Getting Film Developed

[jedinudist]

Back before we joined the digital camera age, I used a 35mm film camera.

I used to be able to get our nudist photos developed at a company that advertised in Nudist publications, but they suddenly dropped off the radar.

I have rolls of film full of photos taken at Nudist camping trips and around our home that I need to get developed. These are from back in the late 90's.

I've checked with quite a few places here in the Memphis, TN area about getting them developed and the reactions I have encountered ranged from polite refusals to outright hostility!

Nudism isn't well received here for some reason. One of our local Walgreens even called the police on a couple a few years ago for submitting a roll of film that had nude baby/toddler photos on it. Eventually the charges were dropped, but they went through hell in the process. Social Services got involved, the whole 9 yards. I've checked with major chains as well as local companies like wolf camera, and have not found a place that was willing to develop my photos while also appearing to be trustworthy.

I am asking for help in locating a place that is trustworthy (as in they won't make copies of these photos for their own use) to get these rolls of film developed. They are mostly photos of my son and myself (Michele is a bit camera shy when she's nude and I respect that) starting from back when he was about 15 and up.

Can anyone here suggest a good company? I would especially be interested if they were capable of not only developing the film, but also able to put the photos on a dvd or cd so I can add them to all of the digital photos we've taken. If you know of a good company for this, please reply here or contact me at ready-now@comcast.net

I'd like to get these rolls developed while they're still salvageable.

Thanks everyone :)

[nakedjohn]

Try to go to a photoclub, and find somebody who develops films at home, as a hobby.

[jedinudist]

Try to go to a photoclub, and find somebody who develops films at home, as a hobby.

I haven't found anyone like that yet :( but thank you for the suggestion

[Sigmund]

I haven't subscribed to a photo magazine for years, but it used to be that there were mail order photo finishers who advertised "discrete services" in the classified sections of such publications. I imagine the rolls you have would be mild compared to some of the stuff they print.

Another possibility would be to ask for developing only. You could then scan the negs or have them scanned to digitize the images. It's a bit of a hassle but you can get fairly good quality scanning straight from film.

[jedinudist]

I haven't subscribed to a photo magazine for years, but it used to be that there were mail order photo finishers who advertised "discrete services" in the classified sections of such publications. I imagine the rolls you have would be mild compared to some of the stuff they print.

Another possibility would be to ask for developing only. You could then scan the negs or have them scanned to digitize the images. It's a bit of a hassle but you can get fairly good quality scanning straight from film.

I thought about that, but don't want nude photos of my family in the hands of people who seek out who knows what kind of photos to develop.

Thanks for the suggestion though :)

[NakedGary]

Try the AANR Nudist publication "The Bulletin" it use to have nudist film developing by nudists in the classified section.

With the saturation of digital cameras, I don't know how anyone could keep in business developing and printing film. Plus film, developing, and printing costs much more than digital DIY [Do it Yourself] pictures.

[Journeyman]

On another current thread about growing up in a nude family, "JeepNude" mentions in his post that there is a place near his work that develops 35mm film that contain nude shots. You may want to send him a PM.

[JeepNude]

Just spotted this.

Yes, they do. In fact, my wife and I have sat in the hot tub (nude) with one of the owners! They say their business is still doing well, despite the popularity of digital cameras. They do quite a bit of digital prints. You just bring your memory card in to them and the print 'old fashion' pictures from it. Amazing!

I still use 35mm. You are not alone.

[JeepNude]

Sorry, forgot...

Send me a PM and I will share the info.

[Naturist Mark]

A company named Seattle FilmWorks used to advertise in naturist publications. Apparently it is now PhotoWorks.com a big mail order/internet film processing/digital imaging company. I don't know if it still welcomes naturist business.

DCC Photo (http://www.dccphoto.com/) offers "uncensored developing". They appear to be oriented towards the Glamour/art nude/soft porn market, but welcome naturist business. They (rightly) say they will not tolerate kiddie porn, but know the difference between it and family nudism:


Q. What are the limits of what you will print ?

A. If the subjects are over 18 years of age, we have no problem processing & printing the work. It is a matter of consenting adults. BUT. . . We do not have any and I mean any tolerance for child abuse or animal cruelty. We have even less tolerance for kiddie porn. We have and will continue to report any child pornography to the police.

