Listening to Calvin

To be honest we did not listen to Calvin for too long. After he explained the basics of the dark room; including how we needed to keep it completely lightless and how long to keep the paper in each chemical bath, he let us loose to our own creative devices. It was a breathlessly playful three hours which I deeply enjoyed, and I think everyone else in the class did as well. The whole time there was chattering and giggling, the space was filled with positive energy as well as productive creation. Being in close to complete darkness was a setting which I had never worked in before, and at first, I think I was kind of claustrophobic and anxious. That feeling soon wore off, however; as Mayra and I began laying objects on the photosensitive paper and seeing what compositions we could form. We had fun using our hair, my hands, and eventually she said we should use our faces which we did. Even though it felt silly, the results are quite beautiful. There is something about black and white photography which is inherently attractive, maybe it’s because of the simplicity or its association with an older, more classical form of photography.

The developing process with chemicals was just like how I read about in books, but I honestly expected it to be more difficult. I almost wanted to be in the room alone so I could concentrate more on the counting to make sure I was keeping the photos in the chemicals for the right amounts of time. I am so thankful that I got to experience this art form and I understand the allure of the process of the dark room.

I think this session was incredibly helpful to me as I begin to try and understand the processes of Joel Peter Witkin. He is a black and white photo artist who manipulates his images in the darkroom by scratching and marking them to create a distinct style. I love the richness he creates in his photos and I believe that the darkroom process is inherent to his work.