That is the title of an article by Russell Hart, which appeared in American Photo Magazine on February 1, 2016. It’s an interesting piece about whether colleges are still maintaining traditional black and white darkrooms and teaching students how to use them, or not bothering and just focusing on digital capture and processes. The article opens by saying that “Reports of the death of analog photography have been greatly exaggerated. In the consumer world, film may have been sunk by digital technology, but wet black-and-white darkroom photography is alive and well in academia.”

I’m not so sure I would agree with his last point about the “consumer world” as it appears film has made a nice comeback recently; in many cases led by the young! On the other hand, I would agree that when it comes to commercial photography, digital absolutely reigns supreme and it is unlikely there would ever be a chance of turning that back. Blake Madden, who heads the photo program at McDowell Technical in Marion, North Carolina, supports this. “We discussed the issue at length, but given that the world of commercial photography was going almost exclusively digital, we thought it was in the best interest of our students. He points out that he has just two years to prepare his students for possible careers in photography, and that having to teach the mechanics of traditional approaches might impede that.” Not sure I would agree with that last point either.

Maxine Payne, who heads the photography department at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, “sees traditional black-and-white as the only true path in a liberal arts setting. She uses it to disabuse new students of the notion that they are already photographers.” Now that is an interesting point! She goes on to say “what that often means is that they’ve taken pictures with their phones and put them on social media, or gotten them into a high-school yearbook or art show,” she says. “Rarely have they printed those pictures on anything more than a home printer. They also have no sense of failure, because they can shoot as much as they want and just delete what they don’t like—or use an app that corrects and often changes the original image to fit preconceived notions, usually from popular culture, about what makes a good photograph.”

Craig Stevens, professor of photography at Georgia’s Savannah College of Art and Design agrees. “Digital technology is so good that it creates an automatic acceptance of the end product, as is, he explains. Using black-and-white film defies that notion. Students must consider exposure, development, and how technical choices combine with aesthetic decisions to affect the final image, he says. It forces students who have grown up in the fast-and-furious world of digital to slow down.”

Finally, Professor Payne believes that traditional methods make “students think harder about their own photography; … that the benefit of learning darkroom photography is relevant to other aspects of their academic and personal lives as well. They learn that an investment of time in anything they do yields greater understanding and appreciation, and ultimately skill.”

I agree wholeheartedly with these educators, but I feel what they are saying should not be limited to the learning experience of college students. When you take a moment to think about it, everyone is really a student. Especially when it comes to something like photography. We should always be trying to learn … what to do and what not to do and when to do it and when not to. Learning to see better and realizing what really isn’t all that interesting after all. Exposure, composition, light. I could go on.

The article points out that not all educators agree. Some feel that given today’s photographic world, it’s best that a college student’s schooling be a digital one.

I know that the hard work that comes from making film based images and then printing them in the darkroom forces me to continually think hard and endeavor to improve. What am I doing right, and of course what have I done wrong? After more that 45 years at it I still make plenty of mistakes, but I think … and hope … I learn a lot more. And that’s both exciting and rewarding!

So getting back to the original question “Is Darkroom Photography Still Relevant? Of course it is! Not only for college students … but also for any student of photographic craft … or for that matter … of life.

About a month ago I wrote an entry called Time Flies in which I discussed getting caught up in things that really didn’t matter, which takes precious time away from things that do matter, and how this is counterproductive to creative wellbeing. I further said that there’s only so much time we have, so in my case I want make more time for meaningful photographs. How to do that? Clear away all the non-worthwhile activity and focus on what is important to me. Of course this is easier said then done, but I was determined not to wait to 2018 and I have already started to take my action steps.

I think the most important thing to do besides clearing the decks of all the timewasters is to set some goals you really want to accomplish and have a likelihood of being met. I have done this and so should you. Of course many find it hard to meet any goals at all, but endeavoring to clear away the worthless nonsense in our lives enables us to take a major first step in what is necessary to meet goals we wish to realistically achieve. At least that’s what I think, so I am sticking to it!

There are a couple of projects I have wanted to do that I never get around to starting, or sometimes I find my focus seems to wander. Then there are certain prints I want to make that I haven’t gotten around to. But I am clearing out the underbrush and know what I am going to do! I’m not worrying about trying to satisfy others. Instead I plan to accomplish things that fulfill me.

I think 2018 will be a pretty good year.

Happy holidays and best wishes for your 2018!

