About us
The Darkroom came about from an idea by Michele Pero, professional photographer and photo-journalist with many years of experience in commercial photography, advertising and photo-journalism.
The dark room, as a means whereby photographic prints are produced, has been used in photography since the beginning of the last century but gradually it has been deserted by almost all professionals since the end of the decade. A magical and mysterious place, at least for most, who have never experienced this life. However it fascinates all those who have tried it and have been able to feel the atmosphere.
Developing baths, fixers, toners, tanks for developing the film, sinks, pincers, enlargers, margining devices, red lamps and a lot of darkness – all this to create the magical final print in black and white or colour, a finished product from a photographic era and social age that required that means of communication to create and develop a market.
Those were the days when cameras lasted a lifetime. The film was loaded into the camera and when the photo was taken it was impossible to know if it had come out well or not. Only the professional experts had control over the whole process which happened “in the dark”. The final print was handed over to the agency, the client, the bride and groom, the printer.
The digital technological evolution has brought great changes since that time which seems as if it ended centuries ago and not just a few years. Today the most expensive cameras last three or four years and then become almost useless. Development of the pictures takes place in real time on the computer. As soon as the photo is taken it appears on the screen of the camera. Customers no longer ask for prints, rather they ask for the “files”. The traditional dark room has been replaced by applications which have an average lifespan of three years and then they too become almost useless. The photographic market has moved to the web. Everything, if it wants to exist, must end up on the social forum through the modem. The market no longer asks for single photos but “contents” to fill the web which seems to have an infinite capacity. A film which yesterday could only be seen at the cinema or on TV is now running on the web in low resolution and creates contents where hordes of people from all over the world can meet. The complex photograph which yesterday produced great riches for the photographer today is found on the microstock agencies and is sold for just a few cents. Photography has changed.
TheDarkroom has changed with photography.
What was being offered yesterday is out of date. The market has changed and the method of taking photographs has been revolutionised. Photography must adapt to the new multi-medial society. Today TheDarkroom is the Photography and multi-medial department of the School Centro Italiano Firenze. The radical turning point consists of teaching a world that is changing. It is no longer possible to think of photography as an art in itself. It should be placed in the context of the global world that is being defined. And this has become more and more urgent in recent years. Therefore photography and video, photography and writing, photography and graphics, photography and the web must run side by side to keep up with modern times. Yesterday’s photographer, shut up in his study, printing a photograph in black and white, is no longer in business. Today he must be able to create his own website while he develops his RAW files, create multi-medial products, load contents onto his blog while offering his product to the whole world with just one click.
This is our latest challenge – multi-medial, for tomorrow’s world.
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