Highlands to get new darkroom facilities.

[Peter B]

A bit of good news for the New Year is that the new Arts Centre in Inverness will be kitted out with darkroom facilities, due to "a real rise in the interest in analogue photography," A possible resouce for a future F&C meet?

A new darkroom and photography workspace will be among the facilities provided by the first phase of the Inverness Creative Academy Project.

Matt Sillars, a photographer and lecturer in photography and culture studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, and his colleague Rachel Fermi will use the space for the Inverness Darkroom, a community project to support the growing number of photographers across the Highlands who prefer traditional analogue photography to digital.

Courses, workshops and other activities will also link in with Flow Photofest, the biennial international photography festival.

"There’s a real rise in the interest in analogue photography," Mr Sillars said.

"Digital technology has made photography accessible to all but as people find its limits they often want to explore further and discover all the things they can do with the older analogue techniques.

"There’s also a real excitement and ‘magic’ about being in a darkroom environment and making a photograph, using the chemicals and watching the image emerge in front of your eyes.

"People really engage with the physical object and it is quite a different experience from images on a screen."

He believed the darkroom would attract people from a large catchment area, with those living within 50 miles of the city using it regularly, and those within 100 to 150 miles attending for courses and workshops.

"People are often quite dispersed and this will be somewhere they can come together," he said. "It will allow them to bounce ideas off each other and create joint projects

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/Work-to-begin-on-Midmills-arts-hub-28122017.htm

 

[Andysnap]

Thats excellent news, always pleased when something good happens in the fillum world.

A Highland meet would be brilliant....

 

[desf]

A Highland meet would be brilliant....

Absolutely!

 

[windrunner]

Looking forward to this - there are quite a few film shooters up here

 

[AgPhotographic]

I too noticed this - I am having a meeting with the chap from University of Highlands & Islands this evening in Inverness.

Ag might have some interesting news soon for anyone who enjoys shooting film in the Highlands....

 

[Peter B]

Thanks Matt, we'll be watching.

 

[Peter B]

Some of you will have had an email from Ag this morning about the new darkroom in the Highlands, and apparently it is now ready to go! Further info at the link, and it seems they will work out a visitor rate at some point. https://theinvernessdarkroom.wordpress.com/about/

 

[Andysnap]

That looks excellent, a very useful facility

 

[Peter B]

I was intending to get my dark (aka utility) room back in operation after many years this winter, so it'll be whether I splash the £96 membership instead.

 

[sirch]

Thats excellent news, always pleased when something good happens in the fillum world.

A Highland meet would be brilliant....

Yes it would, I've just about dried out (in all senses of that term) from the last one :-D

 

[Peter B]

That looks excellent, a very useful facility

Yes it would, I've just about dried out (in all senses of that term) from the last one :-D

Completely OT, but Paul Murton did one of his tours from Ardnamurchan to Glencoe and the sun shone quite a lot!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episo...rs-of-scotlands-lochs-series-2-3-point-to-pap

 

[Mrs Snap]

Completely OT, but Paul Murton did one of his tours from Ardnamurchan to Glencoe and the sun shone quite a lot!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episo...rs-of-scotlands-lochs-series-2-3-point-to-pap

We watched that the other night. I think there must have been some camera trickery going on. They must have photoshopped the weather.....

 

[Pound Coin]

Ah, that’s good it is taking off. I know someone who has donated some equipment. Great to see it used in this way.

 

[Peter B]

We watched that the other night. I think there must have been some camera trickery going on. They must have photoshopped the weather.....

Maybe they only filmed on Wednesdays?

 

[AgPhotographic]

This facility has really been a labour of love by Matt Sillars, who is a lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Anyone who can support it, please don't hesitate. £96 for 12 months really is a bargain. There is 24 hour access and it's based in a cracking area of Inverness and in the newly refurbished Midmills Building.

We are supporting in everyway we can including supplying materials at preferential rates.

