The BEST Lab to Get Your Film Developed!

Let's face it, not  lot of places develop film anymore. Costco pulled out their 1 hr service. Walmart, Walgreens and other drugstores send out the film taking up to two weeks for your order to get processed, scanned onto a CD with rather low quality prints. The worst part is you DON'T get your NEGATIVES back which is your physical copy of the photo that can be archived and saved for later scanning down the road. Some of the worlds best images were taken on film and a lot of people prefer this medium for that exact reason. The negative will last longer than a digital file. 

With all of the developing options being slim where does the analog photographer turn to? Well they can take up home developing and scanning but for a lot of people especially if they're starting out it can be intimidating. The other option is to send it off to a professional film lab and theres only one lab that I've ever sent my film to. - The Darkroom Lab (https://thedarkroom.com)

The Darkroom lab is a traditional dip n' dunk film developing lab that provides the highest quality service in the industry. They can develop 35mm, 120, disposable cameras, 110,126,advantix and even sheet film! The fact that their dip n' dunk means they can cross process, push and even pull your film! They also offer different scanning resolutions so if you wanna make larger prints with fine detail you can! The best part is, you can get a roll of 35mm color negative film developed and scanned for as low as $11! What makes it even better is that you don't have to wait till your negatives come back to view your photos. When you make an account on The Darkroom Lab's website you can see your scans from your order immediately right after they process! Their you can download them and have them ready on your computer instantly :)

One of my favorite parts about their system is the turnaround times. After your order goes into production taking into consideration shipping your film to them it usually only takes around 5-7 days, less than a week! That is much faster than other film labs and the options they provide are FAR ahead of the other film labs. 

I personally go through this lab for my larger projects or for paid content. These guys always provide the HIGHEST quality service 

How to place an order

The folks over at the Darkroom Lab really make it easy for you to send in your film! 

1.) Place your order online or print out order form 

2.) Select your developing/scanning options or add prints to your order

3.) Check out (They accept Debit, Credit, )

4.) Print out Prepaid shipping label or request label 

5.) Pack your film into a padded envelope 

6.) Ship it out ITS THAT EASY

7.) Wait for the confirmation email confirming they've received your order

8.) Sit in excitement for your scans to be uploaded to your online album where you can download them instantly :)

The Darkroom Lab also hosts monthly giveaways on through their instagram account (@thedarkroomlab) where you can win SWEET FILM CAMERAS. Follow them for more details!

So thats the lab I've trusted for ever since I stared shooting film. They're an awesome group of people with a purpose to keep film alive and to also provide the highest quality service to their people. This is why I think The Darkroom Lab is the BEST lab to get your film developed. 

11 Analog Photography Channels YOU Should Subscribe to!

The analog photography presents on youtube is growing but lets face it, at the end of the day there's really only a handful of people who are really noticed. There are a couple of channels that stick out more than others but believe it or not, there are TONS of awesome analog photography channels that are still on the rise and don't get the attention they deserve. This list was compiled based on some of my favorite film channels out there, folks who not only shoot 35mm but medium format and even large format. I support all of these guys 100% and I think you should too. These are only based on the channels that I could think of off the top of my head and also uploading frequency. If there is a channel that isn't included I apologize, I do ask you leave the name of the channel in the comment section down below. Let's get started!

1.) Nick Exposed - Nick Exposed an analog photography channel ran by mastermind Nick Mayo. Nick shares his experiences with creative process, various DIY videos for the analog photographer and also runs a series called Two Minute Tuesday (He had it before Peter McKinnon). Nick has been pumping out content weekly and is very active on his instagram account. I've watched him when I first started and I'm sure you won't regret watching him now. Check him out!

- https://www.youtube.com/user/NickExposed/videos?disable_polymer=1

2.) Murphy's Film - My buddy Garth is an analog photographer based out of the UK. He takes you through his experiences with film including photo walks, developing tutorials and much more! He also covers topics such as sunny 16 and various informational material as well that can truly help the learning photographer. One thing that I love about Murphy'sfilm is that not only does he love his hear but he also loves his #Instantcoffee  Garth has a growing presence and he recently purchased a new digital camera for his videos so I HIGHLY recommend you guys check him out and subscribe!

