Photography Interview: Darkroom

Nov 21, 201612 min read

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Published: Nov 21, 2016

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Learn about Darkroom photography through this interview with the talented cameraflou!

Could you introduce yourself to us? How long have you been involved in Darkroom photography and where did the interest come from?

Hi, I'm Steph aka Cameraflou, born in France moved to Canada, Montréal. I’ve always appreciated photography and honestly, it was before digital photography. I started with an old Nikon F wich I still have ! When I was studying at Cinema School I learned the darkroom process for photography and movies 16,35mm I love old cameras, sometimes I build one like pinhole or wide angle large format.

Do you focus more on traditional darkroom or digital darkroom? Can you briefly explain the differences between the two to our readers?

I work with both analog and digital, I develop my black and white films, print my own photos. I only work with outdated films and chemistry so sometimes the result are not as expected.There are many differences between taditionnal or digital, but I think the most important is time and the magical side of traditionnal darkroom. On one side we deal with algorithms on the other with organic chemistry. With the Digital the result is quick, traditionnal darkroom is like a long process and the result is always a surprise even if you know well the process.

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What is the most challenging aspect of darkroom photography in your opinion?

To transcribe what you get in mind ! Sometimes, it's something else that appears on paper...There is something magical about creating something with your eyes and hands from start to finish. It's not like a digital print !

Didn't know what time it was by cameraflou

How did you learn about darkroom photography? What do you think beginners should focus on learning when they first begin darkroom photography?

Like I said, I learned at school, I work for film industry, perhaps it will help.
But I think that if you look at Master photographers or Master painters like Weston, Adams, Shore, Eggleston, Bresson etc, you learn a lot. Actually, the internet is full of tutorials for learning darkroom...or other alternative digital darkroom like cyanotype. Just developing your own BW film is very easy, I think it's a good start for beginners. Not expensive and fun. Everything is in your hands.

Je me souviens des heures bleues IV by cameraflou

Do you think that there are things you can only achieve with film photography as opposed to digital photography?

Yes !
You can get filters, plugin that attempt to duplicate the “look” of film. I think it's fine for screen, but when you make print it's different.. Grain doesn’t scale at the same rate as the image so if you make a small print the grain is huge and on a large print it almost disappears, besides film grain is random, the pattern is organic and that makes the “look” totally different to any film simulation programs.

Could you pick one of your favorite darkroom photographs from your own gallery and tell us about how you created it?

I like this one ! Because it has been taken by an old old camera with 127 film very very expired 1965, and it was a frozen day. The camera was posed on a car's hood.
I really didn't expect this result, I made a print of the photo on warmtone ilford paper and I gave it to the owner of the shop that you see a little bit on the right of the photo. It's a shop He has framed it and hooked it to his shop. It's a framer.
Now this man is a friend and he does all my picture frames at good price !

What gear do you recommend for those interested in trying darkroom photography?

A simple film developping tank to begin with BW film... with chemistry. Simple Camera that takes 120 film.
It's the base. If you have the funds and the space build a darkroom.
If you’re lucky you might find someone to teach you, if not there are loads of books and stuff on the Internet. It’s time to take photos. Your best photos. Let go and shoot, shoot, shoot!