Developing Black and White Film workshop

Description

Date:  July 15, 2025
Location: Leland’s studio/darkroom in Missoula, Montana
Cost: $150 per person (price includes chemistry)

Starts at 9:00AM MST and ends at 6:00PM

This is an optional one-day follow-up to the Landscape Photography and Large Format Photography workshops being offered. Learn to process black and white films in tank and tray.

This workshop will teach you everything you need to know to develop your own black and white film. For those taking the Large Format Photography workshop, this will set you up to handle and develop sheet film safely and effectively. Learning how to process your large format film is not that different from developing regular roll film, but there are certain things that make it more challenging. Handling sheets, loading inserts like the Mod-54 6-sheet insert for Patterson tank, or the 4-sheet Stearman tank. But often these solutions are inadequate – for instance when developing X-Ray films with emulsion on both sides of the film substrate. In these situations, tray development is an essential skill.

This workshop will cover all the essentials: mixing and measuring developers, fixers, using water or acid stop bath, washing and drying. We’ll start the day with a run through of basic black and white film development, then move into the darkroom and load film using a variety of different inserts for 4×5. If participants are interested in practicing 8×10 loading into BTZS tubes, that will be covered as well. Each participant will run thourgh practice loads before loading their own film for development. Each participant will then develop a batch of their own film.

All workshops take place on the date and at the location stated and are refundable less processing costs, until June 1, 2025. After that date, no refunds are given. Due to the nature of the event, these events are not eligible for reschedule or transfer to another.