If Adams Avenue could talk. A street fair and gallery show collide to celebrate Safelight Labs / Camera Exposure’s five-year anniversary

From September 19 to September 21, Safelight Labs / Camera Exposure cordially invites you to celebrate five years on Adams Avenue by popping over to their booth at the 43rd annual Adams Ave Street Fair, or taking part in a multi-sensory gallery show by Jacob Koopman at Safelight’s studio.

September 20 - 21: Adams Ave Street Fair, presented by San Diego Foundation

Amid the sprawling soundscape of Southern California’s largest free two-day music festival, Safelight Labs / Camera Exposure will stand among 300 exhibitors staking their claim along the bustling thoroughfare. Come show co-owners Caitie and Rob some love as they evangelize all things film photography to the masses, while ringing in five years of operating in Normal Heights. Their booth on can be found under the sea of canopies on the block of Adams Avenue, between Bancroft and 33rd Street.

Dispatch from Rob: “I think our booth is going to be cool! We just ordered a step and repeat with our logos, and we're going to be offering free portraits on film for anyone who wants to stop by and pose. We are also planning on hanging photography from some of our customers as well as the staff.

We will have stickers, patches, pins, and disposable cameras for sale. We'll have a bunch of different cameras on display to highlight what we do. The draw for us to participate is to celebrate our 5 years of Camera Exposure & Safelight Labs and to let the community know we are here. With people knowing that we buy, sell, trade, and repair, we will definitely be getting people thinking about the gear they have sitting in their closets … or have inherited and don't know what to do with … or get someone excited about pulling their old film camera out and using it again.”

September 19 - 21: Processed, a gallery show at Safelight Labs

In the spirit of acknowledging the passage of time and the embodied spirit of the neighborhood, Normal Heights denizen Jacob Koopman will debut his solo gallery show in tandem with the Street Fair anniversary festivities.

The grand opening reception will be held on Friday, September 19, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the exhibition open for public viewing on Saturday and Sunday (September 20 – 21) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Statement from the artist: “Basically, it’s a love letter to Normal Heights. Not the curated version, but the real one. The alleys, the faded signs, the cracked sidewalks that remember more than they reveal. These images were all captured on film, processed by hand, and selected with care. Nothing here is rushed. Nothing is perfect. That’s the point.

This neighborhood is layered with history, with grit, and with beauty that doesn’t beg for attention. Through a lens of quiet observation, Processed documents the overlooked corners, the in-between places, and the moments that disappear unless someone stays long enough to catch them.

I’ll be placing my digital console , Kawaii concert series piano in the center of the room. I am assigning a key to each image and trying to encourage people to “process” imagery through music. The same way I have since I was a kid. It’s so funny how an image can inspire, or bring up, or remind one of something, sometimes, that has absolutely nothing to do with the image.”

For more information about Safelight’s booth at Adams Ave Street Fair, email us at info@safelightlabs.com.

For more information about Jacob’s show, direct message him on Instagram.