Recap: Penumbra Foundation's 2023 Intro to B&W Portraiture and the Darkroom for High School Students

This past summer our friends over at Penumbra Foundation in New York City hosted another edition of their annual summer workshop, "Intro to Black & White Portraiture and the Darkroom for High School Students."

Photographer David “Vades” Joseph, who we interviewed for his mentorship for the program's 2022 workshop, returned to teach the nine-day course, introducing both portraiture and traditional black and white photography in an intimate class setting.

Photos provided by Penumbra Foundation

Open to all high school students of all levels, participants in the course were provided cameras and Lomogrpahy Lady Grey 35 mm film to photograph peers, passersby, and themselves—overall utilizing the idea of "making" a portrait as a collaborative process between the photographer and subject.

Photos provided by Penumbra Foundation

Interactive demonstrations highlighting hands-on learning in Penumbra Foundation's private darkroom and northlight studio as well as photo-related field trips around the city.

Students learned how to manually operate 35 mm SLR cameras, develop black and white film, and print their images in the darkroom.

Photos provided by Penumbra Foundation

A new addition to this year's workshop was at the end of the course, students were able to present their work with peers, family, and mentors in a final pop-up exhibition.


If you're interested in participating in a workshop or supporting Penumbra Foundation make sure to check out their website, Facebook, and Instagram. To keep up with David "Vades" Joseph and his work, check out his website and Instagram.

written by eloffreno on 2024-04-03

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