“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

Film photography is back, but it’s getting expensive.

David Montejano is a film photographer and TikTokker in Los Angeles. He said he noticed film photography growing more popular right before the pandemic, so he started sharing his work on TikTok. Now, he has a community of over 29,000 followers. He talks about his film camera collection on the channel and shoots on different film stocks. 

“I love film photography, it’s, like, my passion,” Montejano said. “TikTok just allows me to share this with everybody and also meet all kinds of people.”

However, this increase in popularity came with price increases as well. Between 2019 and 2021, camera reseller KEH saw prices for old film cameras shoot up by as much as 80%. In March, Kodak, one of the biggest companies in the film photography industry, increased prices for its 35 mm and 120 mm films as much as 25%, making the stocks unaffordable for many film photographers. According to Moment, a camera retailer, issues with supply chains, manufacturing and shipping are pushing up costs. Even if demand were to drop, those logistical issues would keep prices high. 

Montejano said he’ll continue to shoot on film to make sure his daughter can have the same memories he did as a kid. “Now that I’m a dad and I have a daughter, 99% of all the pictures I take of my daughter are on film,” he said. “I can, you know, share that experience with the next generation, which is my daughter.”