Description
6-week Darkroom Course for Beginners
Step into the red light and learn black & white photography in QCfP’s beginner darkroom course in Brisbane. Learn from the ground up.
Over six weeks, artist and educator Joachim Froese will guide you through the complete analogue darkroom workflow—from exposing film to producing finished silver gelatin prints.
Course Overview:
Level – No previous darkroom experience required
Format – 6-week evening course, 2 hours per session, Mondays 6-8pm.
Cost – $880, incl. materials
Starts – October 2, 2026
Group size – Max 4 people. Small group for plenty of one-on-one support
Tutor – Joachim Froese – artist, educator, darkroom specialist
Location – The Darkroom @ Queensland Centre for Photography, 6 Maud Street, Newstead, Brisbane
Prerequisites – Basic familiarity with using a camera helpful, but not essential.
What You’ll Learn:
Week 1 – Introduction to Film Photography
Get to know analogue cameras, film formats and darkroom safety, then make your first photograms and shoot a roll of black & white film for the course.
We start with the foundations: how analogue cameras work, how film behaves, and how to feel at home in the darkroom.
Topics
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Overview of analogue cameras and film formats
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Loading 35 mm film and basic camera handling
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Chemistry and safety in the darkroom
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Introduction to enlargers and timers
Practical
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Making photograms: arranging objects directly on light-sensitive paper to create camera-less images. This is a playful way to understand exposure and contrast without worrying about camera settings.
Homework
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Shoot one roll of black & white film (street or still life – your choice). We’ll process this together in Week 2.
Week 2 – Film Processing
This week is all about what happens to your film once you take it out of the camera.
Learn to develop your own film step by step – mixing chemistry, loading reels, timing development and washing, then hanging your negatives to dry.
Topics
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Step-by-step process for developing black & white film in the darkroom
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Understanding developer, stop, fixer and wash – what each stage does
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Timing, temperature and agitation: how they affect your negatives
Practical
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Process a roll of film from start to finish under supervision.
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Learn how to hang, dry and store negatives safely
By the end of Week 2 you’ll have your own processed negatives ready for printing.
Week 3 – Printing Fundamentals – First Prints
Turn negatives into contact sheets and make your first black & white enlargements, while getting used to the enlarger and basic exposure tests.
Topics
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Creating contact prints (contact sheets) of your negatives for review
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Basic enlarger operation and focusing
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Exposure tests: understanding over-exposure and under-exposure on paper
Practical
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Make contact sheets from your own negatives
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Print a black & white photograph on darkroom paper
Week 4 – Printing Fundamentals – Contrast & Washing
Explore contrast control using filters or colour heads and learn proper archival washing and drying so your prints last.
We refine your printing by learning to control contrast and to finish prints properly.
Topics
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Introduction to contrast control: contrast filters and colour-mixing heads
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How contrast affects the mood and readability of an image
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Archival washing and drying: making prints that last
Practical
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Practice basic printing skills using your own negatives
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Make prints at different contrast grades and compare the results
The focus this week is on clean, consistent prints and good technical habits.
Week 5 – Printing Fundamentals – Dodging & Burning
Shape light more deliberately with dodging and burning, fine-tuning local contrast and guiding the viewer’s eye through the frame.
With a solid base print, we can now shape light more precisely.
Topics
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Contrast control 2: fine-tuning overall contrast
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Introduction to dodging and burning: lightening and darkening selected areas
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Using simple tools and hand movements to guide the viewer’s eye
Practical
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Continue to practice basic printing skills
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Apply dodging and burning to one or two key images, working towards a more expressive final print
Students start to see how subtle adjustments can transform a straight print into a considered one.
Week 6 – Printing Fundamentals – Final Prints
Bring everything together by making a small set of final prints, matching tones and contrast across images and finishing them for presentation.
The final week is about consistency and finishing a small set of prints you’re proud of.
Topics
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Consistency in black & white printing: matching tonal values and contrast across several prints
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Evaluating a final print: checking shadow and highlight detail, mid-tones and overall balance
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Simple options for presentation and storage
Practical
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Ongoing practice of core printing skills
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Produce one or more final prints, applying everything learned: exposure, contrast, dodging, burning, washing and drying
By the end of Week 6 you’ll have a clear, repeatable printing workflow and a set of finished gelatin silver prints made entirely by you.
About the Tutor:
Joachim Froese is an art photographer and educator who holds a PhD/Art from RMIT in Melbourne.
Joachim works across a range of platforms from digital capture to historical printing processes. His photographs are renowned for their technical brilliance and their conceptual depth. He has shown his work for almost 30 years in major solo, group and travelling exhibitions across Australia, Europe, Asia, and North America and his images have featured in many national and international art publications. A number of his works are held in public collections such as the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA).
Joachim is a highly experienced educator who has held regular teaching appointments and guest lectures on photography at universities in Australia and Germany since 2001. He teaches from a practitioner’s point of view and enjoys sharing his unique knowledge across a broad spectrum of photographic processes.
What’s Included:
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All required materials are included
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Light lunch (BYO lunch if you have dietary needs – fridge & microwave available)
What to bring: An apron or old clothes – this is a hands-on, creative day.
Cancellation Policy:
If the workshop is cancelled due to low enrolments or unforeseen events, a full refund will be provided.
