– “The only silly question is the one not asked.”

To properly start talking about what’s FIND in a BOX we should probably begin with a big fat “Alooooooooha!”. This Hawaiian value of love and family and sharing is really what’s at the essence of the Film Is Not Dead movement. But the idea that strikes me the most about FIND was the excerpt above. I’ve heard it every time at the beginning of each of the seven FIND Workshops I’ve attended.  Without fail, I’d see it in the other photographers’ faces: a slight smile and the expression that “this guy is for real”.

Perhaps we do not mention this enough, but at Carmencita we have a deep relationship with FIND and theFINDlab. One of our co-founders received a scholarship to FIND Maui back in 2011 and then spent 3 months the following year in the US working at the FIND lab and helping in several other workshops across the States.

All that experience lead us to realize how quiet the film scene in Europe was back then (hello 2012) and sparked the desire to open a full service pro-film lab like there was in the other side of the Atlantic. With that idea and a scanner, Carmencita was born. For us, theFINDlab is the closest thing we’ll have to a sister lab =) 

 

At Carmencita, we stand for helping all those photographers who want to shoot film; regardless of location or circumstance. These were also some of the main motives behind the FIND workshops and we believe that continued learning and the sharing of knowledge it is the only way to keep film alive and kicking. But all good things come to an end and after 8 years and 50+ workshops, FIND as a workshop came to an end. We were fortunate enough to be a part of the last two FIND workshops in Berlin and Madrid and Carmencita was able to collaborate with Jonathan Canlas. It was an amazing experience and we see today, about a year later, how many of the photographers in attendance then are happy, full-time film shooters today. That’s the best reward we could have asked for.

That being said it, to be honest it was a bittersweet moment; bitter  because FIND was coming to an end, but sweet because it we could bring FIND to Europe. But then we realized that when a door closes, another one opens… and boy it did open big time.

It was a huge relief when Jon told us what he had in mind for FIND, as a husband and a father of 6 kids we completely understood when he told us family comes first but he also told us “I’m gonna make the FIND experience available to everybody with a computer”, and he did just that with the FIND in a BOX.

 

All the knowledge gathered, polished and perfected during the last 8 years, improved with shared experiences and feedback from many of the attendees makes FIND in a BOX the complete guide; a bible, of sort, for the modern film photographer, professional and hobbyist alike.

For Jon and for Carmencita, film is, and always has been, a tool to help photographers find their own voice. Less is more, and when it comes to photography, anything that makes you focus on the subject and having only a viewfinder to see how your image looks makes you think twice and harder about where are your pointing your camera. You slow down a bit and are more aware of the whole experience.

We believe that the value of a photographer exists behind a camera and not behind a computer =)

Curious?
You can watch one of the videos completely for free and judge for yourself!

Cheat Sheets Samples

 

Without a doubt, one of the best things that comes with FIND in a BOX is the online community. Every photographer that owns a FIND in a BOX guide has guaranteed access to the FIND in a BOX private Facebook group. This group is dedicated to keep process of learning alive once you’ve read it all, the idea is to challenge photographers out of their comfort zones and share the experiences so everyone can learn from them.

This is a very diverse and active community of photographers just like you and us, who are passionate about film paired with a constant desire to learn. There are weekly challenges proposed by Jon and also reviews of your work, pricing, blogging, you name it! There is already more than 300+ photographers participating monthly and it keeps growing, it honestly is a well of knowledge and experience where everybody can come to drink and benefit.

Also, for those curious about different combos of cameras & film, there are hundreds of examples and comments of photographers trying different gear with different lighting situations and film. The group is very focused on developing yourself as a photographer and shooting personal work but also a helpful place to ask when in doubt in a professional level.

What you’ll get:

• 15 explanatory videos
• Metering, reflected and incident
• Description of all film stocks available
• Film Basics from 101 till complicated tips
• Film Camera reviews and side by side comparisons
• Access to the FIND in a Box Facebook Group
• Posing & Storytelling
• Useful cheat sheets
• Troubleshooting

Using the code CARMENCITA to will get a discount of -700$ from the original price, that’s like having 40 rolls free of cost and with the developing & scanning already paid! This offer is only for a limited time so don’t miss out!  =)

If you have any questions drop us a line at carmencita@carmencitafilmlab.com!

For those who don’t know the man behind it all this hoopla; his name is Jonathan Canlas, a film photographer since day one, fifteen years ago until today. I feel I can easily say that he is probably one of the photographers that did more for film to come to life nowadays, not only with the Film Is Not Dead workshops but also spreading his knowledge online, making more and more people fall in love with photography while loading the backs of their cameras with silver-coated gelatin. From answering questions, to providing free PDF’s to start out, talk about gear, doing film test, etc…

To have a picture of his trajectory, he’s been the only photographer to be sponsored by both Fujifilm and Kodak, why the switch you may ask? Several reasons but the fact the Fuji keeps pulling out from the film scene is one of it, the discontinuation of 400H in 220 was the tipping point for Jon.

That among a deep knowledge of the network of the film scene in the USA, a never ending journey for learning and pushing the film limits combined with his not especially quiet personality, made him one of the most influential commercial film photographers around the world.

So when it comes to learning, you should choose good teachers and we can say with confidence that if there is something Jon knows, it’s film (oh he is pretty good with food too btw).

  – “Hard work, sacrifice & discipline”

“Is the FIND in a BOX for me?” Well, definitely it is an investment but worth every penny. The amount of knowledge gathered inside it’s worth several workshops, countless ours and years of experience that would require you spending money on gear, messing film rolls, workshops, frustrating Saturdays and more… Yes all of that is part of every photographer but think if you could skip all those painful steps and focus more and developing your own photographical voice, investing more time in creating images that are meaningful to you and other that love your work.

As a lab we believe feedback is one of the key jobs for anyone that is working on your film in order to help you progress and learn about your craft, and we are always open when it comes to provide tips and advice. But FIND in a BOX is like having all that knowledge in your hands, ready when you need it 24/7 plus the a handful of photographers with a supporting attitude online building a magnific community.

Our sincere advise is that if you can afford it, take advantage while it lasts. You’ll find everything you need when it comes to shooting film and also develop your photography a step further. If you are starting, the basic and technical knowledge is priceless; if you’ve been shooting already for a while, the FIND community will help you push forward your photography and vision.

We’ve already got ours and it was wonderful to see and discover stuff that we didn’t know or ignored about certain film, cameras or even blogging and social media. We are all photographers at the lab and we can ensure your that every single one of us learned far more than a couple things from it and this only makes us be better professionals and better at understanding film and helping you create the images you dream.

Still got questions? Email us!
carmencita@carmencitafilmlab.com