I feel a nostalgic as the rest of you about the wet process. Sure we should teach it.
But lets face it, the Silver print process is now an "alternative process" like Dye Transfer, the Daguerreotype and platinum and palladium printing.
As us old folks die off, not too many young people will embrace this antique process. This is a digital world and its moving faster and faster.
Can anyone imagine a 15 year old kid doing darkroom work when they can get the same result with 10 minutes of PS?

I'm serious ..... How many people still make tintypes .... I can think of one guy today.

It is sad to see something we loved so much disappear. Gosh the darkroom was such fun!

I'm thinking about being like a photographer from 100 years or so back. I'm gathering and making a bunch of things for my instructional & pretend photographer of yesteryear. It's likely other people will only be 30 to 50 feet at the closest.

So far I've been gathering some old-looking cloths, etc. that look like they'll work but one thing I'd like to add to my collection is an old fashion-like flash. You know the kind probably seen in a western movie where the photographer holds up a pole with something like a plaster pan on top that flashes and gives off a bunch of smoke.

My 1st thought was to get some flash powder, (used to make the stuff when younger), but that would require fire to ignite it and that is a definate NO these days around schools and parks.

My 2nd thought was to make a similar "plaster board" on-a-pole and have baby powder in it so when I pretend to flash I just turn on a very small and hidden fan to blow the talcum power and just make smoke. The problem with that is that the powder smoke would be way to slow and small.

My 3rd thought was to ask here at UGLY for help and suggestions from everyone here!

Anyone have any suggestions? (Thanks in advance if you do!)

I would just do some research on Google and see what they used. I'm betting that back in the day they just used gunpowder for their flash. You can still buy gunpowder just like the kind used in the old days. This sounds like fun. I used to know some people that did that sort of thing and dressed for the period etc.. The build camps, dressed for the period and tried to keep things as authentic looking as possible. You may be able to find some authentic period camp accessories from a place called Panther Primitives. This is the place that makes and sells period tents and all thing for authentic looking period campsites. They may be able to steer you to some groups where others have outfits like the one you are looking to get.

Yes technical versus artistic are two separate things --it's relatively easy to produce a technically excellent photo, much harder to produce one with definite artistic merit --photography's great strides in the technical area actually seem to make it harder to be really artistic ---you see lots of striking images, but how may photographers have a really unique vision and can personalize this vision in the photographic medium? ---very few in my opinion --i think there was more of this in the earlier eras of the Weston, Eugene Smith, Cartier Bresson, etc. --and especially in the area of human subjects in photos--very few photographers seem to even deal with this area --photography is dominated by scenics, etc. --the pictures of people are few and far between, and not very expressive when they appear --well, that's one person's opinion and observations!!!

I was going to suggest Brooks Institute but I just found put that after 70 years they are closing. Don't know why, but they were a school that had a good reputation. A co-worker (not in photography) went to Brooks, he did product photography for several cooperations. After many years working he got tired of it. Met a guy with a photography store in Zion canyon. Really good photographer, great prints. He had an AA degree from a local Community College. Read up on biographies of photographers you respect, see if they went school and what schools they went to. Correspond with them if you can. Of all things be clear on what you want do with what you learn. Understand what you want to be, as a final product. Good luck

I did a math and statistics degree. I also spent a lot of time with friends at the local art school. I helped run the University photography club, but learned a whole lot from my art school friends. It has all been extremely helpful in my career. My degree says statistics, although that has been a minor component in my career. The communication components have been much more useful, but having a degree has definitely been valuable.

The more I've learned, the more that I have valued what I have learned from indirect things such as art history classes, philosophy of art and color theory. You never know when you are going to need them, or when they can help you build a relationship with somebody. Whether it is visual art, music, or quantum computing, it all comes in useful at some point, and you never know when.

However, a piece of paper from a degree mill may be of questionable value. Education is good, but it really is about the experience and what you learn, and can then turn to productive use. I would choose carefully between the options and what you expect to gain. As with others, I believe the OP will benefit more from a different approach or institution to his goals and objectives.

I am overwhelmed with all the responses.

What I’m getting is a wide degree of differing opinions.

Each one is a little different and adds another nuance for me to consider.

I think I’m going to look into NC State. If they have a photography program I think I will try to go in the fall. But if they have a master of fine arts that includes a bunch of painting and drawing I’m not interested.

A lot of people are asking me my goals and basically I have quite a bit of knowledge and have done a lot of paid work but have never felt like I was well-versed in the basics. As I said before I feel like I have been flying by the seat of my pants all the time. I want that to end. I want to approach a job and not have to think about the technical Issues and focus on composition and pleasing the client.