A growing body of research links smartphones and social media to increased rates of childhood anxiety, self-harm, and suicide. Against this dark background, analogue photography has emerged as a counterbalance to phone-based childhoods, a practice that fosters deeper connections with the physical world and infuses meaning into children’s lives. It provides a unique and immersive experience.
At In-Sight Photography Project in Brattleboro, analog photography classes for young people recently filled up faster than digital classes. This enthusiasm shows what many adult film camera enthusiasts remember: that taking old photos is a lot of fun.
“Using a film camera and being in a darkroom is a unique experience for most young people, and fundamentally different from their everyday lives,” said Emily Wagner, In-Sight’s executive director. . “In the darkroom, students are also finding camaraderie and community, as a new connection to art and science that is not mediated by a screen.”
In-Sight teaches students the entire process of analog photography, from handling film to learning the mathematics of exposure, developing film, and making prints in the darkroom. This art form requires patience and care at every step, but children are naturally drawn to it. It is highly effective in teaching important values that are being lost in the digital age, such as the value of slowing down and being present in the moment.
“While analogue photography requires the photographer to be present and take many factors into account, in digital photography students often take speed as a given when processing film and images. You learn to drop it and wait for the chemical reaction to occur,” Emily explains. I couldn’t even look at my cell phone. ”
Film-based cameras, especially older cameras that have a more mechanical feel when adjusting settings, loading film, clicking the actual shutter button and feeling the vibrations, and even advancing the film after exposure The tactile experience when handling is a unique reward. Physically developing film and then entering the visionless world of a darkroom and using enlargers and chemical trays to create prints is unlike the easy, no-stakes nature of capturing digital images. , can bring a tangible sense of accomplishment and creativity.
In fact, In-Sight uses the darkroom as a way to teach the principles of mindfulness, as all-important visual perception is largely eliminated. In the darkroom, your demeanor and voice naturally quiet down, and there are moments of concentration and moments of celebration when you get an unexpected result. Feel, time and memory become very important. This is ironically the joy of the darkroom, given how important light was in the origins of photography, and today light is almost completely absent.
As children delve deeper into the world of analog photography, they discover that it’s more than just getting away from the screen. It means accepting a different lifestyle rhythm that values not only the result but also the process. It also obviously holds some mystery because so many things have to happen from when you take the shot to when you see it exposed that it can surprise you, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. . Not knowing is the basis of the entire mode of analog photography.
Another value that children learn is how to develop a deeper connection with their environment, something that would otherwise be overlooked, as it takes a lot of effort and luck to successfully create authentic photographs. Learn how to observe and evaluate details that can cause problems. Iconic photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, in his 1952 book exploring the “decisive moment,” wrote that capturing key moments in human activity requires the perfect combination of anticipation, composition, and timing. clarifies how it is needed. He said that one day we would see how the camera is pulled away from our faces, what we would see when we took the final exposure and print, and that it would become our conscious mind. and could not predict how it would erode the level of observation.
“As a parent, I was so happy to see my child inspired to stop and observe the world in a new, slower way through the lens of a camera,” said a parent who recently raised an analog student. Told. “In our digital age, 35mm Basic has provided them with a rare opportunity to experience the magic of silver emulsion photography.”
Engaging with the process and history of analog photography opens the door to many lost skills, including patience, concentration, and a true appreciation for the art of storytelling through images. That makes analog photography more than just a hobby. It turns into a meaningful antidote to the digital harm of smartphones in children’s lives, providing a path to creativity, mindfulness, and a renewed sense of connection with the physical world.
Jeff Diehl is a journalist, marketer, and video producer living in Brattleboro. Opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
