St Pauls Darkroom Presents an Exhibition of Photography at the Bristol Folk House

About

St. Pauls Darkroom is a purpose built photography facility, for the practice of traditional 'silver', wet-based photography. The centre teaches some of the oldest photographic techniques still available. Through alternative and archaic 'chemical' processes, they aim to highlight the continuing and relevant use of these methods in use today, along with the growing revival of analogue photography. These public access darkrooms are open 7 days per week. Along with the selection of work produced by their members and users, they are also showcasing two photographers: Helen James, whom completed a Documentary Photography degree at the University of Wales, Newport in 2011. The series she has chosen to exhibit depicts the lives of people from the Forest of Dean, famous for its industrial past. From coal and sandstone extracting, to a young sheep farmer. Helen's work brings to our attention a way of life that is fast disappearing. Nicola Williams moved to Bristol from North Devon just over 25 years ago and from early glimpses into her father's darkroom, her fascination with photography began.It wasn't until reaching 40 and with the much needed encouragement from her older brother, that Nicola started making images of her own. Nicola loves experimenting with film cameras, either rescued from a charity shop or a loft and admits the older and more quirky the better. For Nicola, learning how to process and print black and white film was as much about having fun, as switching off from the demands of everyday life. The darkrooms are located at St Pauls Learning and Family Centre, 94 Grosvenor Road, St Pauls, Bristol BS2 8XJ T: 0117 914 5470