Amanda Shopa, PhD

Category: Artmaking

  • My First Roll of Film with a Pinhole Camera

    My First Roll of Film with a Pinhole Camera

    Last year, I participated in an at-home residency facilitated by Christy Strickler through the Surface Design Association. We worked together in the spring to create residency plans (detailed in the post “From Book Thief to Pinhole Camera Maker”) and I expected my at home residency, an exploration of pinhole cameras, to be completed by the…

  • Fogged Paper, Testing Procedures, and Ilford’s (Excellent) Customer Service

    Fogged Paper, Testing Procedures, and Ilford’s (Excellent) Customer Service

    This post was drafted in September 2025. For whatever reason, I never posted it. Still, I’m so impressed with Ilford’s customer service that I wanted to share. Plus, I’m posting this in hopes of helping someone else who might be dealing with fogged paper but is unsure of where that could be coming from. I’ve…

  • Chasing Light Leaks (and Still Thinking About It)

    Chasing Light Leaks (and Still Thinking About It)

    My brother built my darkroom in 2018–2019. When he was done with the bones of it, it was my job to make the room light tight. I figured I’d need a cheap caulk gun and a few tubes of caulk and I’d be done in an evening. But it was incredibly difficult to make the…

  • Weeks 65–68 of 209 Weeks

    Weeks 65–68 of 209 Weeks

    Week 65 of 209 Weeks: “What if I fall? Oh, but my darkling, what if you fly?” –Erin Hanson Photo Notes: This photo was taken near Stillwater, MN on September 6, 2018 when I took a hot air balloon ride with my stepdad. Week 66 of 209 Weeks: “The challenge now is to grasp and shape history:…

  • Week 68 of 209 Weeks

    Week 68 of 209 Weeks

    Week 68 of 209 Weeks: “All the buried seeds crack open in the dark the instant they surrender to a process they can’t see.” — Mark Nepo Photo Notes: This photo was taken at the Jong Ie Nara Paper Art Museum in Seoul in 2018. Kwang Young Chun made this piece of art.

  • Week 67 of 209 Weeks

    Week 67 of 209 Weeks

    Week 67 of 209 Weeks: “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” —Mister Rogers Photo Notes: This photo was taken at the Jong Ie Nara Paper Art Museum in Seoul in 2018. The piece is by Seo Jeong Hak.

  • Week 66 of 209 Weeks

    Week 66 of 209 Weeks

    Week 66 of 209 Weeks: “The challenge now is to grasp and shape history: to show that past grievances and injustices can give way to a new generosity of spirit and action.” —John Hume Photo Notes: I think this photo was taken at the Jong Ie Nara Paper Art Museum in Seoul in 2018. Unfortunately, I’m…

  • A Restless Winter

    A Restless Winter

    It feels like April has flown by. I can’t believe we’re midway through spring already. I see winter as a quieter, more restful time. I’ve had friends in warmer locales joke that we must hibernate because it’s so cold. Of course that’s not true—there’s still a ton to do. My spouse and I often go…

  • Weeks 61–64 of 209 Weeks

    Weeks 61–64 of 209 Weeks

    Week 61 of 209 Weeks: “Small is good, small is all.” —adrienne maree brown Photo Notes: This was taken at Western Illinois Threshers in August 2018. I think it was at the flea market. Week 62 of 209 Weeks: “We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” —Gwendolyn…

  • Weeks 57–60 of 209 Weeks

    Weeks 57–60 of 209 Weeks

    Week 57 of 209 Weeks: Your only job is to show up. Life will meet you there. Photo Notes: Seoul, South Korea, May 2024 Week 58 of 209 Weeks: “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be…