Photosoc is something of a unique student run photographic society, in that we have exclusive access to our very own darkroom, an asset that has enticed many a curious student over the years, and, more likely than not, will do so for years to come.

Anyone who has taken it upon themselves to locate the fabled “dungeon” will have trekked halfway across campus, traversed hidden courtyards, followed weaving corridors, and descended darkened stairwells to find a quaint, if somewhat foreboding, little room tucked away in the most unlikely of places. They will have also succumbed to a pensive yet strangely stimulating atmosphere that has led many a soul to stay much longer than intended.

Film has admittedly taken a back seat to the recent explosion of digital photography. It has never been easier to pick up a camera, take an endless number of photographs, and view, edit, or send them within minutes. Yet for all the benefits of modern photography, there are some things that simply cannot, and should not, be replicated.

With relatively minute number of frames, the most basic of camera settings, and no way of knowing exactly how an exposure will turn out, one feels a certain inclination to plan every shot they take. Well, not always…they may throw caution to the wind and shoot from the hip, allowing fate to determine whether the results will be a mess or a masterpiece.

And of course, nothing can compare to the thrill of peeling a long tendril of dripping plastic from the developing spool to find a ribbon of translucent rectangles, each one a physical rendition of a vision that once captured your attention. Likewise, there’s the wonder of watching an image slowly emerge from submerged paper, crystallising into a solid object you can touch and hold (who can say that about a jpeg!). There are the disappointments, the successes and the mistakes that somehow work better than you could possibly have devised.

Digital photography is the future of the medium, yet anyone truly passioante about the art should delve into its recent past. Film photography is difficult, expensive, outdated, uncertain, and more rewarding than you’d ever imagine. So, next time you take your electronic friend out for a shoot, why not bring along his older counterpart; they truly make the best of friends.