sfc workshop: b&w and ra-4 reversal

on may 25th, seattle film club hosted a hands-on printing workshop inside dolan and scott’s studio in pioneer square. the focus? making prints without a darkroom enlarger—just a massive large format camera, direct exposure onto paper, and a wild amount of light.

the b&w experience: direct positive prints

we started with black-and-white portraits using ilford direct positive paper, shot with a gigantic studio camera that looked like it belonged in a science museum. iso 1 meant the paper was ultra slow, so we used a powerful strobe flash to expose it properly.

once someone posed and the shutter clicked, the exposed paper was rushed into a portable darkroom—basically a blackout box with curtains. from there, it went straight into the jobo processor for development using standard black-and-white chemistry: developer, stop, then fixer.

because the paper was direct positive, there was no inversion process—what we shot came out as a finished black-and-white print. no negatives, no scanning, just light, chemistry, and patience. the results had a ghostly, x-ray feel—high contrast, dreamy, and timeless.

ra-4 reversal: color printing, no negatives

meanwhile, others in the group explored ra-4 reversal printing—a far rarer and more technical color process. instead of using negatives, they exposed color ra-4 paper directly in the camera, then processed it through a multi-step reversal method. this involved a first developer, bleach, re-exposure (or fogging), and a color developer bath.

the result? color prints with an unmistakable analog depth and unpredictability. ra-4 reversal isn’t for the faint of heart, but the final images had a rich, dreamlike tone that digital just can’t replicate.

look out for more workshops in the future!