We are very excited to announce that we have started our 5th grade youth photography program at The Weston Collective! It has been far too long since we were able to work with students again and it feels great!
We started be refreshing the students on the order of the chemistry. Cut outs were placed on tables where they could arrange them in the correct order. Darkroom photography requires acute attention to detail and knowledge of the correct order of chemistry. The students did great and were ready to get outside to photograph!
We started with pinhole cameras to get the students used to the process. We used soda cans with a small hole to make photographs. Before venturing outside, we loaded the soda cans with photo sensitive paper that would capture a “negative” when exposed to the sun. The small pinhole lets light in to create the image on the paper. For a sunny day like we had, the exposure time was 10-15 seconds. It is crucial to not move the cans when exposing so we instructed the students to place the cameras on the ground. They got some great results from their first time photographing!
After exposing the sensitized paper, we took them into the darkroom and made negatives! This was the first time they were able to see the process and watch an image come to life on paper. They were definitely intrigued by the process! The middle picture in the above gallery is of a photogram. A photogram is using found objects to create shapes on photo sensitive paper. This was an introduction to using the enlargers for the students. They paired up at an enlarger, placed the photo sensitive paper below, placed their objects on the paper, and then turned on the enlargers shining light onto the paper. They got very creative and made some cool compositions! Next we will start working with cameras :)