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcKhoB6gRH4QFm3WnPNZQ/videos?disable_polymer=1

3.) TimothyMakeups - Tim was one of the first people I've ever watched on youtube. I always knew him as the guy who shoots his videos in black and white. Timothy Ditzler, a documentary/analog photographer based out of Nashville Tennessee vlogs about his photographic journeys. Documenting the encounters he has in his everyday life. His videos are beautiful showing purity and capturing what he see's. A recent piece of work that was very inspirational was a photo of a dead deer. The way he explains the beauty in the photo and the approach he takes within that video just blew, me, away. Please subscribe to TimothyMakeups if you're not already.

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsIPHfiX6UpomrXTrdq67Q/videos?disable_polymer=1

4.) Analog Insights - Analog Insights is ran by two analog photographers Max and Jules. Their channel consist of photography experiments, film reviews and as well as my favorite, camera reviews. These guys make QUALITY videos that are extremely information weather you're just starting out or have been with film for years.  One series in particular called "The Story Behind The Shoot" takes you behind the scenes of a shot or shoot and gives you some ground and insight at what goes on when crafting their images. Very compelling series that I'm sure a lot of you will enjoy! If you're into gear and amazing photography definitely subscribe to Analog Insights.

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsIPHfiX6UpomrXTrdq67Q/videos?disable_polymer=1

5.) Pushing Film - This group of analog photographers from Melbourne Australia share their passion of film photography and as their name suggest they "Push Film". Their channel explodes with different gear reviews, interviews and guides! They cover different film stocks and offer some top notch production value. This team has been killing the game and i strongly suggest you subscribe! 

- https://www.youtube.com/user/mattdayphotofilmshow/videos?disable_polymer=1

6.) Matt Day - If you're an analog shooter and you watch a lot of youtube videos, you're probably already subscribed to Matt Day. For the slim percent of you who aren't Matt posts informational videos as well as gear reviews. Something that sets Matt apart is his ability to connect photography in his personal life and also offer informative content. This allows him to put out videos with ease so I recommend if not already, subscribe to Matt Day!

- https://www.youtube.com/user/mattdayphotofilmshow/videos?disable_polymer=1

7.) Viva La film - The creator behind this operation is Jess. Jess takes you behind the scenes shooting different cameras and sharing her experiences. She has 13 videos on her channel as of now and has a total of 9 episodes in her series of shooting different cameras. Of those episodes she has a video on the highly sought after Olympus MJU II as well as the Nikon F3! Her channel is fresh and ready to grow so definitely if you enjoy a good watch and wanna see certain cameras in use, subscribe to Viva La Film. 

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOpTsm59JTGl5DBGOvxtahQ

8.) Mike Janik - Mike Janik, a Toronto based analog photographer takes you through his time out shooting by incorporating POV's and also making videos on different analog cameras. His video on the Olympus XA is what influenced me to find one and his uptempo but very chill personality adds to feel of his videos. He also has this dope orange wall where he records a lot of his videos. Subscribe to the man of good luck and good light!

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrSHIK4iv8fD1lmvD5NgOnA/videos?disable_polymer=1

9.) Old Cameras - The next channel I'm gonna talk about is one that I watch on a weekly basis. His content is based on old cameras (film cameras) as his title suggest but also experiences, gear reviews and much more. A lot of his video work is shot in black an white which adds to the theme of his channel. He's done tons, and I mean TONS of camera gear reviews in the past and I believe he's based out of the UK so if you wanna see some amazing UK photography and more gear reviews subscribe to Old Cameras here

- https://www.youtube.com/user/atorrentofvideos

10.) Awesome Cameras - Joey from Awesome Cameras, a channel with videos "about anything pertaining to cameras that are AWESOME!" Is what his about page reads. This channel explodes with a variety of videos such as camera reviews, film photography challenged and even camera comparison videos to help you decide on which camera to buy. Awesome cameras is a channel you MUST subscribe to as the hard work and content they put out is top notch! Subscribe to them here

- https://www.youtube.com/user/AwesomeCameras/videos?disable_polymer=1

11.) Eduardo Pavez Goye - Lastly we have Eduardo Pavez Goye a street photographer based out in the UK (I believe he's originally from Chile). His channel is based around shooting different cameras, trying them out and giving  a little insight to what he thinks about them. What I love about Ed's work on youtube is that he takes you guys with him out shooting in almost everyone one of his videos. He shows you the exact moment when he captures a photo by having someone video tape him. Even just watching his shot film episodes can teach you a lot about street photography. This is one of the channels that I learned from when I started so if you're into street photography, photography and general and wanna see MORE camera reviews, he's definitely worth the sub.

- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ed+pavez

So there you have it! 11 analog photography channels you should follow. Like i said in the beginning if there are any that I din't include please feel free to comment down below the new of the channel! Enjoy. #MinoltaGang

The Essentials of Film Photography

Film photography is a medium that a lot of people love for numerous reasons. Some love the grain and organic feeling to a photo and some just love the process of being able to take a picture, develop and print. It's an art that has been dying for quite some time now but analog lovers alike work hard to try and revive the lost art. Film photography is more than just the look and feel of the photo, it's the process you have to take and all of the mental limitations film can offer you that will greatly increase your creativity and ability to make images. 

If you're new to Film Photography you found the right place. Like starting anything, its hard to really find information on certain things that will help you out and so to make it easy for you I have compiled in this post the essentials of Film photography. Here is a list of stuff you'll might want to pick up when you start shooting film!

1.) Film Camera - You're film camera of choice is all up to you. Certain cameras definitely give different feels and some are better for certain types of photography than others so I suggest you take a look into all three different types. Yes, you heard it right there are three different types of film cameras and like stated before some are better for certain styles of photography but at the end of the day they are all the same and have one job, to take a picture. 

Point and shoots, Small compact cameras. Most of them are automatic and don't require you to do anything. Just take out and snap a picture. No thought goes into it which makes it great for casual photographers or for use as a party camera! (Like your iPhone!)

Yashica T2 (Instagram: @Kingjvpes)

SLR's (Single Lens Reflex) , Probably the most versatile but also the most standard looking. A great tool to learn photography on. Some of them have program modes which can allow you to shoot the camera like a point and shoot while also offering manual exposure when you want to learn more about photography. Great for portraits, street photography, casual photography and anything under the sun. 

Olympus OM-2s Program

Rangefinders, The pro street photographers choice of weapon. I shouldn't only categorize them under street photographers only though. The rangefinder features a system where a ghost images (usually in yellow) hovers over the original image in the viewfinder and to focus you have to line the two images up. Rangefinders are quite and once you get the hang of it pretty easy and fast to focus. Great for the photographer who wants a little more of a challenge from a SLR.

Canon QL17 Giii Rangefinder

Canon Ql17 Giii Rangefinder Patch - Notice the Yellow square in the middle. This will show a separate ghost image that you have to line up with what you see in the viewfinder. Once lined up, you're in focus. 

Regardless of what camera you choose its up to you. I personally would suggest buying a SLR's camera because of its versatility. They're also readily available and can be pretty cheap as long as you take the time to pick and pull from eBay. The one I suggest and praise the most is the Minolta X-700.

This is my favorite camera for a number of reasons but the main motive to why I suggest this camera the most is because it is what I learned on. It features Program mode, Aperture Priority and manual mode which later down the road will be beneficial if you decide to learn more about exposure. 

2.) Lens - This will only pertain to the folks who chose to get an SLR or a rangefinder. The lens is probably the most important pice of equipment when taking quality photos with your film camera. Remember your exposing plastic to light NOT to a sensor which means what really matters is the quality of glass you put in front it. 

There are three focal lengths that I suggest to people starting out

35mm (Wide angle) - This will allow you to take shots in a wider field of view. Put simply, you will see a lot more of what is around you with a wide angle lens like the 35mm.

Santa Cruz, 35mm Lens

50mm (Standard) - This is the lens that I suggest you pick up first. The most versatile that can shoot portraits, landscapes and even architecture. Offers a more narrow field of view but will also give you shallow nice shallow depth of field (Background blur) which some wide angle lenses can't offer. 

Shot on 50mm

85mm (Portrait/Short Tele) - If part of your work includes you taking pictures of people the 85mm is an excellent focal length to get those nice creamy blurred backgrounds. The 85mm is what a lot of proffesional portrait photographers use because its not extremely "telephoto" but just enough to get nice background compression, shallow depth of field and still wide enough to get more of a persons body. Pair it up with a 35mm and you're on your way! 

Model: Jacob Warbis shot on Canon EOS 3 with an 85mm 1.8 Film: Fuji 400h

If you can't decide on which lens to get don't sweat it. If you bought an SLR these lenses can be found DIRT CHEAP so why not just pick all them up? :)

3.) Film - This is the stuff that allows you to take pictures. There are tons of different film out there but today I will stick with the basics and give you guys the two types of film that I shoot the most. 

