Hometown Glory: This DIY Darkroom is Reviving Analogue Culture in Devon

Four friends in Devon were tired of everyone leaving their hometown. So they started a reason to make them stay.

According to the last census (2021), the average population of South Hams, a southern England country with a total of 89,000 residents, is around 51 years old.  In ten years, the population of people between 65 and 75 rose by 28.5%, while those between 35 and 49 fell by 12%.

The exodus of young talent Totnes, the second largest settlement in the region, is something that the Contact Darkroom team are trying to remedy.

At the beginning of the year, photographers Jacob Black and Finnegan Travers teamed up with filmmakers Milo Travers and Ella Turner to bring something back to the picturesque market town where they all grew up: a darkroom.

“Our ethos was that you don’t have to move away to find success,” says Jacob, from the space, which is located in the heart of the town, just a short walk from Totnes Castle. “By creating something like this, maybe people can feel like they don't have to move to London or Bristol. They can stay here, and by having these facilities, they can work with the same level of resources that they have in London.”

The group set up the not-for-profit enterprise in an old butcher shop - the first half of the year was dedicated to meticulously scrubbing, stripping walls, mending rooms and “an ever growing list of things to do, build and buy.”

Equipped with four enlargers - two colour and two B&W - analogue enthusiasts can print 35mm up to 5x4, the two-story space also features an open-plan desk space for members, a 2 metre-large sink, a viewing board, a lightbox, scanner for digitalising prints and an RA4 colour processor fit to handle prints up to 20 inches wide.

The team stressed that they wanted the space to be open, affordable and inclusive to both novices and professionals: “In a digital, tech-heavy world, this is going back to basics. We've created this dark room because we want to get back to using our hands, talking to people, being face to face, and learning skills,” says Elle.

The envision the space to be an active hub for the community, that hosts one to two-week-long darkroom residencies, free workshops to learn the basics of black and white printing and rotating exhibitions.

“I think the more important thing is just like slowing it down, like we live in such a fast paced society,” says Jacob, stressing the importance of analogue culture. “There’s a physical and tactile side of photography, which I love. Any mistakes you make, it's there, you’re in the moment, and those mistakes sometimes end up being the most beautiful photographs.”

Whether younger people, retired people, new parents, school kids, locals or visitors use the space, they just want to connect people and get them involved in something creative:

“Our space is open, and we and we kind of just wanted to make it for the community that we grew up in,” says Jacob. “Totnes has shaped our lives, for better or worse. Lots of people who come out of here are very creative. And I think if you can add to that as well, it's only a positive thing.”