Trial
$30
One three-hour session on one enlarger. Chemistry, a box of 10 sheets and the 30-minute induction included.
Safelight on · Film lab & darkroom · Pellman Street, Marrowick
Every print starts as its opposite.
We develop and scan film by hand, rent out a six-enlarger darkroom, and teach people to print. This page runs the way a printer thinks: from the finished print back to the roll it came from.
White light · 05 of 05 · The print
Start with the print.
Printing, two ways. We hand-print your negatives on fiber paper, or you rent an enlarger and print them yourself. Every print on this line is hung to scale.
Every print begins as a test strip.
We cover the paper with card and uncover it a strip at a time: four seconds, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty. Then we pick the one that keeps the sky and still holds the pier.
After: one full sheet at that time, then another with the sky burned in for three seconds more. Fiber prints dry overnight on the line. Pick them up after 2 pm the next day.
Safelight on · 04 of 05 · The darkroom
Rent the room with the red light.
Darkroom membership. Time on an enlarger, chemistry mixed fresh each morning, and a printer on the floor to ask.
Monthly
$85/month
Twelve hours of enlarger time, a locker, all chemistry. Book stations a week ahead. Bring your own paper, or buy it at the counter.
Night owl
$60/month
Thursdays, 6 pm to 1 am, four nights a month. The room is quieter and the radio stays off.
First time in a darkroom? The induction shows you the room, the timers and the light trap. It takes half an hour and it's free. Book one
Light table · 03 of 05 · The negative
Flip the frame.
The negative. Film records light in reverse: the brightest sky is the darkest patch on the strip. Pick a frame, then flip it to see the print it turns into.
Choose a frame
Color film carries an orange mask. Flip frame 15 and watch it burn off.
Sixty seconds in the developer.
Nobody talks. Agitate for ten, rest for fifty. Then you look.
White light · 02 of 05 · The lab
Develop & scan, by hand.
Film developing and scanning. Color and black & white, 35mm, 120 and sheet film. Back in three business days.
| Film | Develop | + Scan | + Large scan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35mm color | $12 | $19 | $28 |
| 35mm black & white | $13 | $20 | $29 |
| 120 roll film | $13 | $22 | $34 |
| 4×5 sheet film | $4 | $7 | $10 |
- Scan 3000 px on the long edge, JPEG.
- Large scan 6000 px, TIFF, dust spotted by hand.
- Push or pull +$4 a stop. Write it on the envelope.
- Next day +$8 a roll, in by 11 am.
- Slide film Thursdays only, +$4.
How a roll moves through the lab
-
Drop
Your rewound roll goes through the brass slot, name on the envelope.
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Develop
Small steel tanks, by hand, in chemistry mixed that morning.
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Hang
An hour in the drying cabinet with a clip on the end. Nobody touches it.
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Scan
Frame by frame. A person sets the levels and spots the dust.
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Sleeve
Cut in strips, sleeved, and a link to your scans by email.
Safelight on · 01 of 05 · The roll
Start here if there’s a roll in your pocket.
Dropping off film. Any hour, through the brass slot by the door. No appointment.
- Rewind it all the way. The film leader should be inside the canister. If it isn’t, leave it; we’ll load it in the closet.
- Take an envelope from the hook. Write your name, an email, and anything we should know: push, pull, expired, “dropped it in the lake.”
- Drop it through the brass slot. We empty it at 10 am every morning except Monday.
BeforeA canister in your pocket. Thirty-six frames nobody has seen.
After, three business daysNegatives in sleeves, scans in your inbox, and maybe one worth printing. Back up to 05, the print ↑
White light · Learn it · Classes
Learn to print in one Saturday.
Printing classes. Groups of six, all paper and chemistry included, taught at the enlargers.
First Print
Saturdays · 10 am–1:30 pm · $70
Choose a negative from our box, make a test strip, and go home with a dry 8×10 you printed yourself.
Your Own Roll
Wednesdays · 6:30–9 pm · $55
Load a reel in total dark by feel, then develop the roll you shot. Bring one black & white roll.
Dodge, Burn & Wait
Three Tuesdays · 6:30–9:30 pm · $165
Split-grade printing, burning in a sky, and knowing when a print is done.
Pinhole Sunday
Last Sunday of the month · 11 am–4 pm · $40
Make a camera from a coffee can, expose paper negatives in the yard, and contact-print them.
Safelight on · Visit
Find the red lamp.
Where we are. Unit 3, Quillon Yard, off Pellman Street. When the lamp over the door is lit, someone is printing: ring the bell once and give us a minute.
- Counter
- Tue–Fri 10 am–6 pm
Sat 10 am–4 pm - Darkroom
- Tue–Sun 9 am–10 pm
Thursdays until 1 am - Monday
- Closed. We mix chemistry and scrub the sinks.
From the other side of the counter
Stillframe is three printers, one lab tech and several hundred clothespins. We print our own work here after hours, so we know which enlarger drifts and which sink runs cold. A cat named Hypo keeps the waiting chair warm.
Getting in. No steps from the yard. One sink is set at seated height, and the light trap is wide enough for a wheelchair.
White light · Practical details
Questions at the counter.
The short answers. Anything else, ask when you drop off.
Is the darkroom pitch black?
No. The main room runs on safelight: you can see your hands, the clock and your prints. Only the film closet is fully dark, and only while the door is shut.
I’ve never printed. Where do I start?
First Print on a Saturday, or a free induction and a Trial session. Both put you at an enlarger within the hour.
Can you develop expired film?
Yes. Write the expiration year on the envelope and we’ll adjust. Very old color film may come back grainy and shifted; that’s the film, not the lab.
How long do you keep my scans online?
Thirty days from the email. Download them, then keep the negatives somewhere cool and dry: they’re the real copy.
Can I bring my own chemistry or paper?
Paper, yes, any brand. Chemistry stays ours so the trays behave the same for everyone.
What if a roll comes out blank?
We’ll look at the edge markings with you. If they’re there, the film was never exposed; if they’re missing, it’s on us and the roll is free.
Safelight on · Book
Ask for a slot.
Booking. Darkroom sessions, inductions, classes and print orders. We reply within one business day.
Or call the counter at 555-0112, or write to counter@stillframe.example.