The Florida Film Lab offers local film development as photography takes place – The Independent Florida Alligator

In a world defined by instant gratification where packages arrive with the tap of a button and photos are snapped and shared in seconds, nostalgic rebellion has not happened quietly.

It starts with pressing. Not the digital tap of a touch screen, but the visceral, metallic 35mm film. The sound is deliberate and final – a snapshot frozen in time. The captured time will not be immediately visible on the flashing screen. Instead, it fades away, off a film strip, waiting to be brought to life through the alchemy of development.

This is the influence of film photography: a deliberate, almost meditative testament to the culture of today’s needs. Its connoisseurs desire a dreamlike imperfection of light leaks, specks of dust and grain that no filter or software can replicate.

Major motion picture companies have reported an increase in demand for motion picture products over the past decade. In June, the Pentax 17 was released as the first film camera from a major brand since the 2000s. According to the Verge, Kodak temporarily halted film production in November to upgrade its Rochester, New York plant, aiming to increase capacity and meet growing demand. in the photography industry.

So, why are so many 21st century storytellers trading megapixels for negative effects?

Miguel Cardona’s journey began with architecture and soon grew into the creation of the Florida Film Club for local members. The 33-year-old Gainesville filmmaker was originally drawn to photography as a way to capture architectural examples during his time at UF, relying on the accuracy and convenience of digital cameras. He eventually dabbled in event and product photography during college, turning his hobby into a career and quenching his once-burning passion for design.

“I think it’s important to do things that feed your soul when you really enjoy something, because obviously when I first started, I had no idea that I would be turning it into a business,” Cardona said. “Finding a way to turn it into a service to others is also where the entrepreneurial spirit comes in.”

That’s where Cardona dives into film photography, developing his film series at home. He turned his house into a dark room, storing bottles of chemicals and bad habits hanging from clothespins. At first, he used whatever old cameras he could get his hands on from family, thrift store finds or trades with other film enthusiasts.

In 2023, an accidental discovery took his passion to the next level. Cardona stumbled upon a Facebook post where a Missouri man was selling his late father’s camera collection. Surprised, Cardona reached out and learned the collection was vast, containing boxes upon boxes of vintage cameras and lenses all at very low prices.

Without hesitation, he loaded up his car after a full day of work and drove more than 15 hours from Gainesville to Missouri, where he met U-Haul’s cameras and equipment. Cardona loaded up the truck and headed back to Gainesville, his mind racing with possibilities.

Back home, a business with an in-house photography professor added the cherry on top to his growing collection—a complete darkroom setup and the much sought-after Jobu film processor to develop film prints, obtained in exchange for a few carefully selected cameras.

Piece by piece, Cardona’s Hobby was transformed into something greater. He began selling and selling pieces from the Missouri collection, once again gaining the advantage of buying professional-grade equipment. Slowly but surely, the idea of ​​a full-service film lab in Gainesville began to take shape.

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Soon, Cardona’s vision came true. In a water closet hidden behind a red door in a brick, nondescript building in Gainesville, he began making films as a private project. Last June, a full-sized room next to the toilet became available for rent. That’s when he took a leap of faith.

“I was like, ‘Okay, this, this will give me an opportunity to get some equipment in place and have a dedicated space to offer this as a service,'” Cardona said. “I’ve spent the entire fall semester getting a chance to work, learning the equipment.”

Thus, Cardona’s brainchild was born: the Florida Film Club, a Gainesville film lab that officially opened in September.

Although the lab’s presence is in its infancy, according to Vance Herbener, a full-time environmental scientist and one of the lab’s part-time filmmakers, the lab has been well received by Gainesville’s arts and small business communities.

Herbener contacted Cardona with a friend who he knew was a film photographer. Herbener’s journey into film photography began two years ago, sparked by a long-forgotten camera in his parents’ garage.

“The combination of old fashioned technology and the unique look of film images appealed to me,” Herbener said. “I think there’s this ad of ‘You have to change your own life,’ and film photography helps me do that.”

Herbener’s expertise is often tied to ultramodern technology, but this does not prevent him from taking his film camera with him during field days at work.

At first, Herbener sent his film strips to the lab by mail for development, but the costs quickly increased. A year and a half ago, he took matters into his own hands, learning to develop black-and-white film in his bathroom, just like Cardona.

“The lab is very much a work in progress that we hope can be a place where local film photographers can buy quality film, cameras, scores and prints,” Herbener said.

Until recently, Gainesville’s film photographers didn’t have a brick-and-mortar lab to call their own. The last dark community closed its doors more than two years ago, forcing photographers to send their precious film mail to a remote laboratory. It was an expensive and courageous process, plagued by the dangers of lost packages, sun damage or weeks of waiting just to see the fruits of their creative labor.

Whether it’s drugstore cameras or dig-in-the-bottom-and-bullet cameras, Generation Z is discovering lost technology at first hand.

For 19-year-old UF art student Sydney Hinton, film was introduced to her life in middle school through the image of her mother’s film camera, which she still rocks today. Being able to develop and analyze his film in a lab in the city has allowed him to develop and develop his skills, he said.

For many Gen Z film influencers, it’s their first taste of a world where every shot counts, where film rolls are smooth and magic lies in wait.

“I think there’s something special about film photography that you don’t get with digital photography,” said Hinton. “Each picture becomes more valuable.”

Contact Sabrina Castro at scastro@alligator.org. Follow him on x @sabs_wurld.

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Sabrina Castro

Sabrina Castro is a senior studying journalism at the University of Florida and a summer 2024 writer for Avenue. In her free time you can find her scrolling tiktok or looking for hidden gems in cute local shops.


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