The Darkroom: Lest You Forget

The Darkroom: Lest You Forget

siege_avedon.jpg

Avedon was not a control freak.

We had some friendly blog debate today about digital v. film point and shoots. I just checked The Constant Siege and got a grim reminder of how exhausting the darkroom can be, and am feeling very G9ish. But Siege puts it best (as always):

“Seriously, all the time i spent in the darkroom? Wasted years. It’s like training to be a carriage maker right at the dawn of the automobile.”

Amen?

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There are 16 comments for this article
  1. Andie at 9:03 pm

    I was in one of the last classes in my school to learn with film and in the darkroom. I am glad I did. I don’t rely on photo shop for exposure as much as I did before i learned the develop processes. Also I think I understand Photo shop a little better now that i understand how to develop film (both have burn and dodge tools that i didn’t really “get” until time in the dark room) and…..common we all love the smell of the chemicals! lol

  2. Gina at 10:04 pm

    I don’t miss the darkroom either, but I do value all that I learned there – not only how to be a good printer, but also how to recognize a good (or bad!) print.

  3. Geof at 11:40 pm

    Firstly, I am all for purchasing a G9. Seriously, I’ve held on for dear life to my Canon Powershot S70 because I thought they’d never release another point and shoot with RAW capabilities. It has been the best purchase I’ve ever made. That being said, I would never, ever trade the years of darkroom experience I had in college and grad school. There is nothing better than seeing your image develop before your eyes and knowing that you made it happen. It’s just not the same when you see your picture pop up in Photoshop all done and pretty.

  4. david at 1:26 am

    on film or digi – i still shoot film and get each roll scanned at dev stage. film has a tested history and is trustworthy with exposure, storage and can always be rescanned higher when new technology allows. i’m ambivalent about the darkroom. i love getting stuck into exhibition quality printing when time allows but i do not miss days in the darkroom under deadline pressure. i am very glad for digital and darkroom experiance as they cross over – too many purely digital photographers produce effects with little subtlety in photoshop.. only using darkroom these days is just plain daft. i think a photographer benefits from learning both disciplines properly.

  5. GeorgeKaplan at 3:46 am

    In some sort of odd sadistic way I miss, of all things, the colour darkroom. I could rent a tiny 12m sq colour darkroom with a few enlargers, badly stored stuff and a paper developing machine in a gallery basement. Sometimes you’d be in there in total (no safelights – it’s a colour room!) darkness with another complete stranger trying not to bump into each other and make nervous and paranoid small talk while trying to figure out exactly where they were in the room. But to be bale to spend +3 hours getting a print that you were a happy with (well for at least a few hours anyway) is an excellent way to force you to actively ‘think’ when you’re shooting. Knowing simple omissions or additions to you comp or settings could cause hours of pain in the end certainly help you to take a more considered photograph. And I think I understand colour quite well. Still shoot film, still love the sound of the wind on; love loading 120s and fiddling with the panoramic film getting it just right. Just dont shoot enough of it. And scanning both sucks and blows. I cant find a colour darkroom to rent now and that makes me sad.

  6. Ian Aleksander Adams at 6:06 am

    I can’t count it as wasted any more than I count the two years I spent on construction sites. I learned discipline and obsessive attention to detail. That translates into any medium. I don’t miss the chemicals and smells from either job though.

  7. Rachel Hulin at 10:31 am

    I still print all my color work in the color darkroom, at print space in nyc. It’s a bummer how the computer stations are slowly impinging on the analog printing areas; the whole space has been consolidated onto one floor. And I’ll always have a soft spot for the b&w lab, though it could be exhausting, and at times, noxious. I wish there were more of a middle ground. R

  8. Bruce DeBoer at 11:35 am

    Love it and hate it: I was never an “I love the darkroom” guy but I’ve spent enough time in the dark to appreciate the craft and talent involved it achieving a great result. I never want to see that die. Me? I’d rather spend my time capturing the image and return home to work in a comfortable setting, martini in hand, not spelling chemicals; but I understand those who like to get their hands wet. I believe, however, that the professional has to either promote the fine art nature of film, differentiating themselves to clients, and have the work to back it up, or go with the strong attraction of a digital work flow. The former is going to get harder and harder in my opinion.

  9. REverend at 2:48 pm

    That just sounds like lazy excuses to embrace the instant gratification of digital photography. In a time where we already spend so much of our day infront of an illuminated screen, I’d prefer to be quiet in a darkened room, utilizing something more akin to alchemy than Facebook, to render an image. The digital format further removes your input to the final image. Software replaces some of the artistry and risk that wet print is all about. Really this entire argument is exhausting and we will all leave and do whatever we do that gives us some satisfaction. So get off the computer and walk outside, find some inspiration and capture it.

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