movie category

The Fresson Process
The Workshop

  • France
  • fr
  • en
  • 50'
The Workshop | The Fresson Process
Trailer Try 7 days free

Synopsis

In the secrecy of their workshop, a real time capsule that takes us back to the 19th century, the Fresson grandson and great-grandson are at work. Guardians of a legendary photographic process, they can spend up to two weeks on a single print. An intimate film that offers insight into a technique, but also into a family of craftsmen who have been part of the history of photography for more than a century. A rare documentary that reveals the difficulty of preserving an art that is slow and fragile in a world addicted to speed, where digital and inkjet printers reign.

What you will learn in this film…

A unique printing process • Direct charcoal printing • The stages of a four-colour print • An entirely artisanal photographic printing workshop created by a carpenter • Seeing an image appear with Fresson know-how• Seeing retouching by hand • The Fresson workshop archives • Preparation of a colour based on pigments • Founder Théodore-Henri Fresson's great inventions • A craftsman-printer's tips

Keywords

The Darkroom Masters Creative & Exhibition Photography Experimental & Alternative Photography The Artist at Work History of Photography
At the start, I have a fairly precise idea of what I want to do. Then you have to give way to the process. The process has its own personality too.

Documentaries about photography, and about the people who make it. 
You can try it free for 7 days.

What you’ll find

Portraits of photographers, names everyone knows and others you’ll discover here. Films about street photography, war, fashion or portraiture, about printing and historical processes. About the trades of photography too. And then suggestions for going further, with Focuses, articles, interviews, bibliographies.

A small independent team

Documentaries about photography were rarely shown on television, and hardly at all on streaming platforms. We created The Darkroom Rumour to give them a place of their own. We are a small team, and we choose every film ourselves, with no school to defend.

Inspire your photography

In these films, you see photographers at work, in the field as well as in the darkroom. If you take pictures, you’ll often come away with an idea to try. If you simply like looking at images, you may start to see them differently.

How it works 

You can watch the films online, anywhere in the world, on a computer, tablet or phone, and on TV by mirroring your phone’s or computer’s screen. Every film is available in French and English, with no ads. New releases come out on Saturday or Sunday. The trial lasts 7 days, and if you stop before day 8, you pay nothing.

The Darkroom Rumour on a TV, a computer, a tablet and a phone
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Linked Articles

The authors/artists

Michel Fresson
Michel Fresson
Artisan
Jean-François Fresson
Jean-François Fresson
Artisan
Thomas Goupille
Thomas Goupille
Film Director

Further exploration

Selected bibliography

• Francis Hodgson, Bernard Plossu: Western Colors, Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2016. Publisher · Libraries

• Dolorès Marat, Edges, Dewi Lewis Publishing, 1996. Publisher · Libraries

Online

• Atelier Fresson, website (in French).

Instagram

Equipment used

Wood enlarger • pigments • 90° alcohol • Dichromate • Sawdust • Pans • Fans • Gas lamp