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Shooting & Developing Film | You Don’t Need a Darkroom!

This workshop provides a combination of theoretical training and hands-on practice to shoot and develop black and white film, all without the use of a traditional darkroom.

What's Covered

Far from being an archaic art, analogue photography has taken off in recent years. While this fundamental form of photography harkens back to photography’s origins, the present era of personal websites and Instagram makes digitization a new necessity of analogue photography. This workshop spans from the history of photography to the present age of developing your film at home with the aid of apps and scanning your negatives to share your analogue work digitally.

 

You will start out with a theory session, covering a brief history of photography, and leading up to the basics of shooting black and white film, covering different types of film, how to correctly and creatively expose film for your desired aesthetic, and how to control your camera manually for the best possible result.

 

After your theory session, you will then load up your roll of film cameras and head out on a photo walk through together to explore the alleyways of Alserkal Avenue, capturing lines and shapes as well as some portraits of one another along the way.

 

Back in the classroom, you’ll learn how to develop your freshly shot film using a standardized kit, understanding the specifics of the chemical process and the importance of time and temperature while processing.

 

While our developed negatives are drying, you will learn how to efficiently digitize your negatives at home using a flatbed scanner. This will cover the best practices for scanning, including resolution, adjustments before saving, and file management. The instructor will end the session with a short demonstration of basic scanning.

Far from being an archaic art, analogue photography has taken off in recent years. While this fundamental form of photography harkens back to photography’s origins, the present era of personal websites and Instagram makes digitization a new necessity of analogue photography. This workshop spans from the history of photography to the present age of developing your film at home with the aid of apps and scanning your negatives to share your analogue work digitally.

 

You will start out with a theory session, covering a brief history of photography, and leading up to the basics of shooting black and white film, covering different types of film, how to correctly and creatively expose film for your desired aesthetic, and how to control your camera manually for the best possible result.

 

After your theory session, you will then load up your roll of film cameras and head out on a photo walk through together to explore the alleyways of Alserkal Avenue, capturing lines and shapes as well as some portraits of one another along the way.

 

Back in the classroom, you’ll learn how to develop your freshly shot film using a standardized kit, understanding the specifics of the chemical process and the importance of time and temperature while processing.

 

While our developed negatives are drying, you will learn how to efficiently digitize your negatives at home using a flatbed scanner. This will cover the best practices for scanning, including resolution, adjustments before saving, and file management. The instructor will end the session with a short demonstration of basic scanning.

what's included
  • 8-hour workshop, a mix of theory and practical exercises
  • You will receive a roll of 35mm or 120 film to shoot and develop during the workshop
  • Printed notes
  • 8-hour workshop, a mix of theory and practical exercises
  • You will receive a roll of 35mm or 120 film to shoot and develop during the workshop
  • Printed notes
who should attend

Suitable for all levels of film photography, although a foundation in the principles of photography (through film or digital) is required.

You should have a thorough understanding of ISO, aperture and shutter speed and how all of these relate to each other to achieve an ideal exposure. If you are not familiar with these terms, enrol for our Photography Level 1 workshop.

Whilst the Photography Level 1 workshop is digital camera based, it will equip you with the key technical photography knowledge required of the aperture triangle, which is transferrable to film photography.

Suitable for all levels of film photography, although a foundation in the principles of photography (through film or digital) is required.

You should have a thorough understanding of ISO, aperture and shutter speed and how all of these relate to each other to achieve an ideal exposure. If you are not familiar with these terms, enrol for our Photography Level 1 workshop.

Whilst the Photography Level 1 workshop is digital camera based, it will equip you with the key technical photography knowledge required of the aperture triangle, which is transferrable to film photography.

What to bring
  • Your Film Camera (35mm or 120) - Preferably a manual film camera but not essential.
  • Lens(es) for your camera.
  • Batteries for your film camera - Some cameras require specific types of batteries, make sure to double check and buy new ones before the workshop!
  • Your phone with the 'Massive Dev' app - The app costs around 33 dirhams and is well worth the small investment.
  • Notebook & Pen

OPTIONAL

  • A developing kit – check out our recommended kit linked here. We will provide kits for the class that will be shared between 3 students, but if you wish to use your own, please procure the materials in the link provided.
  • A light meter
  • Your Film Camera (35mm or 120) - Preferably a manual film camera but not essential.
  • Lens(es) for your camera.
  • Batteries for your film camera - Some cameras require specific types of batteries, make sure to double check and buy new ones before the workshop!
  • Your phone with the 'Massive Dev' app - The app costs around 33 dirhams and is well worth the small investment.
  • Notebook & Pen

OPTIONAL

  • A developing kit – check out our recommended kit linked here. We will provide kits for the class that will be shared between 3 students, but if you wish to use your own, please procure the materials in the link provided.
  • A light meter
Cancellation Policy
  • If cancelled 7 days prior to the start of your workshop, you will be issued a 90% refund or may be rescheduled to another date(s).
  • If cancelled a minimum of 3 days (72 hours) prior to the start of your workshop, no refund is possible, but you may be rescheduled to another workshop date(s).
  • If cancelled less than 3 days (72 hours) in advance of your workshop, no refund and no reschedule is possible. 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

  • Workshops can be rescheduled within 3 months of the originally booked workshop date(s).
  • Bookings can only be transferred ONCE, including in the event of a workshop relocation. If you transfer your workshop booking and later wish to cancel it, we will not be able to refund or reschedule you under any circumstances.
  • GPP reserves the right to change the location of any workshop to another location within the same city and/or emirate as deemed necessary in accordance with management discretion.
  • You must be 16 or older to attend this workshop. If you are younger than 16 or booking for someone under 16 years of age, please contact us first and we will be happy to advise you.
Please Note: Our classes are open to ANY brand of camera: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji and any other intermediate to advanced cameras (As long as they have manual controls i.e. NOT point-and-shoots) are welcome!

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