Meet Adam Ottke of Film Objektiv

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Ottke.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Adam. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Film Objektiv began because it’s something I always wish I had. I started with film, but that was a short six months of shooting in seventh grade before I spent every dime I had saved and eventually wished for a digital camera. It took until my senior year in high school to make it back to film, and ever since it remained an important part of my life.

Throughout college and since I shoot primarily film. But the entire time, there was never a good way to affordably rent film cameras, let alone the best film cameras for a particular job. If you were lucky, you could rent a Hasselblad 500C/M for a day or two; but good luck finding an XPAN or a Fujifilm GX617 for a special project or being able to afford either for more than a couple days.

So during college, I began acquiring cameras one by one to fulfill certain project goals. I hustled a bit, so I didn’t have a particular need to sell them again once I finished the project. But by the end, I had about 30 cameras that I wasn’t shooting every day (who could do that?); and they just had to go. Or, I thought, maybe I could finally start that film camera rental company I always wish I had access to; and in the process, maybe I could do a little something for the film community to help keep this wonderful medium alive.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting a business is never a smooth road, especially when there’s shipping involved. By far, our biggest issue is shipping. It’s our biggest single expense after the gear itself. And it’s our biggest pain point in terms of areas of potential headache or disappointment on all sides.

Aside from that, we’re constantly improving our tracking and bookkeeping, etc., as there are a number of unique things about a rental business that makes it more difficult to manage, not least of which is running a film camera rental website with zero plugins on a Squarespace site. We’re proud of our workarounds to make that work because that website development savings goes straight to the customers — we certainly have some of the lowest prices anywhere when you consider the daily rate, and that’s with one-way shipping included. But we’re constantly trying to improve those costs as well. Soon, we hope to pass on more savings to customers by extending our own shipping rates for returns.

Finally, Instagram is amazing for us, but the platform is a bit two-sided, as I imagine it is for any business that takes advantage of it. A good chunk of our business comes directly from Instagram, but every time a new algorithm decides to hold us down, we feel it instantly in our smaller sales because people aren’t learning about us as much as they were during months when we weren’t being ghosted like a toxic ex. That said, we are grateful for the ease with which we were able to get the word out there for those that do know about us. We couldn’t have done this pre-Instagram. And certainly not pre-Internet. So even as avid film shooters, we have to be thankful for the digital revolution.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Film Objektiv – what should we know?
We are primarily a film camera rental company with one mission: to help more people shoot more film. Under the banner of that mission, we’ve expanded to offer affordable, high-quality processing and scanning services, an online shop for film products, educational services, various resources for those interested in getting more into film, and more. We have a lot on the horizon, but for now, we’re doing everything we can to educate people about analog photography and how much easier it is to shoot film than many might think.

We’re definitely most proud of the fact that we’re the only company that does what we do on this level, let alone for the price we do it at. To my knowledge, no other company offers the variety we do, nor do they offer the long-term, affordable rentals we do that allow people to shoot long-form projects on film. The usual method is to go to the rental shop, settle for whatever they have, and rent for a single day, hoping you can shoot everything within the 12 hours of daylight you have before you have to return the camera, God forbid you have to spring for another day of rental fees. With us, we still reward you for renting longer than two weeks, but two weeks is the starting point. You can’t beat that. And all the while, we’re still small enough to where you can call my cell directly. We’ll talk to you as long as you like about film and give any advice we can — and we’re happy to do it.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Anyone who has had success and says they did it alone is nothing short of a liar (no specific reference intended there *cough cough*). Every business or organization or institution or single person has so many people to thank for helping them along their successes. And I certainly have many, many to thank. But more than anyone, Film Objektiv would not be here if it were not for Phillip Tang.

Phillip Tang and I met at the coffee shop I frequented in Sacramento, which I only was at during a rather busy four years of my life while traveling back and forth between LA and Sacramento for work and then to be with my girlfriend, respectively, who was going to med school at Davis. I would fly down, shoot for two weeks, and then come back and edit and relax for two weeks. And all that editing happened at Temple Coffee on S Street. I recently asked Phillip why he decided to help and work with me on Film Objektiv, and he told me it was because of something specific I had done. All I did was loan someone else at the coffee shop an RZ67 kit to shoot for a while because they seemed interested in photography and film; and I wanted them to have the chance to try medium format. I didn’t take a deposit or money or an ID. I just trusted it would work out.

To some extent, that was probably a bit too trusting. But I sort of knew the person and knew where they worked. And sometimes you just get a good feeling that makes you comfortable with that sort of thing. But Phillip said he just thought it was generous and kind and somewhat shocking to see. To think this is what drew Phillip in to say, “Yes,” when I asked him to be a part of Film Objektiv makes that short loan a no-brainer in hindsight — one of the best decisions of my life. Today, Phillip runs our entire social media program, ships out almost all of our cameras from Chicago, and remains the best sounding board I could have ever asked for. That last part — that’s why a business really needs partners. Starting a business is such an endeavor that you just need to have other people you can rely on to tell you when you’re insane or whether you should put more time and effort into a particular project. But it doesn’t hurt to know Film Objektiv would do just fine if I disappeared tomorrow — all thanks to Phillip.

Pricing:

• Canon EOS 3: $30
• Mamiya M645: $40
• Mamiya RB67: $65
• Pentax 67: $90
• Hasselblad 500CM: $115
• Hasselblad XPAN: $185
• Mamiya 7 II: $215
• Leica M6: $285

Contact Info:

• Website: www.filmobjektiv.org
• Email: info@filmobjektiv.org
• Instagram: @filmobjektiv

Image Credit:
Photos by Phillip Tang

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