Developing Your First Roll of Black and White Film

Developing Your First Roll of Black and White Film is a hands-on, one-day workshop designed for photographers who want a clear, practical introduction to analog film development. Taught by artist Chip Standifer, this course demystifies the darkroom process and gives participants the confidence to develop black and white film on their own.

The workshop is structured as three hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, with a break for lunch. In the morning session, participants will cover the fundamentals of black and white film, including exposure considerations, film types, chemistry, equipment, and darkroom workflow. Chip will walk through each step of the development process, explaining not just how to do it, but why each step matters.

After lunch, participants will put theory into practice by developing their own first roll of black and white film. The afternoon session focuses on hands-on learning, troubleshooting common issues, and best practices for consistency and archival results. By the end of the class, participants will leave with a developed roll of film and a solid understanding of how to repeat the process independently.

This workshop is ideal for beginners with little or no darkroom experience, as well as digital photographers curious about working with film.

INSTRUCTOR: Chip Standifer

As a well-travelled but odd and disconnected child, Chip Standifer was always a keen observer of people, places and situations. At the age of 12, he built a pinhole camera and discovered the delights of creating images, developing film, and the magic of photographic images emerging from the darkness.  Today, when travelling the world for fast paced startups, he enjoys the meditative benefits of noticing the beauty everyone else misses as they hustle by.  His images have been juried into multiple shows at the Atlanta Photography Group, the Photographer’s Eye Collective, The Houston Center for Photography, the Photo Place Gallery, the SOHO Photo Gallery, the Southeastern Center for Photography, the Atlanta Airport, The 2025 Atlanta Art Fair, The Marietta Cobb Art Museum,  the John’s Creek Art Center, The Fence Regional Show, Slow Exposures, The Montgomery Photo Festival, The South By Southeast Gallery, The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center and the Buckhead Library.

Workshop Title – Developing Your First Roll of Black and White Film
Instructor’s Name – Chip Standifer
Date(s) – Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time(s) – 9:00am – 3:00pm
Location – In-Person
Workshop Fee – $45 member / $65 non-members
Maximum of 10 students