‘Something a little different’: Film photography workshop shows hobby has local love

By Andrew Smith, OMAHA, Neb. –

Workshop attendee Leah Hile uses a vintage 35 mm film camera to take portraits at The Union for Contemporary Art on Feb. 6, 2025. Andrew Smith/The Omaha News

Once considered a dying technique, the art of film photography is alive, celebrated and taught at The Union for Contemporary Art in Omaha.

Brock Stillmunks, a workshop instructor and local photographer, is helping others get shooting in the tactile style he loves.

“We always talk in the film community about when you pull that piece of film out of the tank for the first time and you see all of the images, and you’re like ‘wow, this actually works,’” Stillmunks said.

Developed film is on full display in the darkroom at The Union for Contemporary Art on Feb. 6, 2025. Andrew Smith/The Omaha News

Leah Hile, a teacher who recently moved back to Nebraska from Chicago, said she became interested in film photography after seeing some friends dabble in the hobby. She wanted to capture “something a little different” than the images she’s used to from her iPhone.

“It’s a little bit of an expensive hobby, and it’s intimidating as well,” Hile said. “I just didn’t know how to get started.”

That was until Hile heard about the Intro to Film Cameras workshop taught by Stillmunks at the Union, which she had never visited before.

During the two class, attendees tried their hands at portrait photography by posing classmates and tinkering with studio lighting. They also took a brief tour of The Union’s facilities — including the darkroom — where film can be developed, and later printed, by using chemicals and an enlarger.

An “Intro to Film Cameras” workshop attendee poses for a lit portrait at The Union for Contemporary Art on Feb. 6, 2025. Andrew Smith/The Omaha News

Stillmunks explained the fundamentals of manual photography and steps for getting started with a film camera, including loading film and reading a light meter. He emphasized that film cameras come in many shapes and sizes, but their various dials, knobs and levers all operate on the same basic principles.

“You’re taking someone who might not know anything about this art form and introducing it so that they can fall in love with it,” Stillmunks said.

The Union, located at the intersection of 24th and Lake streets, has held darkroom courses with Stillmunks in the past, but the introductory course is new to its programming this year.

“People in those darkroom workshops have asked about camera workshops, wanting to get more hands-on knowledge of how to operate the camera before they started developing their own film,” said Harrison Martin, communications director and darkroom technician at The Union for Contemporary Art.

The introductory course, first held Feb. 6, was created to supplement existing darkroom classes using feedback. It’s planned to repeat, along with the exiting darkroom courses, each month for most of the year.

Brock Stillmunks leads the “Intro to Film Cameras” workshop at The Union for Contemporary Art on Feb. 6, 2025. Andrew Smith/The Omaha News

“Truthfully the reason I shoot film more than digital is because it’s what keeps me shooting. I tell every student that there’s creativity in everyone and this medium just happens to be what sparks mine,” Stillmunks said.

Hile rented a vintage Canon A-1 camera from The Union for $10 per week and said she plans to return for future events.

“[Brock] just made it seem so easy, and everyone here has been so friendly,” Hile said. “I feel like even if I didn’t know what I was doing … they’d be able to help me out.”

The Union’s goal is to advance social change through arts. One of the ways they accomplish that is through accessible arts programming, according to Martin.

Members at The Union can use any of their five Co-Op Studios which are described as useful for developing and professional artists ages 18 and older. Membership starts at $15 a month and workshops vary in price, but scholarships are also available upon request for those unable to pay.

Co-Op Studios