Bahrain’s only commercial film development studio, run by a young shutterbug, is bringing film photography out of the shadows and contributing to the comeback of the art form in Bahrain.
Daniah Develops, which opened in April at Andalus Garden, Manama, is encouraging photography lovers to return to film, now that there is a place that can bring their photos to life.
Owned and operated by 23-year-old Daniah Radhi, the business began as a makeshift darkroom in a bathroom at home in 2023, but now has a brick-and-mortar location.
The young Bahraini had attempted to learn film photography twice, and saw how much of a hassle it was to find a reliable local lab – a then-common experience in Bahrain – so she took it upon herself to provide that service.
Her first experience with film began at 18, she told the GDN, when she saw an online advertisement for a disposable camera, and took it on a summer vacation with her family.
Over the years, she tried digital and film cameras, and was drawn to the analogue option. Because there were no longer studios that developed film in Bahrain, she would mail her rolls to labs in the UAE.
Everything changed when she attended a film development workshop with Dr Hesham Al Ammal, a veteran photographer known for sharing his expert knowledge in the medium..
“I learned how to develop my own black-and-white photos,” Ms Radhi told the GDN. “Two months later, I bought all the equipment I needed and turned my bathroom into a studio.
“Eventually, friends and family started using disposable cameras and would come to me to develop their photos. That’s when I got the idea to start a business.
“The venture started as an Instagram account, where customers brought their film to me. It got chaotic and crowded once word spread that I offered developing, scanning and printing services.”
For a year, customers would bring their rolls to her home, until she had the idea to place dropboxes in local cafés such as Roast and Quin’s Coffee House.
As demand continued to grow, dropboxes were no longer efficient enough, prompting Ms Radhi to make Daniah Develops into a physical location in Manama. However, she continues to do the main part of the chemical development process at home.
Although the business only began a few years ago, it has already created a wave in the community.
“While organising an analogue photo walk, I was excited to see the impact firsthand as photographers joined carrying professional, large-format film cameras,” she said.
“The ripple effect has even reached higher education, inspiring a film photography course at Bahrain Polytechnic.”
Bahraini filmographer Ammar Mashkoor told the GDN that ‘without Daniah’s initiative to start her home business, the analogue photography community wouldn’t be like it is today’.
“In the past, I had zero chance to shoot on film because there were no labs,” the 22-year-old artist said. “So, without her, I wouldn’t be shooting film.”
Her customers range from young children dropping off rolls with their family drivers, to middle-aged women from across the country excited to finally bring preserved memories back to life.
“Many women from Saudi Arabia are coming in, as the field is mostly male-dominated and raises privacy concerns for them.
“It is most rewarding when I am asked to develop a roll that has been sitting out for years, holding memories of past generations.”
Running an analogue studio comes with its challenges, she said, from the uncertainty of how a photograph will turn out, to the purchase and importation of necessary chemicals, and even pens routinely being stolen from the dropboxes.
Yet, Ms Radhi finds it worthwhile to see a final product knowing the amount of work that goes in.
Beyond development, Ms Radhi sells photographs of Bahraini landscapes and landmarks as souvenirs to prove the enduring value of the medium.
“There’s a favourite in every roll. But my all-time favourite is a photograph of palm trees I exhibited,” she shared.
Last year, she participated in Al Riwaq Art Space’s four-month-long art residency, Application 005, creating a visual narrative of her old family home in Manama, in which generation after generation lived.
She described buildings as ‘story capsules that preserve what archives cannot capture.’
While traditional artists might disregard photography as ‘an easy art’, Ms Radhi hopes to shed light on this category of art. She is working on her newest collection named ‘The Unseen Green’, which she plans to exhibit in the future.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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