Meet Bleach Film Lab

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bleach Film Lab and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bleach Film Lab, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
For the past 10 years, Nancy has been a working artist developing her own analog photography, and I (Henry) have been producing commercials and photo shoots. After spending time together, the two of us understood that art and community are some of our highest shared values. These conversations were occurring as we searched the city for a film lab to develop our own photos. Realizing there wasn’t a quality service within the city limits, the opportunity and question leapt up ‘why don’t we start a film lab!?’

Initially we started by developing our own work and through word of mouth taking in others. However, very quickly we realized that there were many people like us in need of a consistent lab. So what started to help just a few artists, ultimately became Bleach Film Lab. We landed on Bleach because it’s firmly anchored in the development process (there’s a chemical called Bleach Fix that’s used), but it’s also expansive and could grow in meaning as we go along.

What should our readers know about your business?
We develop 35mm and 120 film for photographers in the South, focusing primarily on the greater Atlanta area. We deliver high quality digital scans of the negative, and work on a weekly schedule developing Mondays and scanning Tuesdays. This sets a clear expectation for our customers, gives us the ability to maintain quality and consistency, and allows us to continue nurturing our own creative work.

What sets us apart from others is our small batch process. We both own *and* operate this business, therefore we intimately know every roll that comes through, allowing us to talk directly with photographers and help them on an individual basis. As photographers ourselves, we understand how valuable attention, care, and feedback is at every step of the photo-making process.

We’re most proud of the many loyal customers we’ve worked with, and the word of mouth that continues to grow the lab. Through a back and forth dialogue with customers and each other, we’ve calibrated the business operations to work in lockstep with the amount of film rolls that come in each week. It’s a very technical, sometimes stressful, process, but we always strive to meet our commitments to customers. It’s not always easy — some weeks require continual late nights to meet the standards we’ve set. However, these late nights are signs that the business is growing and remind us that we need to continually improve our processes and our own skills along with it. Knowing that we are contributing to the Atlanta creative community is what encourages us to keep going and makes the work worth it.

The goal isn’t to expand into an empire. It’s to continue servicing the people who already trust us to develop their film, and to deepen the relationship. Things we’re excited about revolve around this idea: creating tools for photographers, providing an arts education for young kids, and passing on the knowledge that we’ve acquired in the decade of experience we have. There’s a lot to be done, but it’s work that we are excited to be on the forefront of.

We have a deep understanding of why people are coming back around to shooting analog film. There’s a tactile quality to it along with the delayed gratification of waiting to see your images. The more we’re able to bring people back to that in this digital age, the better we’ll all be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Over by Bleach Film Lab in Avondale Estates, we like to go to Skips for hot dogs and great french fries. Banjo always fills us up with much needed coffee and pastries. More centrally, we like to go to Smith’s Olde Bar for music and drinks. The Beltline and Piedmont Park for walking and hanging outside.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our family and friends have been incredibly supportive of our decision to start Bleach! We also appreciate every person who has told their friends about the lab. It means a lot to us. 🫶

Special shoutout to KEH Camera, Atlanta Decatur Printing, and CatLabs – organizations that we love and have provided so many resources for us when we were first getting on our feet. Some businesses that have allowed us to put up flyers include: Virginia Highland Books, George’s Bar, and Java Vino.

We also have to mention Philip-Lorca diCorcia, whose photography book has been a staple in our home and lab.

Website: https://bleachfilmlab.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bleachfilmlab