Darkroom Tales

I've been taking the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO) Film Photography Bootcamp with David Elden. The course is well constructed as it involves two theoretical classes on history of photography and aesthetics, then three hands-on classes including shooting, developing and print making.

This week-end was the Fringe Festvial and of course, Rib Fest. While I passed on the meat parade, I did join in on the Fringe. I'm only a little disappointed I hadn't taken my camera. But then again, I'd had my fill of photography for the day...

A Darkroom with Ilford light filters

Yesterday, while my boyfriend was licking BBQ sauce off his fingers, I was wiping developer, stop and fix from mine as I swooshed around my contact sheet in bins of solution. I'm a new vegetarian - not quite a year yet - so I could pass on rib fest and he was happy not to have to worry about me finding something of interest for myself at such an event. I would've been okay regardless, but I was filled with excitement, knowing that not only I could skip out on Rib Fest, but I would be in a darkroom learning all about the chemistry behind all those images I hold dear.

When I got to class, I was nervous. I'd shot my two rolls of film (24 frames) thinking they were 36... I was anxious at having to admit I'd "broken" the reel. I was afraid of "not doing it right". Our instructor was not only informative but also patient and kind. I was relieved to discover that I'd done nothing wrong at all! I found the developing tank and bobins to look quite foreign and the idea of standing in a pitch black room with seven other strangers and scissors kicking around to "cut the film" once it has successfully been loaded was a bit nerve wracking. As it turns out, processing film is a lot like "doing laundry" as Dave put it. There are many simple steps that become like second nature. I must say I very much enjoyed the less messy bit involving timed exposure lights and red safe lights. As this is a class, we accomplished in 4 hours: developing our film, making test strips and printing our contact sheets. In two weeks, we actually make our second contact sheet and print our photographs. 


IE University Darkroom (mediacampus.ie.edu)

Once I left SPAO, I met up with Scott in Meatland, where he was waiting for me with a clean shirt and sandals I'd asked for... Awe. I guess I'm ok with him eating meat. Afterall, there's bone marrow on the film emulsion, so despite my best efforts, some parts of living are just not that ecofriendly. So to appease my conscience, I attended the Fringe and supported the local arts scene. An improv play and a comedy duo later, I'd laughed and reflected on my generation: Y. If I take my cue from stand up duo Chris N Peter Save the World, then I should sleep just fine, because I, my friends, already compost.