On a Roll Film Lab in Naples grows as young people embrace film cameras

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) — Film photography is making a comeback, and a local lab had to expand to keep up with demand.

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On a Roll Film Lab in Naples moved into a bigger space to meet the growing need for developing and scanning film. The resurgence is particularly popular among younger generations, who are turning to disposable cameras, camcorders and VHS tapes to capture their memories.

"The coolest thing about this is that we kind of go back in time, right? We don't have any new software or anything like that. We use everything strictly OG, and that's our recipe," said Jamiel Betancourt, owner of On a Roll Film Lab.

What once were lost memories now have a chance to be brought back to life. Betancourt said this style of photography has seen significant growth in recent years.

"I believe life is about preserving the memories and taking photos. So the fact that everyone's getting into it is really big. We've seen a rise over the last five years of more than 1,000% in clientele," Betancourt said.

On a Roll Film Lab develops film and digitizes videos from cameras. The process involves preparing film for processing, bringing old footage back to life.

"Film is about the moments. It's not about it being accessible or perfect. It's about looking back at a photo and remembering that very moment. And that's my favorite part about film, it's kind of like a time stamp," Betancourt said.

The lab offers people not only the opportunity to develop film but also to create a new community.

"We can talk about bringing back old memories to life, whatever you need that you've been thinking about mailing out. You got real humans you can come interact with here," Betancourt said.