Pinhole photography

What is the course about?

Discover a creative alternative to modern digital photography: this hands-on course explores experimental ways of producing photographic images without a camera. Learn the basics of dark room processes and using chemicals to fix prints, build your own pinhole camera to make images, create blue-tinted prints with sunlight and make prints from objects like the artist Man Ray, with astonishing results.

What will we cover?

- The basics of pinhole photography
- The basics of wet process in the dark room
- Contact printing using transparent objects in the dark room (rayographs or photograms)
- Create Cyanotypes using UV light, such as the sun.

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

- make and use a pinhole camera to produce paper negatives
- use appropriate chemicals to develop and fix a silver-based print
- produce prints using UV light to produce cyanotypes
- use transparent objects to produce photograms in the dark room.

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

This course is suitable for anyone interested in alternative creative processes. Some understanding of camera settings will be helpful for the pinhole component of the course but not so much for the contact printing element.
You will need to be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions to support demonstrations, hand-outs and for
health and safety information, and be 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 through presentations, demonstrations, and practical tasks using chemistry in the dark room (under red light) and using UV lights.

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

Please bring a pen and notebook. An apron may useful to protect your clothes from chemical residue. The
Please note the City Lit photography studio (on Kean St) is an annex and not part of the main building; there is no reception. Please do not arrive more then 5 minutes before the start time of your class, and do try the door before ringing the bell.

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

City Lit has a vast range of practical and theoretical photography courses to inspire your creativity. Please search on the website.