Briarcliff High School Photography Students Create A 'Haunted Darkroom'

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

One of the least-known and, arguably, coolest places at Briarcliff High School is the dark room, located in the Arts Wing, across from rooms 134 and 135.

To get there, you enter a maze of sorts until you no longer see any light coming in and are left in complete darkness.

As if that is not creepy enough, on Halloween, during period three, the Darkroom Photography class hosted a “Haunted Darkroom.”

Visitors were led into the darkroom, which was pitch black.

A few brave administrators joined in on the fun: Superintendent Dr. Jim Kashian, along with Principal Diana Blank, Assistant Principal Danny Goldberg and other staff members.

At first, they took part in a sensory experience, touching various items; grapes were “eyeballs,” spaghetti was “intestines” and Jello was a “stomach.”

Next, visitors held glow sticks and moved them around in the air in circular motions, to create “light writing,” while photography students took their photos.

“Light writing is a form of photography in which the movement of light is recorded against an otherwise dark background,” said photography and art teacher Jessica Dubin. “We have a setting on the camera that will allow us to record the movement of the light. It is a five-second exposure, and the camera shutter stays open the entire time. The end result looks a bit like moving neon and is very cool.”

In hosting the event, Ms. Dubin and her students hope to foster an interest in both digital and analog photography and encourage more students to explore electives in the Visual Arts.

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.