Q. I have taken a few pictures of my kids in the bathtub...nothing is showing will you print those?

A. Yes we will. It is very easy after 30 years in the photo and fashion business to tell the difference between kiddie porn and the " baby on the bearskin rug" picture. Now if there are rolls of a child in a tub and his/her genitals are showing and/or the child is playing with something other than a rubber duckie that spells trouble.

Q. We are naturalists (nudists) and vacation with our children at naturalist's resorts. Is there a problem with these images?

A. No, once again we can tell the difference between kiddie porn and nudists. But there better be some images of mom & dad on the roll as well, and they better be nude. Naturalists do not photograph their children in suggestive poses (read, spread shots)

I haven't used either of these companies, so caveat emptor.

-Mark

[jon71]

I doubt I'd be using that soon, if ever, but I think it's cool that such a company exists.

[johnbare]

I'm in the UK , but out of interest I looked in the classified section of a photo magazine that always used to carry a few adverts for "confidential" film processing. In that edition at least, there were none. I tried a web search, and did come up with a few companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

One of the firms whilst processing color negative film, stop doing E-6 (transparency) work, in 2007 due to lack of demand. However it does seem as though it is still possible get film processed confidentially.

[Lilwilly]

I would be very cautious about using a photo service for printing nude snapshots. If you think you can get in trouble with Walgreens or Walmart, consider the fact that having the finished product MAILED to you makes it a Federal crime. Then if you use a foreign service you have to contend with Homeland Security as well as the G Men. Kind of sick isn't it?

[jandatxnude]

I used Seattle Film Works a few times many years ago. There was absolutely no problem with having nude prints done.

About 4 years ago, we brought back nude snorkeling shots from our Bahamas vacation. It was before I got an underwater housing for our digital camera. I certainly knew better than to take them to the grocery store, or Walgreens. I knew of a local photo shop not far from us. I called them up and told them I had two rolls of our vacation. They were underwater shots and we were nude in them. He said, "As long as they are capable of growing pubic hair, then he had no problem making prints." I thought it was funny and wanted to give a snappy comeback like "Well, we're capable of growing pubic hair, but we simply don't have any", but I just left it at that. I had them make me a CD as well, so I would have them in digital form for later. I actually just posted one of them in the Scuba thread elsewhere on the message boards.

Barefoot-n-Nude in Texas!

[jedinudist]

Try the AANR Nudist publication "The Bulletin" it use to have nudist film developing by nudists in the classified section.

With the saturation of digital cameras, I don't know how anyone could keep in business developing and printing film. Plus film, developing, and printing costs much more than digital DIY [Do it Yourself] pictures.

Thanks NakedGary. My wife and I left aanr last year and we do not plan on joining them again. Thus, I don't have access to the Bulletin anymore.

But I do sincerely appreciate the suggestion :)

[jedinudist]

Just spotted this.

Yes, they do. In fact, my wife and I have sat in the hot tub (nude) with one of the owners! They say their business is still doing well, despite the popularity of digital cameras. They do quite a bit of digital prints. You just bring your memory card in to them and the print 'old fashion' pictures from it. Amazing!

I still use 35mm. You are not alone.

I have actually moved my photography purely to digital. I'm an amateur photographer and artist who does allot of artistic nudes and nude portraits, so all of that needs to remain "in house" - lol.

I just need to get these old film rolls developed. I'll pm you to get the information - Thanks!

[jedinudist]

A company named Seattle FilmWorks used to advertise in naturist publications. Apparently it is now PhotoWorks.com a big mail order/internet film processing/digital imaging company. I don't know if it still welcomes naturist business.

DCC Photo (http://www.dccphoto.com/) offers "uncensored developing". They appear to be oriented towards the Glamour/art nude/soft porn market, but welcome naturist business. They (rightly) say they will not tolerate kiddie porn, but know the difference between it and family nudism:



I haven't used either of these companies, so caveat emptor.

-Mark

Thanks Mark, I'll definitely look into them :)

[nakedbear]

Seattle Filmworks is now www.photoworks.com - used to use them a lot - high quality and efficient service - prices were quite reasonable as I recall - needless to say, they are quite discrete with nude photography

[jedinudist]

Seattle Filmworks is now www.photoworks.com - used to use them a lot - high quality and efficient service - prices were quite reasonable as I recall - needless to say, they are quite discrete with nude photography

Thanks nakedbear!

