Analog photography is now a facet of modern culture. It’s rare to pass a lunchtime on an urban street without seeing a keen snapper swinging a vintage Pentax round their neck.Dark Studios, opened in March on Shoreditch High Street, are providing a darkroom for the millions of pictures taken in cities from Stockholm to Sydney.
Whether you’re a beginner, pro, or burgeoning shutterbug, they have a setup that’ll enable you to develop beautiful pictures in a relaxed, passion-led environment. The room is available to hire for 2-hour slots, each kitted out with the necessary equipment including enlargers, print and film chemicals, and drying racks.
For those who aren’t quite ready to hit the darkroom by themselves, there’s a 2-hour printing workshop run by Dark Studios’ in-house photography don, Maxime Bonhomme. This covers every part of the process: preparing negatives to testing strips to image exposure and cropping. By the session’s end, everyone will have their own frame-ready prints to take back and – crucially for anyone serious about taking it up as a hobby – receive a membership that allows darkroom booking in the future. There’s a film-making workshop and – for those who want a statement piece – a private poster-making session in which the attendee will learn how to craft their own AO print.
For the professionals, there’s a range of services like large-scale printing, and Dark Studios’ experienced staff will develop film from negatives and help your beautiful images come to life: perfect for a lounge, shop or gallery wall.
Dark Studios is open from 01/03/2019 - 31/08/201 at 188 Shoreditch High Street
You can book a workshop here