The darkroom is (not) dead

At last weekend's opening of a Bukowski-themed art show at Jett Gallery in Little Italy, there was an old-school darkroom door people had to go through in order to get to the bathroom.  It was hilarious to see all the kids walk in and out in awe as if they'd never seen such a thing.

Truth is; they probably haven't.

I'm almost 30 and I barely hit high school in time to learn the art of using a film camera and developing my work by hand. I've been slowly gathering information and gearing up to pen a piece on the final death and demise of the darkroom, but then I got an email from photographer and blogger Will Parson about a fellow shutterbug named Anton Orlov, a guy who's opening a new darkroom and center for film photography in San Diego.

"Finally," says a flier for the upcoming opening of Rollov Film Center in North Park. "At last there is a place for film lovers to come and practice their art."

Photographer Anton Orlov hopes to help "preserve and further" the art of traditional film photography. 

The new center will offer darkroom rentals, five fully equipped enlarging stations, print-finishing tools and classes. It opens its doors to the public at noon this Saturday, April 23, and will be open for printing starting next Wednesday, April 27.