"Censored - Censored! - CENSORED! CeNsOrEd!!!!" were the words coming from the pair of pitch black rooms in my high school where students would transfer undeveloped film on to the column cartridges for a run through film developer chemicals. The nicest, sweetest people in real life would turn into obscenity spewing raging hate mongers in those rooms as they struggled or worse, dropped their film. Hilarity was guaranteed for listeners. I learned photography back on film right on the cusp of the digital revolution (self, stop being old!). Many hours were spent in the dark room developing film or making prints that my friends would crack jokes that I was getting pale. Maybe I was. Those were the days. So, when I found about Treehouse, who specializes in film, back when they were on Ward Avenue (and now on the second floor of the SALT complex in Kakaako), I was stoked.
I've long since gone digital simply out of ease and speed, but it's a nice walk down memory lane to see the spread of developer, stop bath, fixer, film, photo paper, and film cameras, both classic and modern like the casual instaprints. Film is somewhat of a lost art, but Treehouse is fighting to bring it back. My first time I visited Treehouse was to get some help identifying and getting more info on a 1970s era Nikon F mount Fisheye from a generic Japanese manufacturer my dad had. Staff was super friendly, knowledgeable and let me try out the lens on one of their cameras. I think the woman working that day had more fun with the distorted view from the fisheye lens than I did.
Their new location has good parking both on the street or in the SALT complex garage with a larger display of film prints on the walls. Treehouse is film oriented, so there's not too much for digital enthusiasts in terms of gear outside of accessories and used lenses. You can still get bags, books, tripods, filters, etc that will work just fine with digital, but Treehouse is not like Hawaii Camera or the various other digitally oriented photography shops on the island. This is probably the only place on the island where you can reliably pick up a toy Holga camera to give you a frame of reference. But just because they are film focused doesn't mean digital acolytes won't find a wealth of interesting stuff and cool people. So stop by Treehouse, where you'll find a staff both passionate about photography in general and dedicated to film and ask about their monthly meet ups and classes! read more