Black and white darkroom photography

What is the course about?

This workshop is aimed at students with an interest in black and white photography. Whilst covering the basics of black and white film processing, more advanced students will be able to further their skills under expert guidance in a professional darkroom.
We will concentrate on vital elements such as the choice of the correct grade and type of paper, resin and fibre, and print sizes. You will explore using the printing easel and framing of image for visual effect, get guidance on developing/re-touching your images including spotting and dodging, and work on a range of printing techniques and processes. The course will be held at City Lit and Photofusion, which has one of the best equipped black and white darkrooms in the country. It is easily accessible on the Victoria Line; please email visualarts@citylit.ac.uk for the meeting place once you have enrolled.

What will we cover?

- Black and white film processing (35mm and 120 films)
- Printing contact sheets
- Making test strips and using them to judge paper grade and exposure
- Making your own prints on resin and fibre-based paper
- Dodging: use of dodgers to lighten areas of the print
- Burning in prints to improve print
- Spotting prints.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- process a black and white film correctly
- Produce a contact sheet
- Make a good quality print on resin and fibre-based paper
- Use multigrade filters
- Use dodging and burning to get the most out of your negatives
- 'Judge' a negative and use the right grading to get a well balanced visually pleasing print
- Judge which parts of the print need ‘holding back’ or ‘burning in’ for maximum visual effect
- Spot your print (manually retouch marks) so that it is ‘clean’ and approaching exhibition quality.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is a course for beginners to darkroom processes, however students wishing to do a refresher are aalso welcome.
You will need to be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information, and prepared to take part in group discussion. You should be happy using numbers and able to do simple measurements and calculations.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will be taught by short talks, demonstrations, practical exercises,handouts, individual tuition and feedback. To get the most from this course you may wish to do some research outside of hours of the course.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please bring in an exposed roll of black and white film (eg.HP5 or Tri-X) to the first session, which you will process and will become your negatives for the following sessions.

Please note this course is exempt from our refunds and transfers policy.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

City Lit has a wide range of courses covering practical and creative elements of photography. You may also be interested in our traditional printmaking (lino, etching, photo-litho and screen-printing) courses. Browse the website or prospectus to get inspired. City Lit photography also has courses in fine art digital printing using Epson A2 printers, sometimes refered to as Giclée printing.