Ryan encouraged the participants to explore a combination of digital and traditional photography processes within the same session. To do this, the participants would work digitally to take and manipulate the photographs and then print creatively in the traditional photography darkroom.
The group were then allowed to work on the Mac computers to download all the digital images they had taken and had the opportunity to discuss which ones they felt were successful and why. Each participant had top pick their favourite images to take forward into the next process.
The digital images were converted to black and white, inverted, and printed onto a transparent acetate using a photocopier. They acetate sheets would then become ‘large negatives’ that could be taken through a traditional photographic darkroom process.
The group experimented with layering their acetate image with found objects on the top of light sensitive photo paper and were shown how to expose their photographs and develop them using the chemical baths in the darkroom.