Analog Photography: A Masterclass for High School Students

As an adolescent within the 70s, my ardour was pictures. Using my dad’s previous Nikon SLR, I shot black-and-white movie (analog pictures) of something that caught my eye: quirky portraits, fascinating birds in our yard, even my dad’s previous automobile. I might have used an immediate or compact digicam, however I needed to study the craft, course of my very own movie, and watch my imaginative and prescient come to life within the chemical trays in our basement.

The course of was quietly magical, regardless of the challenges. This sense of magic was echoed when Adorama held a two-part grasp class at Oyster Bay High School earlier this yr for college students, most of whom had by no means seen a roll of movie earlier than.

Adorama and Pentax Bring Analog Photography to Oyster Bay High School

Roughly 25 college students taking an artwork elective throughout grades 10–12 traded their digital cameras and smartphone screens for Pentax 17s when Adorama picture educators Daniel Norton and Seth Miranda arrived at the highschool on January 30. The aim was to introduce college students, already fluent in digital pictures, to the tactile nature of analog image-making. That meant capturing, growing, and printing their very own movie. Since the varsity didn’t have a darkroom, Adorama created a brief workspace that allowed college students to expertise the total course of firsthand.

The collaboration itself had a little bit of serendipity behind it. Before the workshop took form, Adorama’s crew related with Erica Giglio Pac, Ok–12 Director of Fine, Performing, and Media Arts, who had attended highschool on Long Island with Adorama Key Accounts Marketing Manager Keith McCord again within the day. When McCord approached her with the concept, she didn’t hesitate. “I try to take every opportunity I can for the kids; it gives them another lens (no pun intended),” she says.

A Strong Foundation in Digital Photography

Oyster Bay’s pictures program already presents college students a robust basis. Photo 1 and Photo 2 courses cowl photographic historical past and introduce them to influential artists, whereas artwork and picture trainer Scott Boris usually takes college students off campus, to locations just like the Brooklyn Bridge, the High Line, and even on a graffiti pictures day to study extra about avenue artwork and develop how they see the world. Still, Giglio Pac says this expertise stood aside. “This workshop was truly different for our students.”

Bringing it to life required cautious planning. In advance of the workshop, Giglio Pac, McCord, Norton, and Boris met over Zoom to form the construction. “As we talked, the plan kept evolving,” she remembers. “We knew we needed space for the chemical process, for printing, and for assembling changing bags.” The auditorium stage grew to become an impromptu drying and scanning space, whereas classroom areas have been tailored for safely dealing with chemical substances and rinsing negatives. Even easy instruments, like a can opener for retrieving movie from canisters, grew to become a part of the educational expertise.

Pentax Steps up for the Next Generation of Analog Photographers

A key aspect of the workshop was entry to the correct digicam. Through a partnership with Ricoh, college students used the Pentax 17, a half-frame movie digicam perfect for rookies. Even higher, the half-frame format meant they might take twice as many photographs on a single roll of 35mm movie, giving them 72 photos as a substitute of the same old 36. “From the start, we all acknowledged that giving students access to a camera like this was essential,” Giglio Pac says. Structured as a two-part expertise, the grasp class started with college students studying easy methods to use the digicam, adopted by per week or two of capturing. When Norton and Miranda returned in mid-February, college students developed their movie, Miranda sleeved and scanned the movie so the scholars might determine which photos they needed to print.

Ricoh National Account Manager Bill Sims, whose firm equipped the Pentax 17s, sees movie as a really perfect instructing instrument. “Shooting with film is the best way to learn photography,” he says. “I never developed film myself, but I always found the process fascinating to watch. The students were excited, and Daniel and Seth made it both educational and enjoyable.” Launched in summer time 2024, the Pentax 17 is Ricoh’s first new movie digicam in almost 20 years. Sims says its computerized options make it approachable, whereas nonetheless permitting experimentation with handbook settings. For the workshop, college students shot Ilford HP5 400 black-and-white movie.

Lessons within the Perfect Imperfection of Analog Photography

What unfolded over the 2 classes was much less about perfection and extra about discovery. Norton and Miranda guided college students step-by-step, from loading movie in blackout baggage to growing negatives and watching photos slowly emerge. The course of demanded persistence and collaboration. Students labored in pairs, troubleshooting collectively and studying by doing.

Art trainer Scott Boris was particularly intent on making certain college students left with one thing tangible. “We turned an art room sink and surrounding space into a makeshift darkroom,” he says. “The students used blackout bags to load the film, and we hung the negatives to dry across the auditorium stage. The whole thing was very cool.” Even imperfections, like gentle leaks, uneven exposures, or minor processing errors, grew to become useful instructing moments, reinforcing the concept that craft is discovered via expertise.

“There’s something powerful about tangible photography,” Adorama’s Norton notes. “When you make a picture, there’s nothing on the back of the camera. You just have to trust what you captured.” After the classes, that concept resonated deeply with college students accustomed to immediate suggestions and infinite retakes.

A Day to be Shared and Remembered

The workshop made an impression past the classroom as nicely, drawing protection from native shops together with the Long Island Press and the LI Herald. Senior Madison Morley, who’s enrolled in each pictures and AP artwork, advised the LI Herald that the expertise gave her a brand new perspective. After utilizing the digicam at a good friend’s party and experimenting with motion, she discovered herself welcoming the uncertainty. “I enjoyed not being able to immediately review my shots,” she stated. “I kind of liked not seeing the picture afterwards. Maybe I should just learn to trust myself.”

The completed prints shall be displayed at the highschool’s annual artwork present in May, accompanied by a proof of the method and what college students took away from it. For Giglio Pac, the affect was clear. “The feedback from the kids was so positive,” she says. “At first, they didn’t know what to expect, but I’m a huge proponent of hands-on learning. You learn by doing and by having access to tools and materials you might not otherwise have. That was amazing for them.”

For college students raised in a digital world, the workshop provided one thing uncommon: an opportunity to decelerate, interact absolutely with the method, and uncover the quiet magic of pictures, one body at a time.

Further Reading: If I Started Photography Again in 2026, Here’s What I’d Do by the great Analog Photographer Max Kent

Jacqueline Tobin

Jacqueline Tobin
began her profession in 1986 as an editor and author at Photo District News proper out of Cornell University. PDN’s writer later handpicked Jacqueline to take over its sister publication, the 70-year-old picture model Rangefinder, in 2011. There, she served as Editor-in-Chief for 12 years. During that point, she authored two profitable picture enterprise books—Wedding Photography Unveiled: Inspiration and Insight From 20 Top Photographers (Amphoto 2009) and The Luminous Portrait: Capture the Beauty of Natural Light for Glowing, Flattering Photographs (Amphoto 20012). From 2023-2024, she served as Managing Editor and Real Weddings Editor at World’s Best Wedding Photos, an invite-only, member listing of probably the most proficient wedding ceremony photographers world wide. She additionally not too long ago spoke at Tanya Smith’s The Mastery Summit: Art + Business for Portrait Photographers, with a web based presentation on easy methods to curate your portfolio for lasting model success. These days, Jacqueline resides in NYC and continues to be a fierce supporter of photographers and the artwork type of pictures.