BA: I'm curious about Analog Hideout and your history with analog photography. Can you tell me how and why you decided to begin that project?
TR: I have always had a darkroom, and when I moved from England in 2021 I brought the whole darkroom with me, and once the shipping container arrived I set about starting working on my own work. I had taught and mentored in the UK, and decided to start up the process again here in Western Colorado by early 2022. I figured that there were not too many places specialising in teaching color analog photography, focussing mainly upon documentary style photography. Thankfully, in spite of the Hideout in Analog Hideout, we have an airport to bring people in from all manner of places.
Can you briefly describe the physical traits of the darkroom? How big is it? How many enlargers? What type/size of print processor? How do you source and dispose of the chemicals?
The darkroom is self contained, approximately 400 sq ft, and includes a print viewing area with color corrected light tubes, a large table for viewing prints, and then the darkroom part is set up with film processing area, sinks, and then the three enlargers and a Thermaphot print processor that can do prints unto 20" x 30”, my largest size that I have printed for exhibitions. Chemicals come from various places in the USA, and disposal of chemicals is dependent upon the local area and their frequency for collection.
What is the experience like to be in total darkness?
The color printing experience is so different to the b/w equivalent, in that I am in total darkness whilst processing film or exposing paper, but once the paper is in the print machine with the lid on, I can turn the light on and go to the print viewing area, collecting the test strip/ print 4 minutes later when dry. When it comes out of the machine it is a finished thing, no more washing or drying to have to do like one would have to do in b/w. Color printing is staccato, stop and start.
What brought you from the UK to Colorado?
My young daughter. I want to co-parent her as before, so I relocated so she spends one week with me, then the following one with her mother. I was also ready for a change, and had just completed work for the last book, Love Bites.
That makes sense. So the darkroom you moved was in your home in the UK? Or in a studio? How long was that set up for? And when did you first begin printing in a color darkroom?
I had a purpose built darkroom at my home in Somerset, UK and I had that built around 2003. Originally I had intended it to be a b/w darkroom, but as it was being built I realised that I wanted it to be a color one, and made a few changes. I had printed with printers in color prior to having this darkroom, and once I had the color darkroom built, I started printing in color and processing my color negatives too.
Hold on a sec. You began with printing ink jets and then transitioned to analog? Most folks go the other way.
No, I was printing with excellent people in London who printed color prints. Then I started doing my own once the darkroom was built in 2003.
Ok, got it. What is it about the color darkroom process that attracts you, and that has kept you doing it for 20+ years? That might be too broad of a question, but take a stab anyway. You posted something on IG about cutting up big rolls of paper in complete darkness for hours. That’s not everyone's idea of fun, but maybe meditative in a way?
I believe that finding one's own color palette is a necessary part of the growth in a journey for a color analog photographer. I spent some while testing achieving a subtle desaturated look, by altering the process slightly for the color film processing.
What variables did you tweak in your color film processing? Timing, dilution, something else?
I removed the negatives from the bleach early, retaining some of the silver in the negatives, creating a subtle desaturated look in the final print. Once I had achieved that color, I felt that at last I owned the colors, and was not responding purely to the colors of Kodak or Fuji film. The process of discovery came through studying the work of cinematographers and directors and their approach to color. For me there is something so magical about creating a fine fine print in the darkroom after test, more tests, and eventually finding the sweet spot for that image. Yes it is truly meditative, and attempting to rush is a folly !!
Which cinematographers and directors influenced you?
I admire many many, but to pick out a few, Vilmos Zsigmond cinematographer (Deer Hunter), Terrence Malick with Nestor Almendros on Days of Heaven, Bobby Muller cinematographer with Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas)....etc etc etc.
Does the fact that you shoot/print color film affect your process at the point of exposure? Does it somehow alter your choice of subject matter, timing, color, location? Perhaps some things will look better on film, and some won’t? Or is it a non-issue?
Exposing film or digital is crucial. I use a one degree spot meter in order to “read” what is in front of me and make decisions for the exposure. I know with negative film, the extend of the dynamic range that I can play with and deal with in printing.
I'm finding that for my generation it is a normal thing to "think" in terms of analog prints, but I derive much satisfaction from having students from Mexico, UK, Canada and USA visit me at Analog Hideout to clarify their intentions for their photographic practice, and whether it be learning about darkroom work, or their documentary practice. Much of the work on the three day workshops is having students examine their practice and unravelling any blocks in their path. Most of the people that I see, or mentor, are accomplished photographers who are looking for additional clarity and subtle direction in order to move their practice forward.
