The Gate Darkroom CIC

I did the Introduction to darkroom printing course here and found Leo to be gracious and knowledgeable. A really fun day where we went through everything needed to start developing film and making our own prints.

Wonderful initiative and so welcoming! My 14 year-old did a day's course here in spring 2023 - the Black and White Darkroom Photography Course - and absolutely loved it. They were in a small group with a brilliant teacher and he learned so much in one day. He came away inspired and is going back on another course soon. The course covered processing film, developing prints, lots of techniques and it seemed really well adapted to each participant. I massively recommend this to anyone wanting to try out a dark room. Worth also leaving time for a wander along the Thames nearby to see the Thames Barrier.

Booked on for a refresher, as hadn't been in the darkroom for a while and processed myelf (though I do shoot analogue). First things first, it's a great space. Well laid out, fully equiped and not crowded like some other darkrooms I had visited prior to settling on The Gate. Molly was a pleasure to work with, generous in her knowledge, patient and good banter too! A superb space.

Having had the pleasure of curating the last two shows for the Darkroom as part of Urban Photo Festival this is an extraordinary creative group of people who run a really great darkroom. Everyone has different areas of expertise and works in different ways exploring different techniques, printing and developing that encourages a wonderful way to learn and bounce ideas of from each other. I absolutely loved working with everyone and would recommend anyone to join them as so many doors will open up.

Excellent b&w darkroom facilities, with regular workshops too and very friendly members. A positive learning environment, or a quiet place to escape London and just develop and print in your own time. Highly recommended!