Valeria Tokun Haga 
PHOTO COURTESY ALEXA SOSA
Founded in 2022, the Dark Room Society at UTRGV has become a space where beginners and experienced photographers can learn, experiment and grow together, according to the club president.
“We are a photography organization that does both analog and digital photography,” said Alexa Sosa, the organization’s president and an art education junior. “We get together and explore photography while having fun together.”
The club uses the darkroom located in the Visual Arts Building on the Edinburg campus, where members can develop film and learn traditional techniques.
“We provide workshops, so members can learn how to use the camera,” Sosa said. “We do photo submissions every two weeks, so we can spotlight in the Instagram account how our members do photography.”
Recently, the organization hosted a workshop with UTRGV lecturer Brenton Hamilton, who teaches photography classes, focusing on concepts such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
“We would also like to do a showcase in the future, hopefully next semester, in a library or gallery to show our work,” Sosa said.
She said her journey with the Dark Room Society began out of simple curiosity after seeing a flyer and deciding to join.
“But then, I started taking my first photography class,” Sosa said. “I saw the teacher and told him that I didn’t feel I had the ability, I mean, I hardly knew anything. And he told me that it didn’t matter, that the important thing was to manage the club and that, little by little, you learn.”
Hamilton’s motivation was the driving force behind the group’s success, according to the club president.
“I feel that it’s a department that many people are interested in and that it can become very big, and that we will continue to put in the effort eventually to be able to reach every corner of the university,” Sosa said.
She added one of the club’s main goals this semester is to raise funds and increase active membership. and invites the community to join.
“We are here, and we are a community that can provide you with tips, and we can learn together, and you won’t regret it,” Sosa said.
Students interested in joining can contact the organization through V Link or follow @darkroomsociety_ on Instagram.
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