New Community Darkroom Coming to Mount Rainier’s Red Dirt Studio

A community darkroom is coming to Mount Rainier’s Red Dirt Studio.

Located at 4051 34th St., The Fix would allow paying members to develop their own film photography, which is becoming more difficult to do as darkrooms become scarcer due to digital photography.

Founder Meredith Massey, who works at the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, learned to develop film in college, then got a master of fine arts in photography and worked as a gallery darkroom printer for several years.

She’s currently working on a series of urban landscapes, but her photography is wide-ranging and eclectic.

Massey told the Wire that film photography is labeled “somewhat of a dying art” but is seeing a resurgence by photographers who like the different feel.

“It’s impossible to replicate the aesthetic of film digitally and it’s a completely different process for the artist,” Massey said.

Community darkrooms have become popular recently as part of a trend of “anti-capitalist resource sharing,” Massey added, and they add an element of skill sharing and mutual support for photographers.

“Darkrooms take up a lot of space and require specialized equipment so it makes sense to share,” she said.

Currently, many photographers on the Route 1 corridor have to travel to Capitol Hill or Glen Echo to find a community darkroom.

Massey is looking for six members to help kick off the project as she builds out the darkroom, with a plan to add a student membership or intern later. She said she’s gotten a lot of interest so far, with the darkroom slated to be finished in the next few weeks.

You can apply for membership here and follow The Fix on Instagram here.

Help the Wire grow in 2026!
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.