It's been a while!

I realised this morning that I hadn't blogged for a long time.  Doesn't mean things have been quiet, far from it.  The Engine Room opened fully in January, still a little rough around the edges but everything is now up and running.  The first show was just the Forest Nation, in an edited form, from last May just to get things started.  February saw an exhibition of the work of Mina Ahmed, looking at derelict and abandoned buildings, along with some high level night shots.  Yesterday we hung a set of images from some Level 3 photography students, more about that in a later blog.

Apart from having a base for me to work from, my intention for the engine room was to give other photographers a chance to develop their skills.  There is a small band of regular visitors building and it is really nice to see the place busy.  In addition to individuals there have been groups from a Level 3 Graphics and Animation course coming to use the darkroom, plus students from a Foundation Degree doing some historical processes, both from The Manchester College.

One person seems to have taken to the place more than any other, Nicola Pass.  Nicola is gradually working her way through just about every process offered, but more than that she has started to use each process for its merits and to suit the subject.  This means that she will use anything from digital, through film to wet plate for the strengths that it adds to the subject.  Yesterday she spent the entire day in the darkroom printing from 6x6 film, and progressed at a amazing rate. It makes all the work worthwhile when you see such passion for photography.