It was a dreary night in Adams Morgan on Nov. 21—the air was cold and the ground was wet from the rain. Despite the weather, there was a lively scene in a small store on the northern end of Champlain Street NW. Tiny Vinyl Shop, a record store with an apt name that owner Ty Cumbie opened only four and a half months ago, was packed front to back with dozens of people.
What brought so many people to Tiny Vinyl Shop that night wasn’t just the records. It was the opening night for a group photography exhibition curated by the DC Film Collective, a growing group of photographers who shoot primarily on film—a revival of sorts for an art form that has become less common since the emergence of digital photography in the 2000s. The exhibition attracted art enthusiasts and local photographers, some carrying cameras along with cups of wine or hot chocolate.
DCFC member Amy Higgins, whose photo taken in the Outer Banks of North Carolina is one of the 21 pictures on display, has only been shooting film for about a year and a half. “We packed Tiny Vinyl Shop,” Higgins tells City Paper. “Couldn’t really move around, but it was worth it. It’s definitely going to make new people shoot on film.”
By the end of the two-hour event, Cumbie and members of DCFC were energized. “It was an incredible success,” says Cumbie. “The vibe was great. Everybody was happy.”
“I’m just very grateful that so many people came out to support one another and enjoy a cozy space on such a cold evening,” DCFC co-founder Brett Parsons says. “It kind of felt a little Christmassy.”
The exhibit, which runs through Dec. 21, has been a monthslong project spearheaded by Parsons, who reached out to Cumbie back in June and announced a call for artists in October. To Parsons and his fellow co-founders Joséphine Manet and Michele Schofield, this is a big step forward toward their goal of building a community of photographers in D.C. “Our mission is to champion local artists and do that in ways that speak to what the community wants.”
DCFC formed in the fall of 2022. But Parsons got the idea of creating a collective of film photographers in 2017, after picking up his first film camera, a Canon AE-1. He fell in love with the form. In 2019, Parsons started searching on Facebook for D.C.-based groups of film photographers, but found none. In 2021, he decided to create his own by reaching out to Schofield, who he met on Instagram. She looped in Manet and together they began connecting with other like-minded photographers; they had their very first official meetup in November 2022 at the National Portrait Gallery.
DCFC’s first meetup. Credit: Michele Schofield
DCFC has grown significantly since its inception. Over the past two years, the collective has hosted monthly happy hours, photo walks, and workshops at local darkrooms, and even partnered with Harman Photo, a film manufacturing company based in England, for a summer event.
There’s more to DCFC than hosting events. By highlighting the work of specific photographers on their Instagram and curating occasional single-day gallery shows displaying members’ work, the collective also tries to bring exposure to their artists. As a group with almost 2,000 followers on Instagram and more than 300 people in their Discord Server, DCFC has become a place where local film photographers can network and organize.
“I couldn’t have imagined just two years ago that we would get this type of growth,” Parsons says. “Those things are only the result of this community becoming closer and closer knit. We’re always looking to see how we can improve visibility of these talented photographers and build bonds within the DMV.”
The founders believe that the difficulty of working in their medium is what makes their community unique. Film photography is a lot riskier than its digital counterpart since images can’t be reviewed until the film is developed and even the best photos could contain imperfections such as light leaks. Parsons says it’s these aspects of shooting on film that brings out vulnerability and honesty from a photographer.
“I would argue that a person who chooses to shoot on film is taking a leap of faith that, when they snap the shutter, the photo is taken, that it was exposed properly, that it’ll develop properly, that it’ll scan properly, that their camera is working, and that there are no light leaks,” he says. “There’s this element of film photography that lends itself to drawing out a certain side of a person that is willing to open up, be more vulnerable, and take a chance to be brave.”
“It’s high-risk, high-reward when you shoot on film,” Manet adds. “It feels like Christmas every time you get a good roll back, but the inverse will make you want to curse everything. That feels special and a little bit romantic.”
Manet says the ongoing growth of DCFC might be a sign that, though film photography may have seemed like a niche medium when the collective first started, there was probably a large community of film photographers just waiting for the right exposure. Manet thinks the lack of spaces for photographers to gather is partially because photography can be a solitary activity. It doesn’t help, then, that D.C.’s reputation as a political town often overshadows its thriving local arts scene.
“I think D.C. is known for being a place where everyone’s top button is always buttoned up and your main focus is your job,” Manet says. “Art is not the first thing that comes to mind, but D.C. really is incredibly artistic. We want the DCFC to provide an avenue of expression for people because art is something everyone needs.”
“D.C. does the fine arts really well—you’ve got the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian—but there were just a lot of creative people who didn’t have that avenue to meet up, particularly film photographers,” Parsons says. “We want to foster the neighborhood arts of D.C. so that hopefully all the incredibly diverse and imaginative people here can make connections and meet future lifelong friends.”
To those who attended the opening, DCFC’s mission to bring local creatives together felt achieved. For Greg Bodwell, a DC Film Collective member whose photo “Before the Sun Rises” is on display in the exhibit, this is the first time he’s shown his work in a gallery since he was in high school 17 years ago. When he saw DCFC offer such an opportunity, he felt he had to take it.
“There aren’t a lot of opportunities to put my artwork in the public sphere for people to see,” Bodwell says. “The idea of having a picture hanging on a wall for everyone to see is just exciting to me. And it feels nice that film photography is getting some recognition.”
DCFC’s group exhibition at Tiny Vinyl Shop. Credit: Dorvall Bedford
DCFC’s founders and members are hopeful about the collective’s future, and their plans for 2025 are ambitious. Among the many ideas they have in store are more monthlong exhibits, partnerships with different film labs, and possibly even a summit to connect businesses related to film photography to local artists.
“It’s always a miracle when these things actually come together and we make them happen—it takes straight perseverance,” Parsons says, acknowledging the amount of work that goes into running the collective. “It’s not about photography or film photography, even though those are the main aspects of our group. What motivates me to keep investing in DC Film Collective is the people.”
“It’s the community,” Manet agrees. “It’s so hard to find a place where you can actually meet people and connect with them. There’s such an immense sense of pride when we get to provide that opportunity to other people.”
The DC Film Collective’s group exhibition runs through Dec. 21 at Tiny Vinyl Shop. instagram.com. Free.