Photography Workshop

This was the last skillset session I attended.

I wasn’t able to go before because the technician was absent during the week we were scheduled to have our lessons. We had this session to recover that one we missed, although there was only another person who took it (Nik).

Since we weren’t a very big class, it was easier for us to learn. We were given an old camera, and we had to learn how to put the film on and how to focus the lent and take pictures with it. I remember my parents having a camera like that one when I was little, before there were digital ones. I have no experience with photography at all, and it’s a skill I would really like to learn and put into practice. However, this time I was able to does everything from scratch, and actually prepare the camera for the job, and then go out and take pictures. The process was pretty straightforward because the set ups were already in the camera. We walked around campus taking pictures of things we thought were interesting. The “theme” was “identity” so I tried to take pictures of people on their back, or doing daily things like talking on the phone or walking down the street. I think it would make an interesting experiment seeing people when they’re not looking. It’s then when people show their true self, I believe.

The rest of the lesson was pretty interesting! We got to prepare the film case where it would be exposed to chemicals, but it had to be all done in the dark. We had to take it out of the case, cut the end in a straight line, and then put it in a special circular compartment. It took me a couple tries to perfect it before I could venture to do it in the dark. I was able to do it eventually, and then it was not that hard to do it again all in darkness. It was a fun challenge.

Once the film was inside the case, it was time to add the chemicals. They all smell really bad, and I do think were corrosive (since the skin from my hands hurt a little the day after). We needed to add them one by one, and then shake them for about five minutes each. Our arms were very tired after.

When we were done with the chemicals, we could finally take the film out. We were able to see the negatives of our pictures, and it was really exciting, especially because it was something I did all by myself.

The last step we were able to do during this session was hanging our film to dry and clean the equipment. Since it takes one or two days for the film to be completely dry and be able to expose it, I will have to come back later to expose my pictures and finish with the process. For now, I think this skillset has been very interesting and that even though most pictures are taken with digital cameras nowadays, it is always important to learn the basics of the original method. Also, the pictures taken with old cameras have a better feel and I think are more personal to the photographer.

I really liked taking this skillset, and I would like to continue learning photography. I will be hopefully taking some classes this summer, and taking up some projects of my own, so I can become better at it. I do think it’s something I can grow to love.