[usuallylurk]

Try small, independent photo shops, if there are any left.

[lazermuffy]

While on vacation in Cancun, we tried some nude underwater photography. We took the disposable cameras to a local developer in the mall, discussed the contents in advance and confirmed they were comfortable with the material. Knowing what to expect, they ensured the privacy of the process from public view (actually thanked us for the heads-up). When we picked up the results, they were extremely helpful in suggestions on how to improve our technique as well as equipment options.

Bottom line suggestion: hunt around for a developer (focusing on one or two experienced individuals), strike up some conversations to develop the relationship, make sure the materials are handled when they're going to be at the facility. If you keep it friendly and professional, they'll be happy to work with you. If (in the early conversations) they seem offended or alarmed, simply thank them politely and move on.

p.s., they did advise us as to what would be over the line or illegal and promised to notify the authorities immediately. It was obvious they were professional and wouldn't "play games" crossing a line for anybody.

[MichaelJB]

Youd think most photo developing places would have a policy for nude photography and would know the difference between legal photos and illegal photos and unless what you were trying to get developed was against the law youd think their policy would require them to develop them for you. There really should be laws to protect customers from some company just making arbitrary asumptions about their photos and just automatically handing their photos over to the police without actually proving theyre illegal. Most photo places unless they know photos are illegal should have to develop them for the customer. It shouldnt matter if they dont particularly like the pictures themselves or approve of them, all that matters is if theyre legal or not. Most professional places should know the difference.

[jedinudist]

Youd think most photo developing places would have a policy for nude photography and would know the difference between legal photos and illegal photos and unless what you were trying to get developed was against the law youd think their policy would require them to develop them for you. There really should be laws to protect customers from some company just making arbitrary asumptions about their photos and just automatically handing their photos over to the police without actually proving theyre illegal. Most photo places unless they know photos are illegal should have to develop them for the customer. It shouldnt matter if they dont particularly like the pictures themselves or approve of them, all that matters is if theyre legal or not. Most professional places should know the difference.

Well, it would be nice if there was some sort of industry wide benchmark, but I don't think that will happen with all the zealots in control.

[NakedGary]

If you have Costco's in your area check with them first, but most have no problem with plain nudity, or nudist pictures of those over 18 years of age.

[jedinudist]

If you have Costco's in your area check with them first, but most have no problem with plain nudity, or nudist pictures of those over 18 years of age.

Our son was between the ages of 15 and 19 on these rolls of film. I don't know which ones are the 18+ ones. I did check with them, and that is what they said - no problem developing film as long as no underage nudity of any kind is depicted.

Thanks :)

[jedinudist]

Try small, independent photo shops, if there are any left.

still looking - thanks though :)

[Silverback]

I just googled Nude photo processing and got several good hits.

[JeepNude]

Did you contact the place I sent to you in your PM?

[Laura Lopez]

I have a digital camera but sometimes I like to get some pics in photo paper, so I have taken many time to develop and I never had a problem about it.
The only comment I have received is a nice comment. I went with my boyfriend to pick up the photos, there were a lot of us both naked, and the attendant told us that they were lovely pictures.

[MichaelJB]

Our son was between the ages of 15 and 19 on these rolls of film. I don't know which ones are the 18+ ones. I did check with them, and that is what they said - no problem developing film as long as no underage nudity of any kind is depicted.


That seems a bit unfair if a consenting parent is getting the pictures developed. Underage nudity shouldnt be a problem as long as it isnt sexual.

[MichaelJB]

Well, it would be nice if there was some sort of industry wide benchmark, but I don't think that will happen with all the zealots in control.


Thats why we need to get the zealots out and find some way to get an industry wide benchmark so nudists photos are protected and they actually have to develop the film so long as it isnt sexual nudity. We really need to stick up for our rights and not let these big box stores push us around and violate our rights.

[DKirkpatrick]

Many years back, like in the early 80s, which was well before the digital age, I had taken some images from a whale watch trip we had. It was the first-ever naturist whale watch which I organized and was held in New England and a historical event.

The issue of nudity was of concern.

