Classic Darkroom

[o0dano0o]

I'm president of the photo club at my school, so I have free access to a real darkroom.

At home over breaks I usually dev only. Have an enlarger though, just no running water, or decent drying method.

Not sure what I am going to do when I start work though.

 

[jrong]

A bit of a toughie answering this one. I develop all my own B+W film, and only occasionally shoot colour slides and prints.... I tend not to use the darkroom at all because I rarely make prints of my B+W work, because of space issues. I do have a darkroom at my disposal, at my local camera club, but rarely find time to use it to print anything. I scan my negs in order to view and assess them. However, I'd still consider myself a diehard 100% film user.

Jin

 

[stevie_b_racing]

I'm on my second darkroom having built one in the loft / attic of our previous house, we then moved - so I've built a 'temporary' one in the loft / attic again. I'm planning for it to last at least five years to give me chance to set up something better. There's no water, so I do some fetching and carrying up the ladder. Works ok for me. I use an MPP enlarger that handles 35mm and 6x6. It's ancient but effective. I work very manually - only recently have I bought an enlarger timer! (prior to that I used an in-line switch and a stop watch). I have scanned a few prints, but that's a digital as I'm intending to go.

 

[jorisbens]

I don't have a darkroom yet, but I'm trying to find a manner to get one. I really want a darkroom, but I don't seem to find a good place in our house :bang:

Joris Bens 😎

 

[leon]

I had a darkroom, went digital (neg scanning and inkjet output) had completely frustrating and unhelpful time so went back to analogue. I now have my own permanent darkroom with water, sink, heating etc and use it at least 2 times per week.

 

[JOE1951]

Hello

I bought a hardly used Beseler 23CII with Dichroic head w/ Nikkor 60 lens for $50.00 CDN last summer. Found a small table/cabinet with wheels on the street that someone was throwing out, and now keep all my trays, easels, etc. with the enlarger on top. I just wheel everything into the bathroom or kitchen or anywhere else I can make light tight and be set up in 15 mins!

I also own epson scanner and printer.

I prefer the darkroom and processing film, but like keeping up to date with the digital stuff!

 

[titrisol]

Since I moved to a suburban townhome my darkroom is shared with the kids bathroom so setup is a pain and have to work late at night.... so my darkroom time has become precious commodity.

I have the enlarger in a cart with casters (normally parked in the bedroom) and sometimes I even use it to analyze negatives witht the grain magnifier while my wife sleeps.
I put all the chemicals in a rack over the tub and the hand-held-shower hose is my running water.

The mirrors are covered with a piece of cloth, safelight is a plug-in type and I have a "spring" type clothes line over the tub as well.
Toning is carried out outside with daylight 😉

 

[AndersG]

I recently started with B/W processing and printing. I don't have a permanent darkroom but use my small (approx. 2x3 meters) bathroom: A small table in the shower compartment for the enlarger and a kitchen locker shelf on top of the sink for the processing trays.

 

[julianphotoart]

Is this a forum to persuade people to build/use/rent/try a darkroom? If so, that would be dangerous because I'd never shut up. I have a full darkroom that I built in the basement. I have a Beseler 23III enlarger with a colour head. I print B&W and use tray processing. I print Cibachrome (another topic it's dangerous to get me started on) from both 35mm and MF transparencies and use a Jobo drum. With my basement height the biggest prints I can make are 11x14 though with a higher ceiling the enlarger could get to 16x20. I have a 50mm Taylor Taylor & Hobson, 50mm Schneider, 80mm Schneider and 105mm Nikkor. I process all size medium format since I have a variety of MF cameras from 6x4.5 to 6x9. The enlarger goes to 6x9. I use Delta 100 or Acros and use Microdol-X. Used to use Technical Pan and Technidol. Nothing like fine grain. I also obviously do 35mm since why else would I be in RFF. Creating good B&W prints never stops being a joy.

 

[TPPhotog]

I used to use the kitchen but my wife moaned that she couldn't get in to make a drink, so now I use the bathroom. She can now make all the drinks she wants if .......... 😀

 

[Doug]

My first darkroom was in a studio apartment with a Murphy bed. This type of bed tilts up from the foot and then swings on hinges into a walk-in closet. I left the bed down, and found an opaque rubberized cloth curtain to cover the big doorway for the bed. I put my Beseler 23C on a dresser at one end of the closet, and the developing trays on the enlarger's big cardboard box across the bed opening. There was still the smaller door opposite the enlarger, leading to the entryway, across which was the bathroom. That was the nearest access to running water, so print & film washing was done there.

When I moved from there, I didn't have a darkroom again for about 10 years. I now have occupied a lavatory off the bedroom, and it's not much bigger than the first one!

 

[solane]

i have an enlarger i bought at a flea market but i've never been able to set it up. i have big tupperware full of trays and tongs, timers and tanks... and alas, they just sit there.

when i was in college, i was the darkroom monitor so i had keys to the school darkroom and often kept the darkroom open all night just so i could work. after having all that space, its been hard to convince myself i would enjoy the experience of a using a darkroom as much while precariously balancing my enlarger on the edge of my bathtub with black plastic hanging over the windows and the prints hanging from the shower curtain.

i so miss developing my own film and printing my own negatives that i may give in soon. i'm already thinking about processing my own film and have been lurking in the darkroom forum picking up tips.

 

[trix]

I returned to the wet darkroom last November after six years of scanning and inkjet-printing. I spend at least two evenings a week i the darkroom.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I simply wish I had one... 🙁

 

[rover]

Remembering back to my high school days when I had one, it was great fun Francisco, easy to get good results, but a lot of work to master (I never did). You can skip a lot of the set up and maintenance work necessary with a wet darkroom and get very good or the same results with a scanner and Photoshop. I hate to say it, but I don't make prints anymore, I view my images on my computer.

All that said, in a perfect world I would like to have a wet darkroom too. Scan to identify what I captured and to choose the images to print.

 

[Kevin]

I do both darkroom and digital printing. Digital prints are great for small handouts that I make spontaneously before meeting up with friends.

In the early 90s I invested in a 20x24 inch vertical archival washer. I also brought over a huge metal mounting press from the States and had a 1500 watt transformer made for it. Dry-mounting prints is a lot of fun and brings out the best in baryt papers.

I am looking for a color 4x5 enlarger with a glass carrier for my 6x9 negatives, something that wont give me any newton rings. I hate newton rings. Any tips?

 

[24x30]

I am looking for a color 4x5 enlarger with a glass carrier for my 6x9 negatives, something that wont give me any newton rings. I hate newton rings. Any tips?

How about Durst Laborators? The 138/139 are often for less than 200 Euro (B&W) available, or less than 400 Euro (Color) for the color version. A well known auction platform should be your friend 🙂.

/rudi

 

[BJ Bignell]

I have one, but can't use it because I have no space (OK, I have some space) and I'm leaving in less than 60 days for a nice long vacation... Everything goes into storage for now.

 

[Kevin]

How about Durst Laborators? The 138/139 are often for less than 200 Euro (B&W) available, or less than 400 Euro (Color) for the color version. A well known auction platform should be your friend 🙂.

/rudi

Danke Rudi !

 

[dostacos]

you missed a choice.

Don't have one now BUT plan on getting one again soon... 😀