Advanced Darkroom Printing Workshop

Instructor: Theodore Wilkins-Lang

Darkroom printing is a process comprised of a set of variables. These variables range from the obvious, like exposure time and paper type, to the less so, like the temperature of the chemicals. In this workshop, we will break down this process, going step by step through all of the stages of making a darkroom print. We will begin by addressing some of the theory behind printing and the artistic decisions one can make, including paper, chemical choice, and setup of the darkroom. We will also go over more advanced printing techniques such as dodging and burning, and finally address proper care of your prints, from washing and drying to storage and display. The goal of the workshop is to give the participants a new level of control over their photographic practice by the end of the day, and a base level of knowledge that can be built upon.

The Print Room will supply necessary materials (paper and chemicals), but not negatives: so bring in your pictures! Please bring in five negatives and a notebook (a physical notebook is necessary as a phone cannot be used in the darkroom). The workshop will run all day so plan to bring something to eat as well.

Theodore Wilkins-Lang is a Glasgow-based photographer, currently studying Fine Art Photography at the Glasgow School of Art, working in a black and white documentary style. He prints his photographs in analogue darkrooms, and considers himself multi-disciplinary in that he is both a photographer and a printer.

Born in Cairo, Egypt to American expats, he moved around extensively in his early youth, through several American states before finally settling on the east coast of Scotland at age five. He grew up surrounded by American movies and music, but also religion: he was home-schooled by his mother, a former Anglican priest. He was inspired to pick up a camera by his grandfather Clarence Wilkins, another photographer born in Cairo: Cairo, Illinois. Through his work he interprets the people and places that surround him through this odd cultural collage of Bogart and cowboys, the blues and Jesus, and rural Scottish life. Ultimately, Wilkins-Lang’s work is an attempt to work through an immigrant’s experience, and to find his own cultural identity.