Darkroom 1 course - Black & white film & darkroom skills, Monday evenings x 4

Running Monday evenings, 5.30pm to 7.30pm
Sept-Oct 2026, new dates t.b.a. soon
Course fee $395.00 including all materials. ($125 deposit to confirm your place. Limit 4 places. Tutor: John Williams.
Note: we also run a weekend workshop covering these skills.

This course will cover:

• camera control and basics for shooting film
• developing film in the darkroom
• making contact sheets and editing
• making black & white prints in the darkroom.

Most people taking up photography this century will have started out on a digital camera. Marvellous tools that they are, there remains a great attraction to doing things the old way; silver-based analogue photography using light-sensitive emulsions.

This course will uncover the mysteries of the darkroom, and you will find it's relatively simple to get started and add a new dimension to your photography. Anyone wanting to give their photography a lift should try shooting black & white film and experience developing and printing it themselves, by hand.

If you haven't used a darkroom for a few years, or decades, this course will provide you with a good brush-up on techniques. It is also suitable for those teaching photography as an art subject and wanting practical darkroom skills and an understanding of how the process works, and to pass on the knowledge.

Tutor: John Williams

Courtenay Studios' darkroom in use - photo by John Williams

Karori Teachers' College demolition, Wellington, Photo: J.Gilberd

Photo: John Williams

Course fee: $395.00, including GST.
- A deposit of $125.00 will be required to confirm your place.
- Limit: 4 students only.
- Materials are covered by the course fee.
- 35mm film cameras are available to borrow if needed.
- Please see Conditions & payment information before paying your deposit for the course.

Please email James Gilberd to register your interest.

Slideshow photos by John Williams, 2015