One-to-One: An Introduction to Black and White Film Photography

Have or are you thinking about purchasing a film camera and exploring the fascinating world of black-and-white film photography? Perhaps you want to get back to basics and are tired of the instant gratification of digital and the modern world as a whole. On this film photography workshop, I will gently guide you through the process of producing meaningful photographs using this very special medium. It’s time to slow down and take time over your composition, to calculate the exposure, manually, and, in order to control contrast, possibly implement the use of coloured filters. All this, and more, will be covered while visiting a number of inspiring locations in my home county of Kent.

“It’s difficult to put into words, but with analogue, there is a certain aesthetic, a feel that you simply cannot replicate with digital”

NEED A LIFT?
Providing you can get yourself to Sittingbourne train station (it's on the mainline from London), I would be more than happy to pick you up and take you back again.   

DON'T OWN A FILM CAMERA?
I've got this covered! You'll be using my beloved medium format Hasselblad 501cm. You’ll learn how to change film backs and load roll film, and with a range of lenses from wide-angle to telephoto, coloured filters, a hand-held spot meter and a tripod, you'll want for nothing!

ZONE SYSTEM
Developed by the legendary photographer, Ansel Adams, as a means of arriving at the optimum exposure through taking precise readings from different areas of the scene, it's actually pretty straightforward and something we will be discussing and using throughout the day. In fact, I use it every time I take a photograph, and following this workshop, you will no longer see the world as light and shade but as tonal values.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND
My love of black-and-white film photography began more than 35 years ago when, as an enthusiastic teenager, I would develop and print my own photographs. Upon leaving Paddington College School of Photography, I worked both as an assistant to a local photographer and as a black and white hand printer. But then, in the late 90s, along came digital, and the film cameras were put into retirement. I vowed never to return to its ‘inconveniences.’ Little did I know that some 20 years later, as a consequence of reassessing the direction of my photography and the desire to slow down and have 'separation' from my professional and wildlife work, I would be throwing myself back into the world of analogue photography! Since then, I have made more than 3000 photographs and developed and scanned dozens of rolls of film. I have loved every single moment and always get excited before heading out with my film camera!

"I feel that now is the perfect time to pass on my knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and love of black-and-white film photography to you!"