End of Week One

 Hello everyone! It's an exciting day, I got to work in the darkroom for the first time and tomorrow we head out for Kalmar Castle and then Copenhagen, Denmark. It's three hours to the castle and four to Denmark, so there will be a lot of time in the van, but I always did love long car rides. Today was one of those days where I could have stayed in class until midnight. Unfortunately, I had to stop myself so I could make sure I was ready to leave tomorrow. As always, I started today with a good breakfast! 

I had gotten up early to develop some film with another student which turned out well. I really enjoy the development process and it's satisfying to be able to work entirely in darkness to set the film up for development. It's like one of those "I didn't know I could do that" moments. For class, we did introductions to the darkroom, learning the process and chemicals and how to use our projectors. Some of it was review, but I'm thankful for every bit of studying I can get. We broke for fika and then we got started! 

Just like developing film, printing it also takes some time. Working in the red light was also new, but I like the vibe to it. For anyone who hasn't printed film before, there is a testing process to determine if your exposure and contrast match up to pull out the darkest black, lightest white, and all of the gray in-between. Once you find the perfect blend, then photo manipulation can begin, but you have to find the "true" image before you can go crazy. I think this part is really satisfying. I also like how one mistake can easily destroy what you're doing, like opening a door when you're not supposed to or scratching the film you're trying to align. I don't know why, but the knowledge that everything has to be perfect is super motivating and makes me want to keep working. We had a break for lunch before we got back into the darkroom. I was so excited I ate really fast and returned early. 

 I have quite a few prints, but I'll post my favorite here. I also have prints my classmates did of me. We have easy access to each other, so we kind of treat one another as models. 

 I wrapped up class so I could prep for Copenhagen and had some dinner. 

While I was waiting for my laundry, I went on a walk with a classmate to gather more flowers for some flower pressing. We met another friend along the way. I'm in my room now, typing up my post earlier than usual, but very happy with my day! I hope everyone else has had a good day and is enjoying the little things in life. 

I'll see you soon!