You still use a darkroom? - Forum Thoughts to Share - photography instructor shares love of traditional photography

Arts & Activities, April, 2003 by Peter Hiller

When I went to the local camera store to buy my "beginning-of-the-year" photography supplies, the owner took me to what he kindly called the "antique" section of the store. When my yearbook printer was looking over some prints I brought to him, he asked about the contrast of a print and then remarked with surprise--"You still use a darkroom?"

With these thoughts lingering in the back of my mind, I proceeded into our new school year, and a new photography class, as always. A few weeks later, upon watching my students looking at the first negatives they had just finished developing, I knew why I was still teaching an old-fashioned photography class: The students were completely jazzed by what they had just accomplished.

I have been teaching photography classes for over 24 years to students ranging in age from 6 to adult. The majority of my time has been spent working with the oldest students at our school--eighth graders. They learn camera use, film developing, printing and mounting, usually as new skills. The results have exhibited on our school walls, in our local art museum, been sent to Japan as part of an art-exchange program, and are regularly used as part of our school yearbook.

Over the years my approach has changed as photography has changed. In the old days, when my students used borrowed, adjustable, 35mm cameras, I used to spend weeks on camera instruction. As most of my students now have their family point-and-shoot camera at their disposal, this is what I teach too. It's sad to see so few adjustable cameras now because I have lost the opportunity to share the creative controls that a manual 35mm camera affords, but I'm trying to remain flexible.

Now I find myself confronted with the dawning of the digital camera era, the biggest threat yet to the loss of the smell of darkroom chemicals. I will soon have a computer in the art room and I even intend to get a digital camera, but the expressions on my student's faces reaffirmed why I will continue to teach traditional photography.

From the moment our class begins, my students are thrown into an area of study that they have virtually no frame of reference. It is all new. We talk about light, the elements of art, and even some math, but the introduction of photography is unlike anything they have ever done before. They have to learn the step-by-step processes and follow them sequentially in order to achieve satisfactory results. They must be responsible for mastering each step themselves.

This begins with the creative challenge of their shooting assignments, which are designed to push them to see beyond the ordinary, to look at their world in a new way. They then have the magical experience of seeing the results of their labors right before their eyes. Although the film develops in a tank, they put the film in there and they proceed with each step involving the various chemicals. Then they hold the negatives up to the light for the first time, but that is nothing compared to the next experience of seeing one's print appear in the developer for the first time. This never fails to illicit "wows" and "oohs," and it still gives this teacher goose bumps.

These are tactile tasks that they undertake, hands-on work, where they feel and then see the results of their labors. The satisfaction comes at many different points, from taking the photos to seeing their work on display and hearing the reaction of other people. They must be responsible and thoughtful as they proceed. There are no shortcuts to masterful results; the students must control their efforts.

In an age of computers, where machines are able to do the work for us, it's nice to still have the hands-on experience of creativity that photography gives us. For many students it affords a secure, creative outlet. Intimidated by other art mediums, they find photography to be their means of expression.

Photography certainly came under scrutiny when it first appeared: Could it be art? I believe the answer has become a resounding "Yes!" And, there is no doubt that computers are not only here to stay but are also being used in very original and creative manners. Let's just not lose the opportunities that teaching film photography gives us, in our rush to a digital world.

Peter Hiller teaches grade-school art at All Saints' Episcopal Day School in Carmel, Calif. He is also a Contributing Editor for Arts & Activities.