Protip for black and white film shooters: Develop your film yourself.
Seriously. I shouldn’t even have to say this! Get yourself a couple of tanks and reels off of ebay or craigslist, and a sink. You’re set. There are many many guides online to get you started- I recommend the Ilford one.
For developer I use Kodak HC-110 ($30 a bottle) and Kodak Fixer ($13 a bag)- $43 is enough for me to process 100 rolls of HP-5 or Tri-X (pushed to 1600, even). It’s that cheap. I’m putting this out here because here’s no reason for someone to drop $1500 on black and white film processing and then complain online that film is too expensive to shoot. That’s detrimental to those out there who might be interested in learning to shoot film. The annual cost of a moderate film shooter’s DIY film processing total would certainly be far cheaper than an expensive daily starbucks habit or upgrading your smartphone every year.
The pictures above are from my archives- I personally use 4-reel steel tanks with 1/2oz of HC-110 mixed in with 1000ml of 20 C water developed for 15min. It works. You can read about my film development methods here. Believe it or not, film development isn’t as difficult or as dull as it may seem. I’ve got a lot of friends who seamlessly incorporate the ritual of film processing into their lives- put on a movie or some music. That first glance of pulling a wet new roll of fresh negs off a reel can still be a cheap thrill.