Color Negative Film - This is the standard 35mm film which can be found in stores like walgreens, walmart. You can also buy rolls online and shop the wide variety of film stocks available. Unfortunately ever since digital came a long film has lots its popularity and a lot of manufactures pulled some of there film stocks off the market. (This is why we need to bring back film!) So though it may seem like there are tons of film stocks we can still enjoy, this was just fraction of what our parents may have had 20-30 years ago. 

Some of my favorite color negative film stocks come from Fuji and Kodak. Fuji makes a killer film called Fuji c200 which is fairly inexpensive but such a beautiful film. Of course kodak makes the equivalent, their Kodak Ultramax is great as well. Kodak has more of the popular film stocks like petra and ektar which are beautiful films and fuji has.......they have........ well, they have fuji 400h. (COME ON FUJI). But nonetheless whatever company you go for, you won't be disappointed. (Remember this is not SLIDE FILM, this is COLOR NEGATIVE FILM)

Black And White Film - If there's color film, there is black and white film. These stocks will give you pure black and white photos like the ones photo journalists used back in the 60's, you know the ones you see in modern day history books? :) These films are typically a bit cheaper than color film but highly respected in the film community. My one suggestion for you is, SHOOT LOTS OF IT! There's just something about back and white film the gives you a whole new look on your photography. Take away the color and all you have now are shadows, highlights and the subject. 

Some of my favorite black and white films come from Ilford! The film I shoot the most, Ilford Hp5 is great for just about everything. You also have Ilford Fp4, delta 3200 and there's just so many to choose from. If you don't wanna go full Ilford, definitely check out Kodak Tri x and even some of the Kodak Tmaxx stocks both great as well. 

4.) Small Notebook, This one isn't going to be for everybody but this is something I HIGHLY suggest when starting to shoot film. What's notebook gone do for you anyway you might ask and simple answer is A LOT! I use my notebook to record the shutter speed and aperture combination, film speed, what type of light there is for the shot and a short description of the image. 

Why do you do this? I do this so  can train myself and also have one place that has all of my exact settings. Recording this info will be beneficial to when you're learning about exposure and shooting manual mode because you will have an analog database of recorded setting you've already shot before. So you can go in there and say okay, if I shot this shot under these settings with this lighting condition I should probably shoot the same settings because the lighting condition is pretty similar or the same. 

Like I said this is optional, wether you want to learn about exposure but this has honestly been one of the best tools I've used when learning about photography. 

If you're looking into getting a notebook designed for the analog photographer I highly suggest you pickup one of ShootFilmCo's photo memo book. It was designed by Mike Padua who has been shooting film for years so he crafted dedicated slots in the book for stuff like aperture, shutter speed etc.. Great, great stuff.  Buy one here from ShootiilmCo - https://shootfilmco.com

5.) Developer - Sad to say, but not a lot of places develop film anymore. Walmart took away one hour develops and left it to specialized camera shops to do the work. Before I get into this topic please note one thing, DO NOT GET YOUR FILM DEVELOPED AT WALMART! I cannot say this enough, what they do is they will ship your film out to a company that will develop your film and only give you back prints and a CD. You don't get your negatives back which sucks because negatives last a long time and when you have a shot that you really like you store the negative and scan them in the future. 

I suggest first checking out your local camera stores but if theres none close there is one place I HIGHLY trust for developing film. The Darkroom Lab, these guys have been developing film for quite some time and every roll I've ever sent them has been processed with no mistakes. They give you quality development and scans for a reasonable price and also offer prints. They also give you you're negatives back! These guys offer a quality service at a much faster rate than some other labs. Highly recommend checking them out. Here's a link to their website - https://thedarkroom.com

So there you have it the essential to film photography. Now there are some stuff I left out like film fridge or maybe even if you want to develop your own film but this list was designed to only show whats needed. I hope you guys found this helpful! Also hope you guys get out there and pickup a film camera to go shoot with! Lets keep film a live folks!!! #MinoltaGang #Film is not dead!!

I wanna know what you guys think is essential for film photography! Did i miss something? Feel free to leave a comment below on what else some may need when starting to shoot film! Happy shooting!

