Recently, physical media like record players, CDs, and especially cameras, have been all the craze. With people either finding their parents’ disposable cameras or becoming infatuated with them on social media, this new love has bridged a generational gap despite being environmentally unsustainable and somewhat financially inaccessible.

Junior Boden Heller, a former Darkroom Photography student, said the course sparked his interest in disposable photography, along with finding old film in his mom’s photo collection. For Boden, his love of film photography wasn’t just about taking photos but reconnecting with old experiences and making new ones.

Darkroom Photography teacher Dalen Towne said both darkroom photography and digital pictures have an adverse environmental impact. “If you do darkroom photography, you’ve got chemicals,” she said. “But if you’re using digital photos, there’s also printer residue.”

Along with environmental factors, people are also weary of the cost. Fellow photography teacher Kim Raskin said that although the school doesn’t charge for class materials, higher film prices for personal practice can make the endeavor inaccessible. That said, there are ways to still pursue an interest in film outside of class. “I would say there’s old film someone previously bought that they don’t want anymore, so you could buy that previously bought film for probably a better price,” she said.

This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on April 9, 2026