain the business as it has declined, and we know that there are hundreds of passionate fans of film for the artistic and quality reasons they cite. We remain committed to make film as long as there is profitable demand for it. And as I noted, it is still profitable.”

Those are good news.