Written by: Ian Reynolds 1/17/2025
Santa Monica Photo 2 Darkroom Techniques
As a digital photographer, I never really knew much about film, except for occasionally shooting with instant film. In 2024, I decided to take a film class called Photo 2: B&W Darkroom Techniques at Santa Monica College. This class turned out to be the most fun I’ve ever had in a college course.
At that point, I had already earned my AA degree in Liberal Arts, and before beginning my journey toward a BA, I wanted to take classes I genuinely enjoyed. Unfortunately, since I work my main job in the mornings, most photo classes were unavailable to me—until I found SMC. This community college has a fully dedicated photography department with options for AA, AS, and certificate courses, all at a very affordable cost.
Even though I had to make a two-hour commute once a week to Santa Monica, the skills I gained and the fun I had during this class made it entirely worth it. The darkroom technicians, students, and professors were all wonderful, and learning film photography has truly made me a better digital photographer.
With film, there are no redos—once you take a photo, it’s final. If you make a mistake while processing your negatives, they’re permanently ruined. As a digital photographer, you have the ability to try again as many times as you want, but film forces you to slow down and focus on every step of the process. I believe this experience has made me more attentive to details and more deliberate in planning each photo I take.
If you’re interested in learning film photography, I highly recommend taking Photo 2 at SMC.
This is where we printed our photographs using enlargers, which project light through negatives onto a special type of light-sensitive paper called RC paper. To preserve its integrity, RC paper must only be handled in a dark room, as exposure to light in a lit room will ruin it.
My final print for my street portrait project features a random man with a guitar in Hollywood. When printing, it’s essential to take your time and create test prints to determine the ideal f-stop and exposure time for the perfect result.
This image demonstrates how light is used to project your negatives onto RC paper for printing. It is crucial to avoid bringing your phone or any light source into a darkroom, as even a small amount of light can ruin both your work and that of others. This photo was taken when the darkroom was empty to ensure no projects were at risk.
Here are some photo I took while working in the lab. Defiantly made some great memories with my classmates and the darkroom staff.
Darkroom Print: Light Painting
Darkroom Print: Portrait
Darkroom Print: Self-Portrait
Negative Holder for Enlarger
A heartfelt thank you to my wife, Vanessa, for supporting me as I attended class each week and for understanding when I came home late. I couldn’t have done this without you. - Ian