Course description
Today our daily life can be said to be dominated by photographic images. They appear everywhere: on advertising billboards, in newspapers, on television, and above all via social networks, conditioning our lives more than we are able to fully comprehend. In the late 20’s, a famous Photographic artist, Laslo-Moholy-Nagy, said “not the one who ignores the alphabet, but the one who ignores photography, will be the illiterate of the future”. It’s a prophecy that has totally come true. In fact we all became visually-literate some time ago, from when televisions first appeared in every home, from when advertising images wink at us from every corner, and through the millions of posts on social media that accompany our daily lives.
This phenomenon however, in my opinion, is now almost a pathology, a sort of visual influence that makes us perceive the world only through the images that are given by it, making us almost totally destroy a careful and perceptive vision of the reality that surrounds us. Our gaze glances over things and places, thus nullifying our sense of place in the actual space in which we live. Reality, the world, of which we are totally an integral part, is a magical place, waiting to be discovered, ready to marvel us, and where every object, even the most banal, whispers its ecstatic Silent Life.
Our Darkroom course seeks to be like an oasis, in the middle of all this chaos and speed, a place to slow down, think, and be patient, a place where the magic of light manages to illuminate the artistic side that is in all of us. It’s an opportunity to be able to understand exactly which chemical procedures to use, in order to obtain high-quality images, and without ever having to run to our best friend to fix our computer problems.
We will begin by analysing the different types of cameras and films, their varying formats, and we will study the issues around obtaining correct exposure in photography, the theory and practice of developing a negative, leading finally to making Fine Art prints for an exhibition. Studying the masters of black and white photography will deepen our study of pure form, a magical and fascinating journey, which may seem a bit “retro”, but which will enable us to understand the magic of both the light and the dark, and apart from providing us with basic photographic technique, will educate our eyes to perceive the magic of things, and to grasp the mysterious significance of the riddles which lie within the folds of everyday life.
Program:
* The Camera
The Darkroom.
The various different types of camera, and their formats.
The Large Format camera.
The Reflex camera.
The Rangefinder camera.
The Diaphragm (Aperture).
The Shutter.
The Lens and its characteristics.
*Film and Exposure
Black and White film: characteristics and composition.
Film sensitivity.
Film grain.
Film formats.
Roll-film and flat film.
Spectral sensitivity.
Exposure in analogue photography.
Correct exposure of a photo taking into account light intensity: The Sunny 16 Rule.
Daylight.
Quality of Daylight.
Artificial Light.
Exposure with Flash.
Light-meter and its correct use.
Reading the Grey Card.
Exposure Value.
Exposure factors.
Reciprocity rule.
The K Factor.
Photographic Filters and their use.
* The Darkroom: Development processes
Developing black and white roll film.
Developing Large Format film.
Exposure scales and paper grades.
Graduated photographic printing papers.
Multigrade printing papers.
Gloss and Fiber-based papers.
Contact printing: tests.
Printing enlargements.
Pre-exposure in printing.
Condenser Enlarger v Diffuser Enlarger.
*The Darkroom: Advanced Techniques
Pre-exposure.
Fine grain v High acutance Developers.
Dodging and Burning.
Developing with Warm tone and Cool tone.
Retouching.
Conservation.
Level: Basic.
Duration: 1 month.
Start dates:
May 26, 2023 until July 21, 2025
May 25, 2026 until July 20, 2026
Hours: 4 hours a day, from Monday to Friday, a total of 20 hours a week.
Classes: groups of minimum 2 people, maximum 6 people.
Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.
