Once considering a dying art, film photography is making a comeback faster than businesses can meet the demand. Photo shops that process film are far and few to come by and the ones that have stood the test of time are flourishing now more than ever. Eliz Photo, a mom and pop photo shop in Chinatown, Manhattan first opened its doors nearly 20 years ago, but has lately become a cultural center in facilitating reviving support for the medium.

Eliz Photo is owned and managed by Chunica Kesh. A Baruch College alum, Kesh inherited the business after its original owner, her older brother, passed away about five years ago. Through the years the business has evolved, more recently gravitating towards film services, when its most sought after service had historically been taking passport photos.

Before Kesh took over the business, there was a second shop location open on East Broadway that housed a portraiture studio. Remnants of this old location still linger in Eliz Photo on merchandise and other signage, including custom albums and shopping bags, which Kesh used to produce for her customers. But when business slowed, she cut their production. Today, there is only one location open on Elizabeth St, and there, Kesh develops and scans film, prints photos and takes passport photos. On occasion, she also edits photos.

“For a while, photo has been, very downhill,” Kesh shared, “it was not easy. That’s why you see a lot of photo shops… a few years ago, they all started closing down.”

But she also added that more recently she has seen an increase in support for photo shops, especially in film development services.

“Right now, I would say (we earn) 40 percent in film… just now, last year could be maybe only ten percent,” said Kesh. Kesh credited this change first to the changing Chinatown neighborhood, which for some time, wasn’t particularly booming. But today, it is beloved by tourists and locals alike. This has brought new eyes to Elizabeth Street.

Second, while many of Eliz Photo’s regulars used to be older film photographers, who were slow to transition to the digital era, Kesh noted today many are young photographers who are discovering a new love for the older medium. This demographic shift is also supported by B&H’s (a popular photo and equipment retailer) statistics, which claim that a third of new film photographers are under the age of 35 and that about 60% of active film photographers only took on the practice within the last five years.

Full-time artist Tashawn Davis, also known by his online alias “Whaffle,” is a new customer at Eliz Photo. He showed me a handful of rolls he brought in to be developed and explained why he prefers to shoot with film.

“I honestly just think that film captures more of a raw image than digital,” said Davis, “also when you take film pictures, you gotta really look at what you’re taking pictures of, cause it’s not like digital, (where) you could take a whole bunch, you run out of film eventually.”

Customers can expect a fast turnaround when they bring their film in. At Eliz Photo, it only costs $6 to develop a roll of 35mm film (with C-41 processing) and $10.80 to get a roll both developed and scanned. For developing, scanning and printing, Eliz Photo offers bundle prices ranging from $17.85-$21.40 depending on how many prints customers want per roll. Customers receive their scans digitally, typically on the same day they brought their film in, and can return to pick up their developed films and prints soon after.

Because of the low pricing and quick turnaround rates, many photographers consider Eliz Photo the most convenient place around to get their film developed. Kesh also sells a wide array of films, disposable cameras and other various photography equipment at Eliz Photo to better equip her customers.

Kieren Taylor, a local DJ, got into film photography roughly four years ago, when he came across some old film cameras and experimented shooting a few rolls with them. He brought those rolls to Eliz Photo and has been coming back ever since.

“The lady who runs the shop, Chunica, she’s been absolutely amazing,” he shared, “she’s on numerous occasions, gone above and beyond what you’d expect from a retail store. She has literally delivered film -developed film- back to my apartment building – she lives not too far from me. So the customer service is absolutely top-notch… They’ve never messed up a roll and (I’m) happy with the consistent results they provide.”

Kesh enjoys getting to know her customers and learns a lot of photography news, techniques and tips from them. She takes pride in the relationships she develops with them and keeps their works on display throughout Eliz Photo.

Running a small business takes a lot of effort, but Kesh finds joy in her daily tasks and interactions she has with the visitors who stop by.

“It is a lot of hard work," said Kesh, "but I tell you that we usually just enjoy it. If you just keep talking, you’ll be fine.”