If you're reading this you've made it to the bottom of the page with usually doesn't have a ton of useful information. For those of you who know about online space and youtube and stuff like that there is a large load of money that I put into this work and my only true benefit is to share information to help out others and so i put this at the bottom of the page because it's not needed but if you'd like to donate a small amount or even some kind words feel free to go to the Contact page and fill out the little info box. Once the email is sent over I will respond and we'll go from there. But even the smallest donation will go a long way and even if you don't want to or don't have the money to don't feel bad :) As long as you enjoy the blog's and videos that is what matters the most to me! Happy shooting!

Jonathan Paragas                                                                                                                   (KingJvpes)                                                                                                                                                       Author

Canon Ql17 Giii Review + Sample Photos

The Canon QL17 Giii also referred to as the Poor Man's leica was a gem hidden at my local shop. They commanded $15 for the dirty box camera and so I mustered up a couple of quarters from the bottom side of my driver side seat and went back in to claim my prize. 

I'd always had my eye out for one of these but could never find one that would fit the budget, until now. Initially my first impression on the camera was the size and weight. Never did I think it was gonna have this much mass or feel like it was built well. A quick tour around the camera and I soon realized why everyone loved this thing.  

The Canon QL17 Giii even though such a long and funky name actually has meaning to it. "QL" stands for quick loading a feature incorporated by canon to easily load the film in. "17" Refers to the fast 40mm 1.7 lens that everyone seems to say has "leica like" quality. The G stands for an upgraded version of the previous model, and last but not least the "iii" stands for the third and last generation of the canon canonet line of cameras. 

Max shutter speed of the camera is 1/500 of a second all the way down to bulb. Aperture opens up from 1.7 down to f16. There is an "A" mode which is actually shutter priority. The camera also features a gift little self timer and focusing goes from as close as 2.6 ft to infinity. 

I don't want to get too technical with this review because I'd rather talk about my experience with it. Let's put it at I have a lot to say....

The QL17 Giii was the camera the got me into rangefinders. I was (and still) primarily an SLR lover so in brainwashed by the ability to have total control of focus. Rangefinders to me were hard to adapt to because you have to take the rangefinder patches word for it. Then I learned zone focusing and then I entered a phase where rangefinders were just too, uncontrollable. I didn't see what I was going to get which scared me because I like to take my time to compose and get the best possible shot before I press that shutter button. But with a rangefinder all I get is a ghost image that tells me I'm in focus without actually confirming with my eye. 

The QL17 changed that for me because of the rangefinder patch. I realized I didn't like rangefinders because the only other rangefinder I gave a chance was the Olympus XA which is a very capable camera but the rangefinder patch is tiny! With the QL17's bright and big viewfinder it made focusing much more pleasurable and gave me some closure after taking the shot. I no longer felt like I had no control over my camera, instead I felt empowered to create more Images. 

The Lens: Initially I doubted the lens. I thought this was just gonna be another one of those cameras that people create hype over. They compared this thing to a Leica, a Leica?! Countless blogs and reviews all gave the lens an A+ and I wanted to get to the bottom of that. So i loaded the Canonet up with a roll of Fuji Superia 400 and hit the streets. 

Surprisingly the 40mm 1.7 created beautifully sharp images. Also with color film as you see here the color rendition is amazing! 

For Black and white photography the lens has good contrast and can produce some really nice tack sharp images. 

Focusing: Focusing was on the easier side with a decently sized rangefinder patch with a large bright viewfinder when it came to pleasurable focusing this was no joke. I did find the placement of the focus knob a little weird. On the bottom left side, tho its easy once you hold on to it, just a little tricky to get used to :)

Conclusion: In conclusion I find the Canon QL17 Giii an excellent camera featuring that sharp 40mm 1.7 lens, amazing build quality and quick loading feature. This is a very capable camera for the everyday street photographer or even if you're a casual photographer who would like to take some nice images. The lens is more than enough to get you quality images and in all honesty this lens is sharper than some of my SLR glass out there. Overall a great all in one camera!

Who's this camera for? - This Camera is for People who love street photography, casual photography and loves a good solid build. 

- This camera is NOT for people who don't like rangefinder focusing, or someone who doesn't want sharp images :)

I wanna take the time now for saying thank you for reading to the end. It's a pleasure again to be able to write these blog posts. But unfortunately These blogs don't pay me thousands and so if you support the website or my youtube channel feel free to make a donation, anything counts and will help me create more blogs and videos! I wanna thank you again for your time, and I'll see you in the next one. - Jonathan Paragas