All in on Film
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL
On the morning Lakeland Film Lab opened its doors, Nick Buttrey was preparing himself for the worst kind of quiet. The night before had been a slow-motion panic inside the shop located at 126 W. Main St. in downtown Lakeland: their scanner crashed, machines needed filled, parts needed replaced. At 2 a.m. Nick and his wife, Beth, were still inside the lab, sleeves rolled up, coaxing technology back to life and trying not to think about everything they had poured into the space. Their savings, their time and their family’s collective energy were all tied up in a place that until that moment had existed mostly on faith.
When the doors finally opened, that fear evaporated almost instantly. There was a line out the door, wrapping around the corner. For Nick, the long-held breath could finally leave his body. “At that point,” he said, “I was like, alright—this will work.”
Lakeland Film Lab did not begin as a sleek business plan or a carefully staged pitch. It began as a gift. Nearly a year before the lab officially opened, Beth bought Nick an LLC for Father’s Day. At the time, Nick was developing and scanning film at home, casually talking about the idea of opening a lab someday in the way people talk about dreams they love but don’t yet believe are practical. The initial plan was modest and almost tentative—something run out of their house, a side income that might allow Nick to slowly lean away from his day job. But that vision shifted after a conversation with a friend who owned a successful salon. His advice was blunt: “He was like, you guys have a great business proposition,” Beth said. “But the one thing that’s gonna kill you is no brick and mortar.” So Beth and Nick took the leap.
Everything inside Lakeland Film Lab—every machine, every wall, every design choice—was paid for with personal savings. There were no loans, no investors, no safety net beyond their belief that the idea mattered.
NICK’S FILM BEGINNINGS
Nick’s connection to film stretches back to high school, to long hours in darkrooms and early encouragement from his sister. Over the years he moved between film and digital photography, but film always pulled him back in. He loves the process—the slowness, the experimentation, the hands-on intimacy of it.
“I just always came back to shooting film,” Nick said. “ I think it’s a great way of self-expression and getting to do little things with film and experimenting. I just love the process.”
When he began developing film for others, that love sharpened into something more urgent. He kept seeing the same pattern: rising costs were quietly pushing people out of the medium. One roll of film could cost $20 before it was even developed, and another $20 for development and scanning. For beginners especially, that barrier was often the end of the road. A roll might come back blank or improperly exposed, and suddenly $40 was gone with nothing to show for it. Most people wouldn’t try again. For Nick, that reality felt like a breaking point. He didn’t want film photography to be inaccessible or intimidating.
“I don’t want people to stop shooting film,” he said. “I want to ensure that we can keep film alive.”
Just as intentional as the medium itself was the place it would live. Lakeland was not a compromise between larger cities—it was the point. Sitting between Tampa and Orlando, Lakeland is often overshadowed by its neighbors, but Nick and Beth saw that as part of the opportunity. They wanted to help make Lakeland feel like a place where creative spaces belonged. That philosophy shaped everything, including the lab’s name. Rather than centering it on Nick himself, they chose Lakeland Film Lab to emphasize that it was meant to be genuine, rooted and communal. From the beginning, the goal wasn’t just to process film—it was to create a space that felt open, welcoming and unmistakably local.
Nick Buttrey is truly living his dream every day he comes to work at Lakeland Film Lab at 126 W. Main St.
THE ROAD TO SUSTAINABILITY
The challenges came quickly. Neither Nick nor Beth had ever run a business before, and the work didn’t stop when the doors closed. What kept them moving forward wasn’t growth charts or projections, but people. The clearest proof came during events, when the lab transformed into a gathering place.
Customers started to stop by the store to meet the owners in person after following their journey online, conversations stretched longer than planned and the lab began to feel less like a storefront and more like a community hub. For Beth, those moments were the confirmation that the risk had been worth it.
Lakeland Film Lab stays active in the community through ongoing events and programming, including pop-up markets, hosted photoshoots with Nick and their popular Night at the Lab gatherings, where the space opens after hours for creative hangouts. They also host giveaways and regularly engage with students, with Nick speaking at colleges such as Polk State College to share industry insight and encourage the next generation of creatives.
Nick’s connection to Lakeland runs deeper than entrepreneurship. Originally from Chicago, the couple moved to Lakeland in 2019, where Nick spent six years serving as an officer with the Lakeland Police Department. That experience gave him an intimate understanding of the city’s hardest edges. Opening the lab allowed him to see Lakeland from an entirely different angle—one rooted in creativity and connection rather than crisis. The shift made the space feel deeply personal, like a continuation of his investment in the city rather than a departure from it.
“I don’t want people to stop shooting film,” he said. “I want to ensure that we can keep film alive.”
WHERE IT STARTED AND WHERE IT’S GOING
Behind the scenes, Beth became the steady force that made the leap possible. Coming from a sales background with no experience in film or photography, she handled the uncertainty with quiet resolve. When Nick left law enforcement for a work-from-home role that was abruptly rescinded—after they had just purchased a house—their plans unraveled overnight. That same evening, Beth told Nick to launch the website immediately, unfinished and imperfect. That small, rough digital footprint became the first public version of Lakeland Film Lab, a reflection of the contagious energy that still defines the space today. Bright colors, unexpected details and a sense that the lab doesn’t fully explain itself at first, but somehow makes sense once you’re inside.
Lakeland Film Lab offers a variety of analog film products and development services to support photographers at every level. Their shop includes classic 35 mm and 120 film stocks from favorite brands, along with merch like branded tees. For processing, standard color develop + scan starts at about $11.99 per roll and black & white develop + scan at about $14.99, with options to upgrade to premium scans, receive TIFF files, or have negatives cut and sleeved for archiving. They also provide rush turnaround options, including 3-day, 1-day and even 1-hour services for an additional fee, while the regular turnaround for standard processing is approximately 5–7 business days before you receive your digital scans.
Looking ahead, Nick and Beth imagine expanding upward. The second floor could hold a darkroom, workshops, studio space and more opportunities to teach and share the craft. There is no fixed timeline, and that feels intentional. What matters more than growth is consistency. “What I hope people say five to ten years from now,” Nick said, “is that Lakeland Film Lab has always been a place where we really focus on the community.”
At the front of Lakeland Film Lab, sunlight spills across the floor as customers drift in and out—dropping off film, swapping stories, lingering longer than they intended. What began as a Father’s Day gift has become something rare: a creative space that belongs to its city. Lakeland Film Lab was created through careful timing, conviction and full personal investment—making Lakeland better for it.
There’s something special about film. All photos on this two-page spread were shot on old school point and shoot film camera and developed by the team at Lakeland Film Lab. Check out Lakeland Film Lab’s affordable processing options and brand new photo booth at 126 W. Main St. or learn more at lakelandfilmlab.com
