Darkroom Photography Makes Return as LHS Class
Mikaela Burrows in the darkroom
An old form of photography is getting a revival in a small room at LHS.
Justin Scott - School News
10/28/2024
There’s an old saying, “One person’s junk is another treasure.” LHS art teacher coming across the old darkroom equipment at LHS could’ve easily disregarded it. Instead the equipment is now being utilized by one of LHS' newest classes.
“I took Darkroom Photography in college and loved the unique experience so much that it ended up becoming my emphasis in school. I love how magical it feels to see the images develop. The first day I started working here at Lowell High School, I saw the darkroom and knew that I would bring the class back one day,” LHS Art Teacher Emma Bandos told the Ledger.
Darkroom is a style of photographic processing that is exactly what it sounds like. A room using the absence of light to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic film. Turning photos into prints through a unique chemical process. The chemicals used in darkrooms mean safety requirements are in place including proper ventilation.
Darkrooms were once mainstays in high schools. It was even featured in season one of the Netflix hit Stranger Things set in Indiana in the 1980's, Jonathan and Nancy can be seen using a darkroom to process photos taken of the monster that season. Darkroom originated in the 19th century but continued well into the 1990’s when Lowell High School’s building was built. The darkroom studio at LHS eventually devolved into a storage closet as the age of digital cameras came about.
"Students would always ask what the room was, if they could go in it and were generally curious about the process,” Bandos told the Ledger. In the early 2010's it was the same.
“This is absolutely my favorite class and it’s taught me lots,” LHS student Savannah Reynolds said about the class.
Evan Berrington looking for the perfect lighting.
Digital photography is now more accessible than ever, even to students. Both the LHS yearbook and digital photography classes give students access to high quality equipment.
“Today, individuals can take a picture right away and see instant results and they can essentially take an unlimited amount of pictures. Darkroom photography teaches patience, experimentation, dedication, determination, responsibility and so much more,” Bandos added.
For you sports fans think of a baseball game. You might see an older gentleman with a pencil and stat sheet, marking down each inning. Each hit and error. It's meticulous. One might think why? I can go to MLB.com and find all the stats. They might say it’s a tradition they did when passed down from their father before them. They find enjoyment out of it.
Likewise for a process like darkroom. You can use a digital camera. You can get a photo instantaneously. If you use darkroom though, it’s a bit of a work of art. You’re invested in your photo much like you would be a painting, drawing, or sculpture.
“It is difficult because it uses a lot of materials and skills that are not used today and they can be temperamental. There are so many variables that could cause a print to not turn out as desired. Aspects like light, temperature, dust and time can significantly affect the print and could cause it to turn out blank and could cause it to not turn out as desired," added Bandos.
After the photos are taken, it’s reeled back into the film capsule while it’s inside the camera so it doesn’t have light reach it and ruin the entire strip of film. Once the capsule is taken out of the camera, it’s taken into a completely dark room so no light can get to it when it is opened. The film is cut from the capsule, and eventually loaded into a light sealed container. Now set for the dark room, the film is agitated with three different chemicals over a course of approximately 20 minutes.
The chemicals used on the film strip allow the film to be seen under that famous red light that darkroom photography is known for. It’s hung to dry for at least a day. Now the film can be viewed under normal lighting, and can be burned onto special sheets of light sensitive paper for a final result.
“The burning is a very long tedious process,” Reynolds said. “It takes many tries to get the right amount of light. Once we print the full one photo on a paper and send it through four tubs of chemicals for specific amounts of time, which is similar to the chemical process that we did with the film of negatives, after the last tub it is able to see light without being ruined and then you have a print,” Reynolds added.
Photography assignments so far have included contrast photos, studio lighting, depth of field, motion, and even fun topics like scavenger hunts to take unique photos of patterns and objects.
Students are graded on their progress throughout the trimester with a portfolio at the end of the class to show that they learned how to take and print good black and white images.
“My favorite part about the class is the overall process of the darkroom. I love getting to go outside and take the different kinds of pictures and then the suspense of waiting to see if they turned out nice! I also love the process of printing the pictures and the process of seeing it come up on the paper once it is in the developer bath,” said LHS student Hailee Rykse.
Hailee Rykse taking photos outside the LHS North Entrance
It’s a great option for LHS students interested in art, who may not feel they have the creativity for a traditional art class.
Darkroom doesn’t have to be complex images. Landscapes, people, simple objects. There’s no restriction to the different options available for students using the darkroom.
“I always saw from the hallway the ‘darkroom in use’ sign that was able to light up but never saw it on so I was always curious about it, then during sophomore scheduling for junior year came around I scrolled just about to the bottom of the list of electives and saw “darkroom photography”. I had asked my counselor about it and she told me the darkroom hadn’t been touched in decades and Ms. Bandos was starting a class for it to test it out. I was immediately interested because I had a love for digital photography, have always had a curious mind for historical processes, and knowing the darkroom process was a very important development in the photography industry wanted to learn more.” Reynolds concluded.
