10,000 is probably high for &quot;proficient&quot;--whatever that means exactly. I was probably shooting a few 36-exposure rolls of B&amp;W film a week when I was in school. A roll of Tri-X is about $5 today and was probably something similar in adjusted dollars then. (We did generally load our own film but that&#x27;s in the noise.) Chemicals and paper adds a bit more.<p>So, I don&#x27;t know. $7 x 150 rolls or whatever. So maybe $1000 plus gear. The gear might actually be a bit cheaper than today assuming access to a darkroom. Color would be significantly more but you probably wouldn&#x27;t do your own processing.<p>To your basic point though. Yes, it&#x27;s much easier today. The instant feedback, much improved ability to work in low light, no-cost experimentation, easier to use equipment, etc. As a result, I think it&#x27;s much easier for people to get to the &quot;good enough&quot; stage today even if becoming really accomplished isn&#x27;t necessarily all that much easier.