1st-31st May in the Cafe Bar at Bristol Folk House
Traditional silver-gelatin photography is enjoying a revival as more and more people are rediscovering the magic of the darkroom. Photographers and artists alike are engaging with the vintage and archaic photographic processes, discovering the creative potential offered.
Developing and hand printing your photographs gives a very different appreciation of photography. There is a connection through the mechanics of analogue that simply slows you down and draws you in. This back-to-basics, vintage technique can be a gateway to the past through the materials you discover – old family negatives, or the equipment you use to produce these images.
Traditional photography has a certain tactile quality. You handle the film, the chemicals, the negatives, the paper. You watch the image slowly emerging in the dull red light of the darkroom. The choice of film, developer and paper, darkroom technique, toning – all are brought to bear in creating the final print.
Chris Waller and Wendy Leocque have both been involved in producing, facilitating and organising traditional photography workshops and events for many years and they are now bringing their knowledge, experience and passion for photography to the new Folk House Darkroom. See their work on display there in this exciting show.
© Images Copyright Wendy Leocque
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