Basement Lab University: Comprehensive 35mm Color Film Class

PRICE: $150/person

Drugstore Photo 101: A Comprehensive 35mm Color Film Class

35mm Color Film from Camera to Mini-Lab

This class introduces students to the complete workflow of 35mm color photography using C-41 film, from loading the camera to developing film with real mini-lab equipment.

Students will learn how color film photography worked in the era of neighborhood drugstores and one-hour photo counters. Beginning with the fundamentals of the 35mm camera, participants will learn how to properly load color film, meter light, and make successful exposures.

Once the film is shot, the class moves into the lab.

Students will process their film using a professional mini-lab processor, the same type of machine used in drugstores and photo counters throughout the 1990s. The processor automatically controls temperature, chemistry, and agitation—producing fully developed and dried film in about nine minutes.

Along the way, students get to play the role of a “lab rat”, learning how real photo labs handled film as it moved through the system.

After processing, students will:

• Cut and sleeve their negatives in archival print file pages
• Learn how to read and evaluate color negatives
• Scan their film using a flatbed scanner
• Convert and interpret color negatives into finished digital photographs

By the end of the class, students will have experienced the full life cycle of color film, from camera to lab to scanned image—just like the workflow that powered everyday photography for decades.

Students leave with their developed negatives, scanned images, and the knowledge needed to shoot and process C-41 film with confidence.