When Carolina students take ARTS 115: Darkroom Photography I, they have a chance to dive into the history of photography, learn film techniques and gain the experience of working in a darkroom.

“My goal is for my students to experience and appreciate the magic of engaging in film photography and darkroom printing,” said Lindsay Metivier, a visiting lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences’ art and art history department and owner of Peel Gallery and Photo Lab in Carrboro. “I want them to feel connected to each other and to a rich tradition, history and community of photographers.”

University photographer Johnny Andrews tagged along and made his own analog photographs of Metivier’s class during the spring 2024 semester.

Check out what he captured.

For many students, the course was the first time they made images with a non-digital camera. “Students may struggle with understanding exposure, focus and the absence of instant feedback,” said Metivier, who can be seen in the bottom-center frame in the image above talking with a student. “But this challenge becomes a valuable learning experience.”

Top row: Sophie Hughett, Sophia Katz and the hands of several students surrounding a film camera.
Middle row: Killian Bryant, Jaden Juarez and Benjamin Goldman ’24.
Bottom row: Abigail Adams ’24 and Laurel Petri ’24, Li Li Dong and Allyson Rabon ’24.

“In my opinion, nothing compares” to film photography, said Rabon ’24. “The subtle grain, the colors, the nostalgic feel. I really enjoy being able to manually create a photo — from loading the film, capturing the images, developing and finally printing. It’s such a rewarding process.”

“Despite being a negative quality for most, the thing I enjoy the most about film photography is its inaccessibility,” said Victoria Sagasta Pereira ’24. “I’ve always been a very private person and am extremely protective of my art. Having physical prints as opposed to digital images gives me complete control over who does and doesn’t get to interact with my art.”

Metivier hopes her students walk away from the class with work they’re proud of and “that they’ve made connections with peers that will exist beyond the semester.”

Andrews made all images in this photo essay with 35 mm and medium format film cameras. The cameras used were (left-to-right): a Hasselblad 500CM medium format camera, an Olympus PEN FV half-frame camera and a Yashica Electro GSN 35 mm camera. The black-and-white film was scanned in a manner that also shows the rebate border area of the film, which includes the frame numbering and, in the case of 35 mm film, the film sprockets.