Despite claims of certain technologies being “killed” by newer ones, many physical mediums have outlasted their “e” counterparts from records to radios, paintings to books.
However, since the introduction of digital photography (and subsequent death to much of that industry thanks to the iPhone in 2007) many have said that film photography would not be one to survive alongside other analog counterparts.
But apparently, they were wrong.
Chris Harveybyrd is the owner of Undead Film Lab in Carson City, a new analog film photography shop opening soon at 1987 N Carson St., providing both film development as well as film and refurbished or mint-vintage film cameras for purchase.
Harveybyrd is a 29-year-old professional real-estate photographer, but after a broken leg put him out of commission during the busy season last year, he joined the millions of Gen Z-ers who have fallen into the rabbit hole of film photography.
Recently, as more people — especially teens and 20-somethings — are recognizing something has been lost by turning completely toward a digital world, a resurgence in analog technologies and activities have skyrocketed, with film photography at the forefront. It comes on the wave of other surprising cohorts like mp3 players, Walkmans and tape decks, VHS tapes and even CDs (arguably the worst version of music media of all, in this reporter’s opinion).
The most recent resurgence in film photography seems to have reached the mainstream between 2024 and 2025, with a number of think pieces and news articles on the trend of how manufacturers were struggling to keep up, and whether it would last. Now, in 2026, it seems the trend is here to stay, with the price of vintage cameras and even expired film soaring on sites like eBay or second-hand outlets.
And it’s a resurgence that Harveybyrd and Undead Film Lab are banking on.
“The name comes from this joke that film photography and analog is ‘dead’ — but now, it’s coming back to life,” he said. “I also read there’s roughly 5 to 6 million film cameras in circulation, but only about 3-5% of those are actually being used. So to be able to bring those back to life from being trashed, or left up in somebody’s attic, that’s huge for me, and partially why I’m doing all of this.”
In addition, Harveybyrd said that analog is a form of rebellion against an era dominated by AI and false digital worlds, while analog art forms are a way for people to reconnect off-line both with the world and each other.
“There’s a magic in the physical process, and it challenges you to engage in the physical world,” Harveybyrd said. “I think all people, but especially kids and young people, want to get off their smartphones, they want to stop doom scrolling — they want to experience things that are real, and tactile, and require presence. Analog photography gives them that. Luckily, AI doesn’t have anything on film.”
Harveybyrd said from the first time he went through the full process from beginning to end of film photography, he was sold. “I fell in love with loading up film for the first time in a camera and seeing the negatives come back — we’re literally taking gelatin emulsion film, exposing it to light, running it through a bath of chemicals, and at the end you’re holding a physical photograph to keep forever.”
And he’s not alone — while he said he’s seeing a lot of the market coming from younger people discovering film photography for the first time, he’s also been approached by a number of Carson City residents in their 50s, 60s and 70s who see the sign and are surprised to see a film company opening up shop.
“They couldn’t believe it, and they had no idea film was becoming popular again,” he said. “They’ve told me they stopped shooting film because there was nobody in town to develop it.” Harveybyrd said he thinks they’re going to be seeing a lot of young people getting into it for the first time, but they’re also going to be seeing a lot of older folks dusting off their old cameras and rediscovering it as a new hobby now that they can develop their film again.
Harveybyrd, who currently lives in Dayton with his wife and toddler, has also been partnering with Reno’s Holland Project on activities relating to film photography and will be supplying film processing services for them through the shop. Ongoing projects include group “photo walks” in which both new and seasoned photographers join together at a location to walk, chat and snap photos, along with workshops teaching others how to develop film at home.
While the Reno art scene is far more active for younger people, there’s no less of a demand in Carson — just less opportunity. “There’s not a whole lot of artsy stuff going on [for youth] here, but there are a lot of kids out here who are looking for it, and I want to be able to give them more options to do to express themselves.”
As part of getting more involved in the hobby, however, he found a hole in the market to actually develop film in a way that is cost effective, local and authentic — especially in the rurals.
“There was only one other shop in town, Gordon’s, and he closed down in 2019. Not because the film industry was failing, but because he wanted to retire. So the only other shop is Action Camera in Reno, and I learned the film portion of their business has tripled.”
The Lab relies on a film developing machine — circa early 2000s, as they are few and far between nowadays — which Harveybyrd calls the “heart of the business.” The machine allows the Lab to process a standard roll of film in under eight minutes, and at low cost.
Developing a roll of film (typically 36 photos) including a digital scan sent via Google drive costs just $12 — roughly $0.33 cents per photograph. During their startup phase, Harveybyrd said they’ll just be offering development and digital scans, but if the demand is there, he’ll also begin offering traditional dark room prints and classic 4×6 physical prints as add-ons.
During the first 30 days the shop will be open, customers can also get 50% off for their first five rolls of film.
In addition, the Lab sells a range of color and black and white film options ranging from daytime to nighttime, and one of his favorite things about film photography is getting to share his passion with others.
“I love educating newcomers about photography — it can be intimidating, but that’s the beauty of it. It forces you to learn about exposure, to think about the lighting, to consider the type of film you’re using, the aperture setting. You’re going to make mistakes at first — I did, everyone does. It’s part of the process. But in those mistakes you can actually end up getting some cool art out of it, whether its flares or waves or double exposures. You’ll never learn until you try, and luckily with film photography it’s not a huge financial investment to get started. All you need is an old camera and a roll of film.”
When it comes to some older film cameras, they may have leaking light seals or other mechanical issues, but that doesn’t mean they’re unusable. Instead, Harveybyrd refurbishes older cameras by replacing light seals or tinkering with them, and makes sure they’re in working order before putting them up for sale to consumers — but he said he’s also ready to help troubleshoot customer’s cameras with them about what may be causing imperfections in their photos.
“I don’t know every single film camera in existence, but I’m really good at figuring things out — I can either point them in the right direction or I can help them directly.”
Harveybyrd said they are just awaiting their final licensing and permitting, but he hopes to hold their grand opening later this month. They’ll have a ribbon cutting celebration with snacks, photography-themed activities, and a raffle — with a grand prize of a year’s worth of film development for free.
In the meantime, you can visit Undead Film Lab at undeadfilmlab.com, or find them on Facebook and Instragram to learn more. Harveybyrd’s last bit of advice to readers? “Get off your phones, shoot film.”
