Nostalgia and passion fuel a young couple who run an old-school photo lab

“It all started as a little passion project,” says 28-year-old Fabricio Diaz, who with his 25-year-old wife, Lucia Ramirez, runs the only fully operational film development lab in Central America from their apartment in Guatemala City.

“We now have over 60 customers a month and have developed over 800 rolls this year alone,” he adds.

Arca Film Lab has been in high demand this year and is the only film development lab in Central America that processes all types of analog film, which includes the rather complex process of developing positives in a process known as E-6.

Fabricio, who studied filmmaking, explains that the great unavailability of high-quality film developing services in Central America gave him the first impetus to learn how to develop his first film.

“When we started experimenting and developing film in our apartment, friends started asking us to develop film for them, and it kind of took off,” Lucia recalls.

Thus, Arca Film Lab was born in September 2023 as a simple Instagram page offering film development services in Guatemala.

The couple learned most of the skills they needed to make the film by watching YouTube videos and reaching out to other film labs around the world for advice.

“We were surprised that so many people answered our questions. Many veterans in the photo development world have helped us by sharing their experiences and tricks. We are very grateful for that,” says Fabrizio.

However, Fabrizio and Lucia’s love for photography is not limited to film. The couple also organizes “photo walks” where a group of people gather in Antigua, Guatemala’s old downtown, to take pictures and experiment with old analog cameras.

For young analog photography enthusiasts like 22-year-old Ivan Ortiz, shooting with a camera that’s older than he is offers something that modern cameras can’t compete with.

“It’s like nostalgia for a generation we were never a part of,” he tells the BBC.

Ivan says that older people don’t always get excited about old cameras and film. “They just don’t understand our perspective,” he explains.

“We live in a world where everything is digital and fast. With analog photography, I have to make conscious decisions about my photos and focus solely on the act of taking photos. And the best part is that after that you have something physical and not just another data file,” he adds.

Having physical photos is also an advantage of analog photography by Steven Lopez from the US.

The 33-year-old travels across Central America to document the last traces of Mayan culture and always carries a 35mm analog camera with him.

“Photography, and especially analog photography, is simply the best way to document and experience culture. Every time I get back from a trip and get the developed film, it’s like Christmas!” he tells the BBC.

The community of analog photography enthusiasts in Central America may be growing rapidly, but the challenges are greater than elsewhere.

“Analog cameras are very hard to get here, and even harder to get them in good condition,” explains 26-year-old Ronald Ataniel, who went on a photo walk to buy new rolls of film and drop off others. developed.

There are other obstacles.

Fabricio and Lucia explain that the process of purchasing and importing the chemicals needed to develop the positive film was extremely difficult because the import of these chemicals is closely controlled by the government and requires special permits, making it a painstaking, long, hard work.

“A lot of other labs don’t offer E-6 processing just because it’s very difficult to import the chemicals,” Fabrizio says.

Their business may be expanding, but Fabrizio and Lucia are determined to make sure it doesn’t lose the personal touch and passion that inspired it in the first place.

Lucia explains how sometimes customers “put little treats in the parcels they send us, and sometimes we send back a handwritten note”.

“It is important for us that this is not a mass business, but that each customer is treated as an individual,” she adds.

All over the world, photo labs use large machines that develop film almost completely automatically, but in Fabrizio and Lucia’s modest apartment, the process is very “hands-on”.

For color and positive (E-6) film, the temperature of the chemicals and the exposure time to the film must be precise, otherwise the entire roll of film will turn out bad.

“The beginning of this whole process was definitely not easy, but after developing more than 800 rolls of film, these processes became second nature to us,” recalls Fabrizio.

“But the first time we developed positive films, the E-6 process, we were so nervous because we had invested so much in chemicals and roll. But when it turned out well and we were able to see these living colors of a positive film – it’s always very exciting,” he adds.

Another indispensable member of the Arca Film Lab is Toto, a four-month-old cat who, according to Fabrizio and Lucia, is in charge of quality control and roams throughout the development process.

Rolls of developed film are then moved from the kitchen to the bathroom, as this is the dustiest place in the house.

There they dry to later be scanned in Nikon’s high-resolution scanner, which Fabrizio says is the highest resolution film scanner in Central America.

Fabrizio and Lucia have now also expanded into El Salvador, where they regularly collect and sell film.

The young couple are still ambitious, and in the future they hope to build strong relationships with CineStill and Eastman Kodak and develop film rolls, which will involve a complex process known as ECN-2.

“It’s my dream to revive the classic film scene here in Central America! We have so much experience, talent and enthusiasm to offer the world. (…) with Arca Film Lab, we started a movement that we want to push further and further,” says Fabricchio.

All photos are by Fritz Pinow and are copyrighted.