What I did was locate a private film developing company - an independent - and contacted the owner in advance of bringing in the film. I showed him my AANR and TNS cards and explained the content of the film.

He asked if there was any illegal content or anything sexually explicit and I said 'no' of course.

He said he would handle the film personally and not allow any of his teenaged staff that ran some of his machines to handle it.

After that, I had a number of rolls developed there as he got to know me. Eventually he retired and the shop closed but by then we were into the digital age.

One of the problems before us is that in some states a photo developer is a mandatory reporter. They are supposed to report to police any suggestions of improprieties. This makes them essentially a secret or quasi-police force.

However, these mandatory reporters do not receive any training in what is legal and what is not. The result is that any kind of nudity, and any nudity involving minors is subject to potential reporting. Often this is out of ignorance or because of religious and moral bias.

Compounding that is that sometimes even a local district attorney doesn't grasp what is legal and what is not. There have been a number of instances such as that over the years. A case involving a family that had been at the Northeast Naturist Festival at the Empire Haven club a few years back comes to mind. They took images at the gathering and were arrested for images of nude minors when they went to develop the film.

NAC interceded and advised the district attorney of exactly what the law said and the charges were allowed to fade away without action.

Print shops in some states are also mandatory reporters, thus placing nudist newsletters with images at risk as well.

Without training, even a nudist newsletter might get the treatment. What needs to happen is education of these people but it never happens. They are left to best-guessing.

As such the cautious person will examine the photo developer, or printer, in advance as to their policies.

One item I did learn about was that in some instances minors are operating the photo developing machines and exposing them to nudity on film could place the developer into a legal quagmire. As such some developing services will refuse nudity simply because some of their employees are minors and they don't want to deal with the potential for being charged with providing "material harmful to minors."

Sounds silly, but it is a concern.

Photographers should also keep in mind that those self-printing stations in stores where you can bring a photo memory card or CD to print photo-quality images are no more than a Windows computer with some attachments. These developing and printing stations have a hard drive and often the store manager or the company responsible for maintenance will examine copies of your images that are left on the hard drive. Yes, when you process and print most of these stations keep a copy.

If the person reviewing the images think something is not quite right or has a moral stance against nudity, they can use the date and time stamp on the images on the hard drive to compare to cash register transactions and then track you down from your debit or credit card. Even if you pay cash, inside security cameras might catch your image in the store.

We live in a crazy world where common sense is no longer common place, with many sects of people turning on each other over the oddest things.

[D-Spec]

Thank god for the digital age. Makes developing nude photos so much easier.

[grl66]

Send the roles down under. I'll walk up to the nearest developing store and apart from a slightly red faced assistant upon explanation, I won't have an issue getting it developed.

Not quite as hung up about the body down here........ Not quite ;)

[jedinudist]

Thank you to everyone who has replied!!!

I still haven't found a place locally, and am rather unsure about mailing my film off to someone whom I have only "met" over the telephone.

The offer of sending them to Australia is starting to sound tempting! - lol

I'll let you all know if I am able to locate a place, in the meantime thank you all very much for your suggestions.

Brad

[Ken Palmer]

Hello bother JeepNude and jedinudist. I too possess 35mm cameras. But I also have a polaroid camera as well. In the future, the polaroid may be your best bet jedinudist because these photos develop right in front of your own eyes. With that, you obviously won't have to take them anywhere to be developed. I just wish I had a solution for you on the rolls of film you have already. I wish you the very best of luck on that.

Ken Palmer







Just spotted this.

Yes, they do. In fact, my wife and I have sat in the hot tub (nude) with one of the owners! They say their business is still doing well, despite the popularity of digital cameras. They do quite a bit of digital prints. You just bring your memory card in to them and the print 'old fashion' pictures from it. Amazing!

I still use 35mm. You are not alone.

[DKirkpatrick]

Hello bother JeepNude and jedinudist. I too possess 35mm cameras. But I also have a polaroid camera as well. In the future, the polaroid may be your best bet jedinudist because these photos develop right in front of your own eyes. With that, you obviously won't have to take them anywhere to be developed. I just wish I had a solution for you on the rolls of film you have already. I wish you the very best of luck on that.



