b'A Father-Son Lab Keeps Film in FocusBringing old-school photography backone roll at a timeWORDS AND PHOTOS BY JOY YAGIDBen and his father, Doug Krueger, started a film processing lab called Gelatin Labs. This green neon gelatin mold sign is a nod to the use of gelatin in the production of film and the labs logo.T orepeatawell-wornadage,every- the wall, a nod to the use of gelatin in the produc- scanners.it was just us working with a hand-thing old is new again. Whether intion of film and the labs logo. The first of the busi- What started as a personal project evolved into fashion,music,education,ortech- ness two rooms contains film scanners of all sizes.a business. In November 2018, via a post on Insta-nology,productsandideasevolveStrips of negatives hang on rolling racks waitinggram, they opened up to the public for one month continuously.Filmphotographyisto be digitally scanned and emailed to clients. Thefrom their basement. Ben and Doug continued to one trend experiencing a resurgence,next room houses several large machines, aboutwork on the quality of the scans, the services they and a local business is here to supportthe size of an office copier, that develop the filmoffered, and refining their niche. In the summer of anyone interested in this analog pursuit. and make 4x6 prints. 2019, they opened full time.Called Gelatin Labs, its a film processing labBothfatherandsonarepassionateaboutAt first, started by South Oranges Doug Krueger and hisphotography and note that it runs in the family.ful of local photographers and people sending film son Ben. Housed in the Map Building at 515 Val- Both of my grandfathers and two of my greatfrom New York City. But as word spread over the ley Street, the Kruegers located it close to home tograndfathers documented the family on their filmnext two years, we started processing film for pho-take advantage of the local art scene, sense of com- cameras, says Ben. Id been scanning the familytographers across the country, Ben says. During munity, and proximity to Columbia High School,negatives for a while, just helping preserve memo- the pandemic, things really took off. I was work-a good source for lab assistants. ries in digital form. This led him to shooting hising seven days a week for the first half of 2020 to WhenyouwalkintoGelatinLabs,youareown film in 2016. By 2018, he and his father hadkeep up with the demand.greeted by a large green neon gelatin mold sign ongotten lab equipment to develop film and betterThe ease of use that digital photography offers 12/ matters magazine / spring 2025'