Photography — one of the most prevalent categories of art in our technological society. From advanced compositions to your average Snapchat selfie, photography has become much more accessible as new technologies make way for advanced cameras with seemingly impossible clarity, focus, filters and more. However, photography as an art form is much more than this. In order to understand the complexities of the art of photography, many North Atlanta students have gone old school, turning to film development. With not many options for photography classes at school, these budding artists have started a new Photography Club, and the first item on the agenda: a darkroom.

A darkroom is a necessity for film photography, because the film is incredibly light-sensitive and needs total darkness in order to develop properly. Many other materials are involved in the development of film including enlargers, specific chemicals, and film cameras, which can all get quite pricey. Junior Skylar Charlesworth, the founder of the club, is working with teacher sponsor Jordan Grimes to raise the funds to make this project come to life. Grimes has contributed some of his funds from the art department to the project, and the rest of the funds are being raised through a GoFundMe page set up by members of the club.

 This site alone has already raised nearly $1,000 and the club is close to reaching its goal of $1,500 to pay for all of the necessary materials for the club. For many, having a darkroom at school would make this form of photography a lot more accessible. “My dad’s old film camera was actually my first camera,” she said, “but it’s super expensive to develop film and a lot of work too, so our own darkroom would be really helpful,” said junior Avi Hunter.

After all, the club was founded out of a general love for photography, and to be an outlet for creativity with the lack of a photography class at school. Film photography is such a great medium because it teaches students about properties of light and how to capture the best compositions without new camera technologies that edit light sources to produce higher quality pictures. The darkroom will be located in an unused utility closet by Grimes’ room. The space will be converted into an advanced lab for developing film, fully equipped with all necessary materials for film photography. The club is open to all levels of experience, so anyone can join. “We just want everyone to experience the darkroom,” said Charlesworth, “Hopefully it should be up by the end of the year.”

This new club is all about exploring interests and developing as a student and an artist. Their passionate quest for a darkroom is sure to shed light on some creative and talented Warriors.