A Nashville resident, Benjamin (Ben) Perlin maintains a passion for traditional film photography and sees the discipline as a way of countering life’s impermanence.Benjamin Perlin has a particular interest in darkroom techniques that create evocative, one-of-a-kind compositions.
Two aspects of the darkroom essential to master are burning and dodging, with the latter a technique of addressing spots that do not reveal details or are too dark. To compensate, light is blocked from that area for a few seconds, which provides a lighter exposure. In order to control the exact effects, darkroom technicians select a covering that is the same shape as the spot being addressed.
Burning is the inverse process and is used to create a lighter effect through adding exposure time to specific areas of the photo. A critical aspect of both techniques is that the light-blocking tool is shaken slightly throughout the process to prevent the formation of outlines.
Two aspects of the darkroom essential to master are burning and dodging, with the latter a technique of addressing spots that do not reveal details or are too dark. To compensate, light is blocked from that area for a few seconds, which provides a lighter exposure. In order to control the exact effects, darkroom technicians select a covering that is the same shape as the spot being addressed.
Burning is the inverse process and is used to create a lighter effect through adding exposure time to specific areas of the photo. A critical aspect of both techniques is that the light-blocking tool is shaken slightly throughout the process to prevent the formation of outlines.