Michael

I’ve been enjoying my modified Leica SL … FrankenLeica … or Frank for short (see a previous and entertaining entry on this) … and my Leica M2 and M3 cameras this year quite a bit. There really is something special about using these wonderful machines built in a time when … well … things were really built. The form factor, the metal construction, the weight, the tactile pleasure! I know, you have heard if all before. In my opinion it’s all true, but for me the critical feature common to these old rangefinders and SLRs are their viewfinders. When I look through them I see a clear, bright and mostly uncluttered view of the world.

Yes, you might say that the Leica SL has a needle (f stops) and a “lollipop” thingy (shutter speeds) that move, and when they intersect indicate correct exposure. And shutter speed information is visible at the bottom of the viewfinder. All true, but since my newer ROM lenses are not coupled (again, many thanks to Don Goldberg for solving this problem!) and I don’t use a battery, the meter is therefore fully inoperative. Only the lollipop is visible and how much I see of it is based on the shutter speed selected. If you don’t want to go the Leica route there are similar vintage and beautifully made SLRs that don’t have a meter at all, such as the wonderful Asahi Pentax SV. And many of the screw mount lenses made when that camera and the follow-on Spotmatic (with built in meter) was produced are outstanding.

The bottom line is that I’m hardly aware of what little there is in the viewfinder.

Then there are the M cameras without built in meters – M2, M3 and the M4 and its variants. No metering distractions to be concerned with. And with the M2 and M3 you only see the frame lines for the specific lens mounted on the camera. So no distractions at all!

I have always been attracted to cameras that exhibit as little information as possible in the viewfinder and especially don’t like blinking lights or other lit data found in more modern cameras. I only want to see is the scene in front of me I wish to photograph and these viewfinders allow me to do that. I think using these simple tools help me concentrate more on composition and make better pictures.

I work very simply; in most situations I merely take a meter reading of the palm of my hand (making sure I’m not in a shadowed area) using a handheld meter, then open up one stop. When I’m walking around on the street, one reading is all I need unless the light changes. For pictures of objects, buildings, or a landscape containing white clouds, etc., I take a reading of the brightest part of the scene and open up three stops. That’s it. This works for me and may well work for you.

Plenty of people use “sunny sixteen” and don’t need a meter at all. Then there are those so good that they just intuitively know the right exposure. Henri Cartier-Bresson comes to mind.

An ancillary benefit of my approach is that I don’t worry about batteries anymore or the reliability of camera electronics. Ok, my Pentax 1 degree spot meters use a battery, but I never have had a dead one in thirty plus years of use. Every couple of years I change them. On the other hand, I cannot tell you how many times I accidently left my Leica R9 switched on only to find out I had a useless paperweight when I was ready to go photograph. As much as I loved the R9, I have flushed electronic cameras out of my system.

So does using a camera with an uncluttered meter-less viewfinder, no batteries and electricity make me a photographic Luddite? Perhaps. Do I make better photographs than I might otherwise? I think so. Does it matter? Definitely.

It’s that time again at the end of the semester when my Center for Learning in Retirement (CLR) students have to present their theme based project of ten 8×10 photographs and accompanying written essay. There’s no grade so people sometimes skip the essay, but always talk about what they did, and of course discuss each of their photographs during their presentations.

Some of my students have hung in with me for the three semesters I have been teaching and are threating to return in the spring. It’s very gratifying for me so see how they have grown over the last year and a half and I’m most appreciative of the friendships I have made during this time.

For those that follow my weekly entries and are familiar with my love of black and white film photography, it may come as a surprise that I was absolutely blown away by a particular project done completely in color with a digital camera.

My objective is not to push the use of film cameras or the production of black and white images made in a darkroom. Well, maybe someday! What I really want to accomplish is to get them to become more open to their surroundings, to look beyond their normal field of view for new and exciting possibilities. Maybe even get outside their comfort zones. Hence the concept of the project!

My student accomplished all the above and produced a truly sensitive, beautiful and thought-provoking series of abstracts made where she lives and in the locations she traveled to during the course of the semester.

The work was outstanding and worthy of exhibition; but just as important, she discovered a brand new avenue of inquiry for her photography that she will continue to pursue.

Perhaps an unforeseen result … but a welcome one that comes from a willingness to try something different and giving it your best shot.

She pushed herself to do something new and creative, and succeeded in meeting her goals. In other words, she is a photographer.