B&W developing in vancouver

[bob2]

I was wondering if there were any apugers in the New Westminster or greater Vancouver area that did there own work and hopefully other peoples.If its going to be sent it away it will be to someone I choose and not who london drugs photo counter uses.Personally an subscriber who knows his stuff seems like a good choice.I wont be doing a lot of b&w,mostly colour macro I dont have anyone lined up for that either.hmm

 

[MP_Wayne]

Hi Bob2,

I'm not a APUGger from Vancouver, but I am located in Calgary and may be able to help a bit. I too share your concern about the quality of photoprocessors (particularly about scratching). In Calgary, we have a few choices of professional grade processors, but no one left to develop 4x5 c41 film. It was recommended to me that I send it to ABC Photo in Vancouver.

http://www.abcphoto.com/professional/processing.jsp
1618 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver BC
V6J 1L9

I (and Eric Rose) sent off a bunch of 4x5 C41 and E6 to ABC a few months ago. ABC is absolutely great. Their pricing was competitive, their service was superb, the turnaround was quick, the folks on the phone were skilled and knowledgable, and the shipping back to us was professional, quick and trackable. The developing was dead-on and scratch free. You live there, so you have the added advantage of skipping the shipment hassle. I can say only good things about ABC.

I am not sure if they do Black & White development, but I would check with them.

However, having said that, you may want to consider doing the black and white film processing yourself. What format are you shooting? If 35mm or 120, you can purchase a Paterson development tank, a thermometer and a few other odds & sods for under $60 (even less if used). The chemistry is inexpensive, and has a pretty good shelf life. And, you get much more creative control (lots of threads about film development on APUG) over the results of your negatives. Food for thought.

I process all of my own B&W (35mm, 120, 4x5) and have done so for years. My darkroom for printing is another location other than my house, but I develop my film in the bath tub here all the time - it's especially easy in a tank. I could not imagine relinquishing creative control on B&W processing. Give it some thought as it is much easier than it might seem and the results are superb.

Good luck!

 

[bob2]

cool thanks.Im very new to photography and just have one 35mm that i plan to use for mainly macro work I am going to use mostly colour film but I want to try some b&w too,its something I never see.

 

[Dave Swinnard]

Hi Bob2

Fun stuff this snow, eh? (Sorry, I don't normally use eh...)

For B&W processing in Vancouver (sorry, don't know about New West.) there is G King Photo on 15th Ave., just off Cambie (and it's attendant mess). They do colour as well. I've used them since the early '80s and have no hesitation in recommending them.

"The Lab" (really is their name) on E. 2nd near Main St. also does a good job of both BW and colour. There may be other, smaller operations doing BW too, but I've not seen their results so can't comment on their quality. G King and The Lab do good work.

If you do decide you like the world of BW film, do consider doing your own processing. It is straight forward and the investment in equipment and materials is reasonable. You might even be able to find the required equipment (tanks, reels, etc.) for free these days - so many folks are just getting rid of it to do the D****** thing.

Dave

 

[MP_Wayne]

cool thanks.Im very new to photography and just have one 35mm that i plan to use for mainly macro work I am going to use mostly colour film but I want to try some b&w too,its something I never see.

Welcome to photography and welcome to APUG - a great resource for photographic knowledge and idea sharing. If you are shooting 35mm, the small Patterson Tank I mentioned will do up to 2x35mm 36 exposure films without difficulty. The chemistry will cost mere pennies, and the gear, as was mentioned, can probably be had for free or next to it as people stop using it. The beauty is that you can play with the chemistry and obtain superb negatives with which to work (be it traditional wet printing or digital scanning).

Do give home B&W developing serious consideration as it is supremely easy (and there are lots of how-to's on the web or at your local public library).

Have fun!

 

[MattKing]

Bob:

For colour, I would recommend ABC, GKing and, in New Westminster, Photofun (at 6th & 6th).

Photofun still prints analogue colour machine prints up to 8"x12".

Photofun do E6 (which I am happy with) and B & W develop too (but I haven't used them, and I don't think they do much B & W).

Their building is right next to my office, too .

Matt

 

[Confusion Circle]

For B&W (and colour too!), I take my film to The Lab or GKing. Lately, I've been doing it myself at the Focal Point darkrooms ($12/hr, $10/hr for students). There is also the Vancouver Darkroom Co-op, that has B&W developing & printing facilities, and is the only public rental space that has colour printing capability. $85/month, unlimited access, chemicals supplied, you bring the paper.

http://www.focalpoint.bc.ca/rentals.htm
http://darkroomco.zoomshare.com