Half-Day 1-on-1 Instruction in Black & White Film Processing, Printing, and Darkroom Chemistry. Includes workshop notes, film, chemistry, and paper

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

This one-on-one workshop offers a hands-on introduction to black & white film photography—from exposure basics to film development and darkroom printing. You'll also learn to mix your own developer and understand the role of each chemical in the process.

All materials are provided, including a roll of film, chemistry, processing tank, bottles, trays, and photographic paper.

SCHEDULE

Pre-Workshop Session (1 hour, one week before):

To get the best out of the workshop experience, you will need an exposed roll of film. So as part of the session, we will meet up a week before the workshop, where we’ll go over your camera and the basics of camera operation and how to properly expose the film.

What is provided: a roll of 35mm or 120 film. If you do not have a film camera, a loaner camera will be provided.

We will cover:

• Film camera basics: Film camera operation and the basics of handling and loading film.

• Film exposure basics, Shutter speed, what speed to use when, how to manage ISO, how to manage lighting, metering your scene.

• Shooting assignment: For the roll, we will decide on a shooting assignment to cover for the week.

Workshop Day (Half-Day Morning Session, 9am - 1pm):

• Review of exposed film

• Introduction to darkroom setup and safety

• Mixing your own developer:

  • Step-by-step guide - Understanding what each chemical does and how to mix your own developer (the cheapest way to do film photography)

• Film processing:

  • Loading the film into the tank

  • Developing, stopping, fixing, and washing

• Introduction to printing in the darkroom:

  • Contact prints or small test prints

  • Basic printing workflow and paper handling

• Wrap-up and Q&A