Photography is the art of capturing a moment of light. A digital camera encodes what it sees as data - variations of red, green and blue light. This is then displayed on your screen as a positive image - that is, an exact record of what you saw in front of you, with the colours and tonal values as accurate as possible. Analogue photography, however, relies on another step between snapping the subject and admiring the image: developing from a negative.
You don't need a darkroom with expensive equipment to make stunning images. In fact, most of the techniques I will experiment with will be things you can try out at home. Some may not need negatives at all, but objects like leaves or feathers which will act as barriers between the light and the paper, leaving a ghostly impression behind. To print photographs using these methods, however, does require the use of negatives.
But what is a negative? How does it work? Just as a digital camera records the pattern of light onto a sensor, an analogue camera records it onto film. The film starts off quite clear, but where light hits it the film turns dark. What you end up with, once that impression is fixed onto the film, is a negative image: the darkest areas of your subject look pale on the film and the lightest areas of your subject appear the darkest. You can see this in the negative of a photo I took of the adorable Ozzy.
Turning this negative into a positive image relies on the same process in the darkroom. You shine a light through the negative and onto some photosensitive paper and, just as before, the amount of light that hits the paper determines how dark the image will be in that area. This results in a positive print.
How much light is too much? When first capturing an image with the camera, you change the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to control the exposure of an image. Many cameras, both analogue and digital, have a built-in light meter to help you determine your exposure level. In the darkroom, however, it takes a bit of trial-and-error. The best thing to do (so you don't waste time or expensive paper) is create some test strips, increasing the exposure time incrementally across sections of the image.
On the right-hand side, which had the shortest exposure time of 5 seconds, the whites of Ozzy's fur and fluffy pillow are blown out, losing all detail. The left is dark, dull and lifeless due to being exposed for 25 seconds, which was too long. The middle shows off Ozzy's little quiff in all of its glory without losing detail in the light or dark areas, so I know that 15 seconds is the sweet spot. I could do another test strip to refine it further (maybe 14 seconds would be perfect!) but for now, I'm happy with this.
Why is all of this important? If a photograph is a snapshot of light in a given moment, understanding how light works is key to mastering the processes we will explore. You might not need to create test strips, but if you notice that your images are a bit too light or too dark, you have the knowledge to fix it and can adjust your exposure time accordingly.
Different Types of Negatives
While many people are familiar with the standard 35mm rolls of film used in analogue cameras, printing these out often requires an enlarger in a darkroom, a bit like an overhead projector from 90s classrooms. Safe to say, it's not the most feasible purchase for a hobbyist working in the bathroom with the lights off.
How can we get our own usable negatives? One of the first types to be created was paper negatives. I haven't yet tried this myself, but in theory, you expose some photo paper, usually in a pinhole camera, and develop that to get a negative image. Once that is fixed, washed, and dried, you can put it onto another sheet of photo paper with the emulsion (or shiny) sides together. You place some glass on top to create a tight contact, shine a light onto it, and develop the new sheet. The light is able to travel through the top piece of paper with your negative and expose the paper underneath, creating a positive mirror image. Check out this video to see what this looks like in practice.
If you want to turn a digital photo into a paper negative, that's also possible. On the computer, convert your photo to black and white (if needed) and then invert it to make a negative. Print it onto standard printer paper. Then, coat the back of the paper with clear melted wax to turn the paper translucent, creating a usable negative. Make sure that the layer of wax is thin and applied evenly, and that any excess has been brushed off. Below is a link to a short video demonstrating this process.
You can also use the same technique of inverting your digital images with transparencies. These are sheets of acetate which can be printed on - often used for overhead projectors in the 90s. These become effective negatives which can then be used in a number of alternative processes. Not all printers can take transparencies, so be sure to check your printer's specifications. When using negatives, I will mostly be using transparencies as I find them quick, reliable, and effective.
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