Andrew Galvan removed the end of a film strip from the orange canister in a quick, practiced motion.
Galvan is one of the co-founders of I’m Still Developing, a film photography lab and camera store. On a recent afternoon, he leaned over a table in the shop’s back room, threading the tail end of the film strip onto a plastic card.
From there, the roll of color film — and the dozens of pictures inside — would head to the developing machine, then to a neighboring station for scanning.
Galvan said he was still getting used to having so much space to work.
“The last shop, there was just a little sliver,” he said. “Now that we have so much more room, I think … the space is just a lot more comfortable to do the job.”
Two years after opening up in National City, I’m Still Developing has moved to Chula Vista. In late August, the camera store closed its Highland Avenue location and reopened for business on Third Avenue, just up the block from Mujer Divina Brunch Café and GrindHouse Coffee.
The shop’s new location features a wide open garage door that folds up to reveal a gallery flooded with warm light on sunny days. Toward the back of the shop sit shelves packed with film orders and cameras for sale. On weekdays, a pop-up cafe serves up Filipino-inspired coffee and tea lattes.
The independent film lab has become a hub for San Diego hobbyists and professionals alike amid a resurgent interest in analog photography. The shop was named “best camera store" in San Diego Magazine’s 2026 reader awards.
I’m Still Developing also does much more than process rolls of film. It has hosted exhibitions, group walks with photographers, DJ sets and even a rooftop holiday party last year.
Checka Sardina, a professional film photographer and regular customer of the shop, appreciates its focus on building genuine relationships.
“I don't feel like I'm just dropping off film,” Sardina said. “I'm also just meeting other artists and being able to be in community. Or have conversations about what people are shooting and what they're up to — what's inspiring them.”
On that recent afternoon, co-founders Galvan and Jenessa Marquez were still glowing over the move. Marquez said they’re looking forward to bringing more of those events to Third Avenue.
“This space is going to help us do workshops, more community galleries,” Marquez said. “I'm just excited to see what more is to come.”
For Galvan and Marquez, the origins of the store date back nearly six years.
At the time, Galvan had worked in music production for almost a decade. Marquez had mostly worked call center jobs for companies such as Costco and Sharp HealthCare.
Both of them had been making pictures for a long time. When they first started dating, Marquez said, they would go for long nighttime walks in Chula Vista, Hillcrest and La Mesa, photographing the glimmering lights of different neighborhoods.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Galvan began collecting film cameras. As lockdowns eased, they decided to hold a pop-up camera event with other photographers at his studio in Los Angeles.
“This was supposed to be a one-off event,” he said. “We had such a good time that, after it happened, we're like, ‘Oh, we got to do this again.’”
Documentary photographer José Rizal Mills attended one of their early events in Barrio Logan in 2021.
Gathering with other photographers, Mills said, pierced the isolation of the pandemic and helped him cope with an anxiety condition he had been experiencing for several years.
“I got to connect with a lot of photographers that I can now call some of my closest friends,” he said.
Around the same time, Galvan said friends began asking him to develop their rolls of film.
Galvan had previously worked for another film lab, and he and Marquez began developing film inside their National City apartment. Soon, they started thinking about opening up a shop.
San Diego County was already home to three other dedicated film development labs: Nelson Photo & Video, George’s Camera and Safelight Labs. Galvan said they decided to look south of state Route 94, the highway that traces the north edge of South Bay.
“The other labs here in San Diego, they do a great job for what they got going on,” he said. “But they're north of the 94. And for people that live in South Bay, it's a little bit of a trek.”
In the summer of 2024, they opened up their first shop along Highland Avenue in National City: a small, square storefront with a bright yellow film canister painted above the door.
In the two years since then, I’m Still Developing has continued to grow.
Sardina thinks highly of all of the county’s film labs. But she said Galvan and Marquez have an exceptionally fast turnaround time. She also appreciates their focus on bringing artists together into a physical place.
“They’re just so genuine,” she said. “They really care about the work they’re doing.”
The shop’s growing customer base reflects a resurgent interest in film photography around the world. More people are turning away from smartphones to capture their daily lives, a trend that's led to a revival of both old-school digital cameras and film.
San Diego’s other film labs say they’ve seen similar growth. George’s Camera said revenue from its film lab had more than doubled over the past six years. Safelight Labs said it processed more than 20,000 rolls of film last year, up from around 13,000 rolls in 2023.
“We can barely keep up with it,” Safelight owner Rob Cowan said. “Everything is just steadily going up.”
As Galvan and Marquez have expanded their business, though, they also began to bump up against the limits of their National City shop.
Since opening, they’ve bought a new color film developing machine and hired four new employees. That meant they could deliver film faster, but it also forced them to cut down on galleries and other in-store events, Galvan said.
Eventually, they decided to close down the location and reopen in Chula Vista. It wasn’t an easy decision for Marquez, who felt like the shop had been a huge step from their apartment setup.
“I'm definitely going to miss that location,” she said.
Sardina thinks the shop will be a great addition to the area.
“People love them, so they will follow them regardless wherever they end up,” she said.
Mills is on board too. He plans on commuting to the shop’s new location, even though other labs are closer to where he lives in El Cajon.
That’s partly because Mills credits the shop for giving him the opportunity to share his vision of San Diego County — including places where he grew up like Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa.
Like Sardina, he also sees a deeper meaning in I’m Still Developing’s work. He describes them as part film lab, part community organizer.
“They really are connected with the community itself,” Mills said.
Now that the move is over, Marquez and Galvan are thinking about the long-term.
To Marquez, there will always be new generations of people who are drawn to photography and analog technology. She said she sees their role as continuing to be a place where those new artists can come to satisfy their curiosity.
“I think it's really inspiring seeing other labs that have been in business for like 50-plus years,” Marquez said. “I really want that for us too.”
Galvan has been enjoying the new space: the elbow room, the wide-open floor plan, the big garage doors. And he says it’s especially meaningful to be based closer to where he grew up in Otay Mesa.
“The cool thing is, we can see ourselves being here for a long time,” he said.
