For some, it’s the delayed gratification and surprise of a developed photo. Others like the vintage look and imperfections of film compared with high-resolution cameras.
Whatever the appeal, people are turning to film cameras again. Pandemic hobbyists are still clicking away, and Gen Z is gravitating toward analog too. Camera companies like Pentax have taken notice. They introduced a brand new film camera this year — the first any company has offered in over 20 years.
Nostalgia doesn’t necessarily come cheap. It can cost about $18 to develop and scan a roll of 36 images. That might make film more of a special occasion kind of thing for most people.
Still, Los Angeles’ small business owners are keeping the film scene thriving.
The Fuentes family owns J & F Photo Lab in Pico-Union. Evelyn Fuentes (left), Angie Fuentes, Ashley Fuentes, and Jonathan Fuentes run the business together. Photo courtesy of the Fuentes family.
J & F Photo Lab Inc.
2692 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Every day, Angie Fuentes hears from customers interested in trying film photography for the first time. She often shows them how to load 35mm film into their cameras, and when they return to develop that roll, how to wind it back up. “I love being able to serve people who are just starting,” she says.
Fuentes runs J & F Photo Lab in Pico-Union with her sister and their parents. Jonathan and Evelyn Fuentes opened the business in 1992, but they stopped offering film development years ago when the world went digital, and every phone became a camera. To keep the doors open, they added new services like t-shirt, button, and key chain printing, in addition to long-time services like photo restoration.
About eight years ago, they began getting phone calls from people looking to develop film. In response, they dusted off their machines and resumed the service. The Fuentes family was ahead of the trend when the pandemic hit in 2020. Now, they often run their development machines and film scanners all day.
Fuentes says customers are receiving hand-me-down cameras from their parents and grandparents, and now the next generation is discovering the color and detail film can provide.
"I think it's a full circle moment,” says Fuentes, “and that's why our slogan is ‘There's nothing like film.’”
Drake Woodson owns Relics, a vintage film camera shop and film lab in Long Beach. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
Relics
1105 E 3rd St, Long Beach, CA
Drake Woodson was at the right place at the right time when he opened Relics in Long Beach in December 2020. A collector of vintage film cameras, Woodson was ready to make a business of it just as, after months of lockdown, people were looking for new hobbies.
Folks were also very eager to support Black-owned businesses as sensitivity to racial inequities swept the nation.
One day Woodson’s buddy came to visit the shop, took a photo, and tagged Relics with a caption about it being California’s first Black-owned camera store. The next day, camera orders flooded in so quickly that Woodson had to shut down his website to keep up.
“It was madness,” he says.
Today, Woodson makes most of his money teaching workshops and film development. A trend he’s noticed: Disposable cameras are hugely popular among younger photographers, and very few of them pick up their negatives. They just want the digital scans. Still, Woodson says, the interest in film feels like a culture shift.
“Digital is everywhere. We're on our phones all the time, and I think it's a little bit of a correction happening,” says Woodson. “I think people are a little bit more aware of slowing down and trying to live in the moment.”
Frank Ledezma (left), co-owner of East LA Film Shop, and his employee Matty Lopez brought their film cameras to a photography event at Olvera Street in October. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
East LA Film Shop
3543 1st St, Los Angeles, CA
Frank Ledezma and Jennyfer Gramajo once made a living with event photography, working weddings and quinceañeras. And then the pandemic hit. Good-bye events, clients and gigs.
“I'm like, man, we gotta take a risk. We need money. We have kids,” recalls Ledezma.
The husband and wife team kept afloat during the pandemic by selling film online as East LA Film Shop. They grew a big following because they were one of the few places in LA that even had film in stock during a pandemic shortage, as shut-ins with extra time picked up the hobby.
When the world reopened for in-person celebrations, they decided to give up event photography and stick with their brick-and-mortar location selling cameras and film. They added development and printing in response to growing interest. Now they also host photo walks and curate small photography galleries throughout LA.
Ledezma notices that micro trends in film photography often have their roots in social media. When Kendall Jenner posted film photos on Instagram, the shop received calls from people looking for the camera and film she used. “That helps bring the youngsters in,” says Ledezma.
Bryan Hong sells vintage cameras and film, and offers film development at Analog Photomart in Little Tokyo. Photo by Megan Jamerson/KCRW.
Analog Photomart
416 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Bryan Hong keeps a “first film camera” wall, where he pins polaroids of smiling customers holding their new gear. He opened Analog Photomart this spring in Little Tokyo, and estimates about 80% of his customers are in their 20s. He keeps a wide variety of film and vintage film cameras that he tests himself. He also offers development services that are currently done out-of-house.
Hong got into analog photography after finding a film camera at his parent’s home during the pandemic. The Hollywood grip was also out of work, so he started collecting cameras with the intention of selling them on eBay.
Fast forward to 2024, and he decided to open a shop instead. He has dreams of making it a community space with a gallery, and an area for people to hang out.
As he speaks with KCRW, Hong gets a call from a customer looking for disposable cameras. After hanging up, he smiles and says they are a “gateway drug” to the vintage reusable point-and-shoot cameras he stocks.
“I do think there is a craving right now among younger people for the kind of authenticity that film photography brings,” says Hong. “It’s one of one. It’s a real thing.”