What Goes On in Trafalgar Street

Words & dev by Picture This Film Lab

We’ve been developing film for Thomas Hooper for several years now. His photography has always felt like an extension of the same attention to texture and form that you find in his tattooing and artwork — layered, thoughtful, and full of surprises.

Thomas first found us when we were based at the Open Market in Brighton, back when we were just getting started. By total coincidence, we both ended up relocating our businesses to Trafalgar Street, without knowing the other was moving. And the activities we brought with us — photography, tattooing, film developing, drawing, painting — turned out to be strangely aligned. It’s as if the atmosphere found us both. What began as a working relationship has become an ongoing creative exchange, just a few doors apart.

Thomas has a habit of showing up with exotic cameras and unpredictable ideas. We never quite know what he’s planning — and that’s half the appeal. One week he’s pushing Tri-X to 800 ASA in a vintage Pentax. Another, he’s projecting artwork onto the chalk cliffs at Seven Sisters, and photographing musicians by moonlight.

The images in this set were shot on a Pentax LX with a 50mm f/1.7, a setup we supplied, loaded with Kodak Tri-X pushed to 800. They document Harriet Street (@harrietstreettattoo) at work inside Nowhere Tattooing (@nowhere_tattooing) — a space that, like the photos themselves, feels both intimate and quietly intense. The film was developed and scanned here at Picture This Film Lab.

We’re proud to be part of Thomas’s process — and grateful for the accidental synchronicity that has brought us together, frame by frame, on the same Brighton street.

Have a project of your own?
Drop your film in or come say hello — we’re at 67 Trafalgar Street, Brighton. We develop on-site, scan with care, and keep the whole process personal. Or if you need a tattoo - Thomas Hooper and Harriet Street can be found at 24 Trafalgar Street.