You may want to Google press clips on "Polaroid". If memory serves me correctly they announced in just the last few weeks they are finally getting out of the film business after decades of innovation due to the proliferation of digital technology. They will continue to manufacture film for existing cameras for some years to come, but no more science will go into the development of film improvements or cameras that use it.

They have entered the digital age but very late and general consensus is that they have a lot of catching up to do

[naturalmanwa]

I would suggest getting a digital camera and downloading to your computer and then printing them on photo paper. It is better in the long run, much safer and cheaper.
I have both types of cameras and much equipment for the 35 mm and use it for scenic and most other types of photo. The digital takes good closeups and is great for taking pictures indoors also.

[JeepNude]

Just got some pictures back from my 'place' last week. No big deal. New stuff for the albums!

[jedinudist]

I would suggest getting a digital camera and downloading to your computer and then printing them on photo paper. It is better in the long run, much safer and cheaper.
I have both types of cameras and much equipment for the 35 mm and use it for scenic and most other types of photo. The digital takes good closeups and is great for taking pictures indoors also.

That was the gist of my question. I'm a photographer - a digital photographer. All of my current equipment is digital. These photos are from the late 1990's, before we moved to pure digital equipment.

The place where we used to get our nudes on film developed shut down. We obviously didn't stop taking photos just because of that, however here we are years later with several roles of undeveloped film and no safe place that we know of to get them developed.

[jedinudist]

You may want to Google press clips on "Polaroid". If memory serves me correctly they announced in just the last few weeks they are finally getting out of the film business after decades of innovation due to the proliferation of digital technology. They will continue to manufacture film for existing cameras for some years to come, but no more science will go into the development of film improvements or cameras that use it.

They have entered the digital age but very late and general consensus is that they have a lot of catching up to do

Polaroid just announced that they will cease production of instant film.

[Balloon_Artist]

For those of you that may hold some sway in one of the naturist organizations.

It may be a good idea to develop a liaison with law enforcement for the education of film developers as to what is a legal naturist and/or family nude photo and what is not.

It may be a proactive way of protecting the rights of your (the organization's) members.

[tiggy]

Don't think that going digital and printing your own pics
renders you safe,there have been instances of computer repair
technicians reporting images seen on machines in for repair
this then has involved police investigation,although I'm not
sure if there's been any attempt to prosecute yet.
Tiggy

[Borntobenude]

Don't think that going digital and printing your own pics
renders you safe,there have been instances of computer repair
technicians reporting images seen on machines in for repair
this then has involved police investigation,although I'm not
sure if there's been any attempt to prosecute yet.
Tiggy

Fabulous. So you have to worry about people nosing around on your computer should it be necessary to take it in for any reason. :mad:

Well you could put them on a flash drive or some external drive so that they're not actually physically on your computer. That's what I did with most of my nude pictures for that very reason. But I haven't had any problems with this computer yet that would require anyone else touching it.

[Balloon_Artist]

The external hard drive is a good idea for when you take your *computer* in for repairs or installs. But hard drives go bad as well. Then you have to deal with a data recovery company if you have precious images of family.

It is important for there to be someone to educate the law enforcement agencies as to what the law is concerning child nudity and to protect the innocent *parents* of these children. As an adjunct to this is creating an education package for those that would be the personnel that 'discover and report' these images.

I plan to have children some day and to raise them in nudism. This is an <i>extremely</i> important issue to me as there is *no* way I am not going to document my children's lives photographically.

[DKirkpatrick]

For those of you that may hold some sway in one of the naturist organizations.

It may be a good idea to develop a liaison with law enforcement for the education of film developers as to what is a legal naturist and/or family nude photo and what is not.

It may be a proactive way of protecting the rights of your (the organization's) members.


A good idea on paper but a very detailed one to consider. We have 50 states and while laws are similar, they vary greatly in all 50 states. And frankly speaking, there are some states that see nudism as a part of the problem and are unwilling to talk with us.

As such we are sometimes left to watch for laws that change each year and catch them before they are enacted, or address individual cases with information to hired attorneys.

Not all nude imagery is legall and not all photos taken of nude people are "nudist" though some people pressing the envelope have tried that excuse - and failed.

At present more than one state is looking at expanding their "mandatory reporter" laws. At present most states require that health care professionals and people in the teaching or clergy profession report to law enforcement any suspicions of child abuse. This can and often includes people reporting nudity on film or in printed materials.

