A photo contest where I send in a blind roll of film – should I enter it?

This looks interesting, and I’m sharing it in case anybody wants to enter this unique competition.

Pro Camera Film Lab, a film processing service in Virginia, is offering a unique contest this year – a competition where the winning entries are sent in from your undeveloped film roll. You shoot a roll of film, and you send it to them – then they develop it, they take the best image from that roll, without you knowing if you got the shot right or not – and put it in competition, with the winners appearing in a gallery show in Virginia in September.

If you’re interested in participating, here’s a link to the contest.

Entry fee is $75, and you can submit one roll of C-41 (print film), or E-6 (slide film), or B&W film. You can submit one roll of 35mm film, 120 film, or 220 film. Your submission must be received by Pro Camera Film Lab by July 7, 2025, and submissions will open on June 1, 2025. I did look over the rules, and apparently they’re not allowing sheet film, and I don’t see an option for 116 / 616 film, or infrared film. Nor do I see options for requesting cross-processing or the like.

So now I have to think about this. This is a film camera competition in which I’m trusting my talent and the film. Shooting film is a skill in its own right; but how about trusting that you can’t see the finished product and that you’re sending your roll and hoping that the judges find your winning shot in there, without you knowing which shot won?

I could do this with two of my film cameras – either the Pentacon Six TL 120 beast, or my Nikon F2S (“Nikon Athena”) 35mm weapon. And it’s $75 for a blind send.

But you know what? I have no fear. What’s the worst that could happen? I shoot a roll of film and enter it in a contest?

I tell you what. I’m really going to think this over. And I have time, at least from now until the end of June to come up with a killer shot or shots. And whether I go with 36 shots from Nikon Athena, or 12 (or 24) shots from the Pentacon Six TL … whether I use some classic Kodak Tri-X or T-Max or Ektar film, or I go for some traditional slide juiciness with the last frozen roles of Fuji Velvia or Provia or some other kind of -via …

I’m intrigued.

I really am.

Intrigued enough to really think about playing with this project.

Intrigued.