"Jeremy" wrote in message
news:11CVf.2884$f21.401@trnddc01...
"harry" wrote in message
news:rGoVf.1314$pV4.62@dukeread03...


Where can I find someone who knows what is a film to process my stuff in
N. Virginia/Fairfax?


Do try out Dale Labs www.dalelabs.com

I've used them for over 3 decades, and their processing is top shelf.
They will still make OPTICAL prints, using $10,000 enlarging lenses, and
they video analyze each print. Popular Photography listed them as one of
the ten best photo labs in America.

They are amateur-friendly. You do not have to be a volume shooter or a
professional to use them, and I cannot think of a single order that they
ever handled for me that was unsatisfactory.

They are located in Florida and they are oriented toward mail-orders.
This is the kind of lab that you won't find just anywhere--but if you can
put up with the additional time your film is in transit I believe that you
will be very happy with what you get back.

The wrong photofinisher can negate all the good you have done by using
first-class lenses and excellent technique. And the quality of the
enlarging lens is a factor that is often ignored. Dale does a
professional job, and uses first-rate processing equipment (if memory
serves me correctly they use Swiss-made processing equipment, with a
temperature that is kept within 1/4 of a degree of the specs). Last time
I looked they had an online tour of their processing plant. You really
should try them just once.

But I am looking forward to the day when I can process my own slide film
with my own chemicals in a temperature controlled environment, then scan
them myself, and print them into 8 x 10's or larger with my own color
printer, and be completely independent of others. (other than the equipment
and film manufacturers, of course) At that point, I won't have to worry
about some teenager thinking about his/her sex life instead of my pictures.