Flexible classes
My Beginner darkroom classes are one on one instruction designed to teach you how develop your own black and white film. The goal is to get you comfortable developing your own film and then help you navigate developing film on your own in your home. Developing film can seem intimidating but I take the mystery out of it with informative step by step darkroom classes. Each class is custom tailored to you and the photography experience you have.
Developing film at home is simpler than you think and doesn’t even require a darkroom. I’ll guide you thought setting up your own affordable darkroom in your bathroom or kitchen sink. I will be available after the the class to answer questions as well.
The classes are taught one on one so we can custom tailor the dates of the classes to fit both our schedules.
Starting with the basics
There is no experience or even a film camera required for the beginner film classes. I have loaner cameras to get you started. If you have a camera I can test the functions of the camera. The first class is all about making sure you are comfortable with your camera and tips on metering and shooting film. If you are already shooting with a film camera and know it works we can skip this part and go right to developing.
Developing your first roll
Once you have shot your first roll, then you come to my darkroom and I will guide you through the entire process. While it is simple to do, there are many tricks of the trade I’ve learned to get better results. I’ve been developing film for decades.
Scanning
Once the film is developed there are simple and affordable methods to digitize your film to be able to share your film photos to the world online! I’ll walk you through my DSLR scanning system and help you assemble your own method of scanning film at your home.
Printing
Making your own silver gelatin prints in a wet darkroom is an amazingly rewarding experience. Watching a print slowly appear before your eyes in the developer tray under the red safelight is magical. This optional class is taught in my darkroom.
Other classes
I also teach a pinhole photography class a Holga plastic camera class as well as a beginner. I will be adding more classes in the future as well.
Experienced professional instruction
I have been practicing film photography for 30 years now at a professional level as a national award winning photojournalist and as a fine art photographer with my pinhole and Holga cameras. I mentored for several years under Herb Nelson teaching his film classes. He is an educator with 50 years of teaching darkroom skills at the college level. Herb is now retired, but I am proud to be carrying on his legacy of bringing people into the “dark arts” as he is fond of saying.
I’m also a published author of two photography books. The first is entitled Around Wisco: Hiking the Ice Age Trail where I documented my hike of the entire 1200 mile Ice Age Trail. The second book is Ristad Farms: Grain Farming in the Red River Valley I spent and entire season on a farm in Minnesota documenting life on a modern farm.
My film photography zine Small Towns – Big Spaces was acquired by the National Art Gallery Library in Washington D.C.
I teach digital nature photography workshops as well.