Basement Lab University: Comprehensive E6 Positive Film Class

PRICE: $150/person

Drugstore Photo 101: A Comprehensive 35mm Color Film Class

35mm Color Film from Camera to Mini-Lab

This class introduces students to the complete workflow of 35mm color positive photography using E6 film, from loading the camera to developing film with real mini-lab equipment.

Students will learn how E6 color film photography worked in the era of neighborhood drugstores and one-hour photo counters. Beginning with the fundamentals of the 35mm camera, participants will learn how to properly load film, meter light, and make successful exposures.

Once the film is shot, the class moves into the lab.

Students will process their film using a professional equipment, the same type of gear used in drugstores and photo counters throughout the 1990s. The processor automatically controls temperature, chemistry, and agitation—producing fully developed and dried film in about nine minutes.

Along the way, students get to play the role of a “lab rat”, learning how real photo labs handled film as it moved through the system.

After processing, students will:

• Cut and sleeve their negatives in archival print file pages
• Learn how to read and evaluate color positive negatives
• Scan their film using a flatbed scanner
• Interpret color positives into finished digital photographs

By the end of the class, students will have experienced the full life cycle of colorpositive film, from camera to lab to scanned image—just like the workflow that powered everyday photography for decades.

Students leave with their developed negatives, scanned images, and the knowledge needed to shoot and process E6 film with confidence.