MHS Darkroom Going Digital? Film Fans Opposed

by Midori Uehara; photos are from Exposed, MHS's Online Photo Magazine

(March 17, 2005) Mamaroneck High School’s photography program is going digital next year – a move supported by the administration, but opposed by the photography teacher and students who value film and darkroom approaches to the medium.

As part of the renovation of the high school facility, the photo class and its darkroom, a part of the program for decades, was slated to move into a new location in the Post Road building. But recently, Superintendent Sherry King opted to eliminate the darkroom. . Reasons given include recognition of the digital revolution in photography as well as the cost of updating and moving the darkroom.

As the administration was reviewing the next phase of the high school renovation, the photo program was reevaluated in light of the budget for the entire project. “The issue came up whether or not it would be better, given the fact that photo is going through a digital revolution, to put computers in there and use the wide variety of programs available,” said MHS Principal Dr. Mark Orfinger, “I think it [film] may be obsolete in a few years’ time,” he added.

In the modified curriculum, students would use advanced computer programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, for editing and printing photographs. The classroom would resemble a computer lab, giving each student access to a computer outfitted with state-of-the-art photo software. Students would still learn the rules of composition, as well as how to use the programs to modify photographs.

This approach to photography does not sit well with Vincent Nanni, the current photography teacher. He strongly disagrees with the administration’s decision “and the thought process behind it on several levels,” he said. “There are still a tremendous number of film users, and with professional photographers, film has a permanent place,” he asserted.

Mr. Nanni recognizes that a digital revolution is indeed occurring, but he sees a place for both film and digital media, just as there continues to be a place for paint in the art world despite increasingly sophisticated graphic software. ”No one has said to Mr. Murray [an art teacher at MHS], ‘use Paint Shop Pro and we’ll take away your oil paints,’ ” he said.

The digital-only approach to photography would, in Mr. Nanni’s opinion, detract from the quality of the learning experience. “A film course offers more problem-solving,” he explained, “specifically in the darkroom. The darkroom is a problem-rich minefield for a high school photo student.” There is a complex process involved in printmaking: the student must figure out the correct aperture, exposure time, use of a filter, and must be able to employ darkroom techniques such as burning and dodging. Although, as described by Dr. Orfinger, students would practice problem-solving skills as they work with digital photographs, Mr. Nanni argued they would lose the experience of problem-solving in the darkroom. “Regardless of whether you look at it from a technical viewpoint or an art perspective, you need to include both traditional darkroom experience and digital experience in entry-level photography,” said Mr. Nanni.

Dr. King has a different view. She explained the need to update the photography program. “What people are doing is digital photography,” she commented. “It’s the wave of the future, and we think that’s where we should go.” Dr. King elucidated that a digital photography course will better equip students for the future – both for professional and recreational uses.

A lot of research went into the decision: the administration received advice from college department heads, as well as from many photographers. In addition, Dr. King’s brother-in-law works in media. She asserted that everything is being converted to digital media. Based on this research, Dr. King concluded that digital photography is “what people will be doing in the future.” As for the certainty of the decision, Dr. King said, “It’s pretty definite.”

Mr. Nanni was distressed that he was not a part of the research. “Unfortunately, even as the photography teacher, I was never part of the decision to get rid of the darkroom,” he stated. “In fact, I learned of the decision after it was made.”

Some students have reacted strongly to the move. Senior Greg Madigan, who takes both the film and the digital photography courses currently offered, opposes the decision. He thinks the traditional course allows fewer shortcuts. “Kids just take pictures off of the Internet and put them in with their own pictures [in the digital course].” He added, “When something easier comes along, people will use it, but film won’t just disappear.”

Haley Gewehr, a sophomore enrolled in the traditional photography course stated, “I’m really upset about this decision because I think one of the huge aspects of photography is learning how to develop film and go through the entire process of what it takes to make a picture. With digital photography, the computer does everything for you.” She did not have much interest in taking a digital course. “I have the handbook, and I can just do everything at home,” she explained.

Students outside the program were also opposed. Junior Emma Fuchsberg thought the change ”would take away an important aspect of photography. If kids taking photo choose to pursue it as their future career they will need to know how to develop photos.” Another junior, Amy Bisno, said, “It’s important to practice all types of photography.”

Fred Levine, head of the MHS Science Department and an avid digital photographer, is unsure about the decision to eliminate the darkroom. With his own equipment, which is both high cost and high quality, he believes his digital photographs are at least as good as film versions. He’s gone digital because it is “easier and faster.” He added, “There is nothing that can be done in the darkroom that can’t be done on the computer. The question is, however, what value does the photography program have in a student’s education?”

“The class that Mr. Nanni teaches is not a vocational class,” he stressed

Although the decision is not set in stone, the administration appears certain that students will benefit from the move to an all-digital course. Meanwhile Mr. Nanni is convinced, “future students at Mamaroneck are going to be seriously shortchanged.”

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