I think that master color printers can probably develop that distinct voice no matter the medium. Meaning that even using ink jet technology, you can learn to tweak the settings to get whatever visual expression you want. But I do think C-prints have their own palette which is very hard to replicate with digital tools. They seem to have a magic spell about them. Maybe the hidden palette sauce to C-prints is that the colors are inherently intertwined. If you correct for one color it inevitably throws off the others. CMY work in synch with one another, never alone. Whereas with digital tools you can isolate one color and tweak it by itself.
I think that working in analog teaches a form of acceptance for what is, and what is not, possible. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as too many options can create a muddle. So color analog printing is about being precise with the exposure and development of the negative. Then one can play with a narrow band of contrast. I do not see that as a limitation, but if one was used to sliding the contrast setting in the digital sphere it might be annoying to not have choices. So acceptance is important.
You mentioned your generation (60-something?). what is the general age of students coming to Analog Hideout?
Anything from 20-40 years old is the range I mostly see here.
If they are mostly younger photographers, does that signal a new interest in color darkroom printing generally? I know that b/w darkrooms have had a recent resurgence, and also b/w film photography. But I'm not so sure about color. There just aren't a lot of darkrooms out there. Do you think there is growing interest, despite the lack of outlets?
I think the interest is truly there. Yes, it is problematic setting up a darkroom for color by comparison to B/W, but the more the world creates tsunamis of images online, the more the intrigue in original C types. For those who are not able to access a color darkroom, the next best is to at least shoot on film and have their processing done really well, and scan thereafter.
That is a pretty typical work process (scan and print digitally). But to me it has always seemed backward. If you are going to shoot film, it seems only natural to print it in an enlarger. Scanning and dusting negatives is such a hassle, I'm not sure why anyone would interject that into a process which is going to output digitally anyway.
I guess there is room for more color darkrooms to open up for rental by the day. There are some like that in NYC, but not in Western Colorado!!
Do any locals in Montrose use your darkroom? Or is it mostly people from outside the community who fly in?
I am not set up to rent out my darkroom, it is first and foremost my special space that I work in and teach from. There is not really a photo scene here, like there would be in a major city, but I am used to that having spent much of my time in more rural areas for the last 20 years, prior to which I was in London for 25 years.
What about internationally or folks you know online? Do you know other photographers who print in a color darkroom? Does that number seem to be growing?
There are always photographers who like myself want to continue printing in an analog way, in spite of the more plentiful alternatives.
You mentioned acceptance a moment ago referring to darkrooms. I like what you said, and I think it might apply also to the act of making photographs. Walking around with a camera you kind of learn to accept found objects for what they are, and resist the urge to alter them or radically re-envision them. The best photos I think do not try to do too much, but instead they live within what's present. So natural limitations might be helpful there too.
Yes, I think acceptance is a good thing, and patience. I can tell a rushed project a mile off. Let time distill the body of work. I do think though that using film, and in the absence of access to a darkroom, that the quality of film is still worth doing, over shooting digitally (in my humble opinion !!)
What do you mean by “the quality of film”? The tonality/palette? Or the resolution? Or just the filminess of it, the look? Or is it something in the process of shooting film. Being more patient and deliberate?
Certainly not resolution alone. Some things like resolution, high ISO are part of the new digital language. It is easy to be impressed by resolution, but in reality sometimes too much clarity can be off putting. Grain has a smooth quality in the image that I admire, and although new technology is improving each year for digital, I personally prefer the way highlights are rendered on film emulsion. I think patience and deliberation are qualities that are equally important no matter what medium you choose to create work in.
When talking about color darkrooms and film photography, two commonly perceived barriers are $ and archival quality. Can you say something about those issues, for readers looking to explore color printing? How can struggling photographers justify the added expense of color film processing and analog printing? Do C-prints still merit their old reputation for print fading and color shift over time?
Money and cost of darkroom prints is real, but one can waste a whole load of $ too trying to perfect inkjet prints, and the frustration of seeing one thing on a screen, and then the inkjet print outputting very differently. Both are expensive, but by being decisive and selective, are not too expensive.
As for the archival question, hmmm. I know that the Fuji Crystal Archive paper that I use is extremely archival good. I do happen to doubt the archival claims of inkjet, as who knows, ask me again in 40 years when we can actually see how the inks have held up.
If kept in good stable conditions, color prints these day will last a long time. The paper from the 70’s was not as inherently stable as today.
(All photographs above by Tim Richmond)
