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PROVO — An internationally renowned film lab in Orem is planning to open a one-of-a-kind accessible, creative hub in Provo that aims to inspire and offer affordable film photography resources.
Photographer Jonathan Canlas used to do a workshop called Film is Not Dead, where he would teach how to shoot and develop film. He opened theFINDlab as an extension of the workshop where people could send in film to be developed and scanned, and get advice from Canlas and other expert photographers.
In 2011, Canlas opened it to the public as the workshop had grown significantly. The lab, located at 170 Mountain Way Drive, #107, is the largest film lab in Utah and in the Top 5 in the nation.
Canlas said the lab gets film sent in from all over the country and processes, develops, edits and scans hundreds of rolls of film each day. While the lab can accomplish a lot of production, Canlas wanted to do even more for the creative community in Utah County.
That next step for theFINDlab, Canlas said, is opening the Analog Community Center in Provo at the corner of Freedom Boulevard and Center Street.
This new space allows Canlas to offer all the things he wishes he could do in Orem: an art gallery of local artists, retail space, a library of photo books, affordable studio space and a public dark room. All production of theFINDlab will stay at the Orem location, but the Provo venue will be an "accessible, creative hub" that will also host events.
"You can come, buy your film, shoot it, develop it, print it and hang it," Canlas said. "I know there's nothing like this in the state of Utah at all. I wish this existed when I was in Provo."
While studying photography, Canlas said only Bachelor of Fine Arts students had access to the university's dark room; public dark rooms weren't affordable for college students and finding studio space for low prices was also difficult.
"That's the whole point — I want to make this accessible to everybody," he said.
In a college town with a plethora of creative people, Canlas plans on having studio space starting at $35 an hour and the dark room available for just $15 an hour.
"I feel like I'm giving what I feel the creative community would want. It's theFINDlab, but it's not just limited to someone who is a photographer. I want you to come by and be inspired, and there will be things that we can do above and beyond just photography," he said.
He is looking forward to people walking or driving down the street, seeing photoshoots happening through the windows and feeling intrigued to come inside.
From experience with people he's met through workshops, Canlas said he knows that someone is going to come to the Analog Community Center and "it's going to change their life." He understands not everyone will be into film, especially because there is an "ease" in shooting digital.
"But I know if I can put these things we're offering in your hands, it could totally change your life — like put you on a completely different trajectory and put you into something that isn't dead," he said. "It's very much an alive medium and something that really, I feel, kind of cultivates creativity. It inspires people."
Canlas has been doing exclusive film photography since 1999 because the "magic" for him is being behind the camera and interacting with people, rather than sitting at a computer editing photos.
"When you're shooting film, it's a very different mindset. I am going to slow down and be very intentional and think about how I am composing. There's never a guess of where I'm going to place things or when I'm going to take the photo. I like film because, to me, it's magic," he said.
He also loves the way film looks and how his vision of what he wants to capture comes straight out of the camera the way he likes it. He said he is grateful for his lab where he gets to teach others to love film, too.
Canlas said it is really exciting "to be able to provide the stepping stool or the accessibility to someone that without it, I don't know if they'd have access to it."
As part of getting the Analog Community Center ready, Canlas got approval from the city to repaint the mural on the side of the building to an abstract, artistic expression of inclusivity. The center is anticipated to open by the end of May.