 

[RaglanSurf]

This is fantastic news and £96 a year is a bargain, I'm not sure I'll ever go back to darkroom printing but really pleased it seems to be having a resurgence along with film use.

 

[ChrisR]

A Highland meet would be brilliant....

Yeah! Can't be as wet as the last one, can it? Errrrm...

 

[Asha]

Can't be as wet as the last one, can it? Errrrm...

Well if I could manage to get there, I could attempt to squeeze some southern France sunshine in my luggage….Might mean borrowing LF kit from you guys though, to make room for it!

 

[AgPhotographic]

Update. We have a meeting with Matt Sillars tomorrow - we have offered to underwrite 50% of the rent for them. It's such a great facility, and they have worked so hard to get it complete, we really want to support it.

We have such a great band of loyal customers - it makes it possible to do this sort of thing - so it's a thank you to you all!!

 

[Peter B]

I see from Facebook that the darkroom had a grand opening last week, and the photos include our very own Matthew Wells from Ag.
https://www.facebook.com/invernessd...9BWrrqw5-YlnWnsxI4-PRmkiQcUf48XRxvIjteJ-jGrcY

 

[windrunner]

Been in a few times now, its an excellent facility. My daughter is 14 and shoots film a lot so they are trying to arrange a junior membership for her so that she can come in with me supervised and have a go/

 

[windrunner]

I too noticed this - I am having a meeting with the chap from University of Highlands & Islands this evening in Inverness.

Ag might have some interesting news soon for anyone who enjoys shooting film in the Highlands....

Order some stuff today and its on its way to Inverness Matthew

 

[ChrisR]

Little bit OT, but I went in to Stills in Edinburgh yesterday (it's recently moved from Market St to Cockburn St). They have a public darkroom (plus 2-3 "private" darkrooms, I understand), and a bunch of other useful equipment. You have to undergo an induction, costing £20, and after that it's £12 per day, plus a small charge for chemistry. Or you can do process-only black and white (in ID-11) and C41 for £2.50 a roll (assuming that's instead of the £12 charge)... using a Jobo... Also some fancy scanners (Imacon?)

Their courses seem quite expensive, eg £168 (IIRC) for a 2-day intro to 4x5. There was one on "alternative process", by which I think they mean Cyanotypes etc, and maybe a separate one on Platinum/palladium printing.

Interesting, I thought.

 

[Andysnap]

£168 for a two day course seems pretty fair to me. I was looking at one up that London, a of portrait course iirc, and that was £165 for a day.

 

[gazmorton2000]

£168 for a two day course seems pretty fair to me. I was looking at one up that London, a of portrait course iirc, and that was £165 for a day.

I agree, two days of teaching and learning for £168 is not bad at all, in fact I would say very reasonable. Especially given the expense of film alone in 5x4 and then dev costs pus the expertise of teaching combined with people actually wanting to make a profit from it (god forbid), then I actually think it's quite cheap.

 

[desf]

Little bit OT, but I went in to Stills in Edinburgh yesterday (it's recently moved from Market St to Cockburn St).

I thought it was always on Cockburn Street? I used to go there many moons ago.

 

[ChrisR]

Yes, I think perhaps I'm thinking of it the wrong way round, as in, quite a lot to put out, rather than un-justified!

 

[ChrisR]

I thought it was always on Cockburn Street? I used to go there many moons ago.

Well, I haven't been there for a few years, but last time it was on Market St not far from the steps down into Waverley Station IIRC; that's how I found it!

 

[desf]

Well, I haven't been there for a few years, but last time it was on Market St not far from the steps down into Waverley Station IIRC; that's how I found it!

Is that not the Fruitmarket Gallery?

 

[Andysnap]

They have a pubic darkroom

Mmm, sounds like it might be a bit hairy working in there.

 

[ChrisR]

Is that not the Fruitmarket Gallery?

Oh dear, I suspect you're right! Wayback machine confirms that Stills have been in Cockburn St pretty much forever... Sorry about that, I'll blame tempus fugit, whoever he is!