Depending on what state you are in, manadatory reporting may be on the drawing board to be expended to clergy, print shops, photo developers, and computer technicians.

Sadly as reported by me elsewhere, there are no provisions in these laws that will train these people as to what is legal in any given state or not. As such we are left with people who best-guess what they think is wrong or illegal and will often apply the moral standards of the community or their own personal ones.

Adding an educational component won't happen. In this way the police draw from a secret police force.

Adding an education component also would raise the bar and increase liabilities making mandatory reporters a quasi police force which is not wanted. By creating mandatort reporters it is akin to posting a highway speed limit. You can break the law if you think you can get away with it, or you can obey the sign. If you get caught not obeying the speed limit you get a ticket.

In a more perfect world the senior operatives or lobbyists for naturism could meet with these people. The blunt fact is that in most cases they don't want to meet with reprtesentatives of social nudism.

DMK

[DKirkpatrick]

Don't think that going digital and printing your own pics
renders you safe,there have been instances of computer repair
technicians reporting images seen on machines in for repair
this then has involved police investigation,although I'm not
sure if there's been any attempt to prosecute yet.
Tiggy

See my message #32 in this ongoing discussion which is back a page or two.

Computer technicians may be mandatory reporters in some states already with more states considering tehm being added.

Reports of findings by techs that are reported to the police fall under certain laws associated with evidence that is acceptable.

What usually happens is that the tech calls the police after seeing materials on a hard drive. This is often ruled as being within the pervue of the tech's normal process to perform repairs and assure that all data is working. The police then get a search warrant and confiscate the hard drive and clone it using a special forensic technique that preserves a valid mirror image of the drive sector by sector.

That cloned drive can then be used as evidence even if the original drive is taken back by the owner and summarily destroyed.

There have been cases of child porn prosecuted (and rightfully so) from reports by computer techs which offenders doing hard time.

In general, plain vanilla nudism should have no concerns in any photographic medium. If that is all there is, a well-versed district attorney will not even proceed.

DMK

[tiggy]

I just hope the situation is better than in the UK where for every well versed
lawyer there are 10 half baked idiots,and unfortunately the idiots are just
as likely to be believed by the courts as the good.
Tiggy

[JeepNude]

The whole hard drive thing is one great reason to have your photos printed and in a family photo album!

First of all, I have had hard drives die or become corrupt. All data lost.

Removeable solid state drives suffer from data loss over time. They are NOT forever.

Printed photos are 'forever'. Of course, you could lose them in a home fire, etc. However, when everything is examined, the family photo album is still the most sacred, secure method of image recollection available.

As for sending your film to Austrailia... Why would you rather send your film to a stranger in another country than an AANR member in California? Seems odd and risky.

My photos are safe and secure in our family photo albums, and that is how they shall remain. When we take pictures on the digital camera, we take the photos we want printed to the developer on a SD card. They turn them into prints, no questions asked. Then, we put the prints in the photo album and erase the images from the SD card and put it back in the camera. Easy!

[jedinudist]

The whole hard drive thing is one great reason to have your photos printed and in a family photo album!

First of all, I have had hard drives die or become corrupt. All data lost.

Removeable solid state drives suffer from data loss over time. They are NOT forever.

Printed photos are 'forever'. Of course, you could lose them in a home fire, etc. However, when everything is examined, the family photo album is still the most sacred, secure method of image recollection available.

As for sending your film to Austrailia... Why would you rather send your film to a stranger in another country than an AANR member in California? Seems odd and risky.

My photos are safe and secure in our family photo albums, and that is how they shall remain. When we take pictures on the digital camera, we take the photos we want printed to the developer on a SD card. They turn them into prints, no questions asked. Then, we put the prints in the photo album and erase the images from the SD card and put it back in the camera. Easy!

The sending film to another country was a joke.

As for printing them so I can keep them in a family album, that's the whole point of this thread. I don't have the facilities to develop them myself, thus I am seeking a trustworthy place to have it done.

Multiple electronic back ups are longer lasting than most people think. Yes, they are susceptible to damage and degradation over time, but then again so are the printed versions of photos.

Personally, I would like to have both :)