LOGAN – When digital started to take over photography in the early 2000’s dark rooms and film processing began to disappear and film camera sales began to dry up. Digital cameras seem to have taken over the camera market.
Even though Jason Haywood has seen the digital camera world grow, he has found a love for processing old school films.
“I’ve been processing film for others about four months and it’s going pretty good,” he said. “It is growing faster than I expected.”
He processed 15 rolls of color film last week. The scanning takes a little more time. Heywood tries to get his film processed and scanned and back to the customer within a week.
The Richfield native began playing with film and processing it after finding old rolls of film his grandfather had laying around.
There was something intriguing about talking a film canister, pulling the film and processing the image that appealed to him.
“I had a friend ask if would develop some film for him,” he said. “After that the word got out that I could develop black and white and color film and the rolls of film started coming in.”
Haywood has added Ektachrome color slides to his processing capabilities.
“I’ve been doing photography for ten years,” he said. “Six years ago, I started shooting film then I moved to Logan and started to attend Utah State University.”
There was a one-year gap in his education. He got married and started traveling.
“I began shooting film and developing it myself,” he said. “When I started offering to develop film as a service to others it just Kind of took off. I never thought it would blow up like this.”
Haywood develops anywhere from 10 to 20 rolls a day. He invested in some film processing equipment that would let him develop multiple rolls at a time and scanners that allow him to digitize the images for his customers.
“I put a film drop box at a café down on Federal Avenue,” Haywood said. “I get rolls of film from there, too.”
He found a Kodak Pakon F-135 film scanner built for one-hour photo labs. It will take a roll of 35 millimeter film and auto-scan the entire uncut roll in five minutes. The software had to be updated so he could use it with his computer.
There is also a larger film scanner for 120 mm film and larger that he can use.
Shooting film means using old school cameras.
“I have a camera that uses 35 mm film, another one that shoots 120 mm film,” he said. “I found a Graflex press camera that shoots 4X5 inch film.”
None of the cameras have autofocus or auto exposure. He must focus the camera, use a light meter on the subject and adjust the shutter and f-stop to make correct exposures.
Besides his film processing business, he also shoots photos as a professional photographer.
“I had a gig with a musician recently,” Haywood said. “I also have a cool gig with a model from Salt Lake.”
He has his own studio lights and can make a studio or rent space if he needs to.
Along with everything else he is doing, Haywood is also trying to learn camera repair and feels he could fine tune them if he has the chance.
As the business grows, he would like to have a retail shop in the future that would allow him to sell film and continue to process it.