Loading…
15
Spotted a forgotten film lab sign in an old part of town
Honestly, I was walking around the old industrial district near 5th and Maple yesterday. I looked up and saw this faded painted sign on a brick wall for 'Kramer Photo Finishing'. It had a little graphic of a film reel. Tbh it got me thinking about how many of those small labs just vanished. I wonder what kind of chems they used back then, or if they had a specific house style for prints. Has anyone ever found old lab paperwork or chemistry notes from a place that closed down?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
karenlee6mo ago
That sign is probably from the late 90s, not some ancient relic. A lot of those mini-labs used standard Kodak or Fuji chemistry anyone could buy, nothing special. The idea of a secret house style is mostly nostalgia for a process that was pretty automated and basic by the end.
4
drew7916mo ago
Man, you nailed it. This happens with everything now. People talk about old diner coffee like it was some magic brew, but it was just a standard Bunn machine and Folgers. Same with "vintage" video game graphics being intentional art, not just the limits of the tech. We build up a whole story around basic, mass produced stuff.
3
elliotw374mo ago
Wait are we supposed to be romanticizing the smell of developer fluid and fixer now? Because I remember that stuff gave me a headache just walking past those little huts in the mall. @drew791 is right on the money though people love to imagine these little shops had some secret recipe passed down from a master printer when in reality it was just a guy swapping out a box of Kodak paper every morning. I bet that sign is all that's left of a place that ran on the same basic D-76 formula every other lab used until the owner just got tired of watching his profit margins shrink. Honestly the only mystery here is how they stayed open long enough to even let the sign get that faded.
1