Darkroom Workshops?

M

mdwsta4

Matty Westside
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Does anyone have any suggestions on darkroom workshops? I'd like to begin developing my own film, but really don't know where to start. I figured this might be a terrific opportunity to attend a workshop and give it a go. If I'm able to develop the film myself, that would save a tremendous amount of money and all I'd need to do then is have somewhere scan the negatives (not sure if I'm going to get a scanner yet).

Any suggestions on workshops, starter kits, etc would be greatly appreciated! I'm located in Los Angeles.


Cheers,
M
 
For developing I really dont think you need a workshop.. Fairly cheap to start, Paterson tank with reels, thermometer, changing bag, measuring cups/beaker, thats about it..
Very easy to do, putting film on the reels takes the most practice.. All for about $80 if bought new.. Plenty of instruction on line..
 
I agree with what was said above.. if you're just after developing black and white film, then there are tons of resources online and it's a fairly cheap endeavor.

Think of printing in a darkroom as a whole separate process. It takes significantly more investment in time and money, but is certainly doable (lots of us do it!) The first 90% of printing is pretty straightforward. Squeezing quality out of that last 10% is where the real work comes in, and what separates the good from the great.
 
I did google and read a number of articles as well as watch a bunch of videos. With a little trial and error it looks a lot less frightening than I had originally thought. Of course, now the issue becomes scanning. Seems like it's more expensive to scan already developed negatives than it is for a company to develop/scan themselves. Based on that, it would be more cost effective to send out my rolls to be developed/processed unless I dropped money on a scanner of my own.
 
You can find dedicated 35mm scanners that are fairly decent, and cheap..
Look at the Plustek OpticFilm line.. Ive seen some god scans from them, around 200$ or so...
 
If you want to jump into the next stage, darkroom work, check out Contact at The Brewery in Downtown LA.

Do use MassiveDevChart App, makes things easy for a beginner. You can tweak times to your taste later. If there is a particular look you already admire or want to reproduce I'd do research on developer/film combinations. But do play around, this is the fun part.
 
Ilford have started collecting and collating details of community darkroom facilities and darkroom tuition recently. You might contact them directly for suggestions if you require them. Graham Walters of Harman recently advised me they are launching a "Darkroom Locator" website. When we last communicated a fortnight ago he advised they hope to have this site up and running later this month. Apparently it will direct people to darkroom facilities and also furnish information about tuition options. It is a global initiative.
Regards,
Brett
 
Take a workshop, meet people, get off the Internet for god's sake, that's the beautiful thing about it, it's tactile!
 
Yes, the Plustek scanners pay for themselves pretty quickly. Plus you're in charge of levels, etc. Consider that NCPS charges probably $15 or so for a develop + scan - it only takes 15 rolls before your scanner is paid for.
 
Although there is a lot of information online, the fact is nothing beats a real darkroom workshop: it will just get you in the mood and save you a lot of time. I really enjoyed it when I took one and it is how I got into darkroom.

+1 for the Plusteks, scanning is not less complicated than developing/printing though, on the contrary.
 
finguanzo said:
You can find dedicated 35mm scanners that are fairly decent, and cheap..
Look at the Plustek OpticFilm line.. Ive seen some god scans from them, around 200$ or so...
Click to expand...

Be aware that Plustek's customer "service" if there are any problems can be really very bad indeed. I'm still waiting after 9 months for resolutions to two problems. They have been neglectful, tardy and appalling at communication.

I'd never buy a Plustek product again.
 
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137945

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137945

Do your own films.
It is fun, it is cheap.
It makes sense.

I actually found a whole Canonscan, on the street.
A complete rig, in original box.
Everything required, film holders,CD-Rom,Instructions.
It ain't easy but now my scans are better than 1-Hour Lab.

Scanning is NOT quick.
It's learnable.

Loading reels esp steel takes practice, use dummy film.
The plastic reels are easier.
i prefer steel.

Darkrooms are there,available in LA..
It is easy but tedious..
Go with scans and have prints made.
 
pdh said:
I'd disagree. A lot depends on your approach to scanning and how you organise your "workflow".

I wet print too, by the way
Click to expand...

True, it depends. But for me understanding Profiles, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, etc. and getting to a quality result, took time and a lot of experimentation. Darkroom was more straightforward in my experience (but again, I took a course :)). BTW I don't consider myself an expert, I'm just able to get some results I'm happy with, cheers,
 
Agree that both take time. Depends on what you want to do - doing wet printing can be wholly satisfying, as well as mastering PS (have been working with that program since it was PS 2.0, and I still don't know it as well as I'd like!). So it's a different kind of creativity, and trying and doing both you might find opens up different ways to get the images you want. And there are indeed lots of opportunities in the LA area - I think Freestyle Photo has a calendar on their website. Good luck!
leicapixie said:
Do your own films.
It is fun, it is cheap.
It makes sense.

I actually found a whole Canonscan, on the street.
A complete rig, in original box.
Everything required, film holders,CD-Rom,Instructions.
It ain't easy but now my scans are better than 1-Hour Lab.

Scanning is NOT quick.
It's learnable.

Loading reels esp steel takes practice, use dummy film.
The plastic reels are easier.
i prefer steel.

Darkrooms are there,available in LA..
It is easy but tedious..
Go with scans and have prints made.
Click to expand...
 
thebelbo said:
understanding Profiles, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, etc. and getting to a quality result, took time and a lot of experimentation. ,
Click to expand...

Ah yes, that is all true IF you choose to do scan manipulation in the (often horrible) scanner software.

BUT ... it's so much easier to scan in "raw" mode, and then use a simple ImageMagick script (like negfix8) to invert the image, and then import it into your post-processor of choice, whether that's PS, LR, Aperture, gimp or whatever.

By this means, you short-circuit all the (unnecessary) manipulation of the image in the scanning software, and scanning itself becomes a simple (if very dull) mechanical exercise.

Get negfix8 here: https://sites.google.com/site/negfix/
 
Wow, great info, thank you! Definitely a lot to think about. We'll see how the holidays go. If I can find a good deal on a scanner, it wouldn't hurt to go that route. At the same time, it has been nice to send film off to the lab, get it back, and not have to worry about processing anything like I do with digital files!
 
You will realize quickly w/ B&W, you will have control of how they look when you develop on your own. W/ the lab, you're up to their mercy (although I assume most labs will have the same chemicals & process all the time).

It's fairly easy. If there's an affordable darkroom, you can definitely save yourself some headache by going and having it explained by a person rather than Youtube. I had a friend here walk me through the process after I studied a lot online which I thought was a good way to do it. As per before, getting the film on the reels is the part that just takes practice (in the light, w/ a dead roll).

I'm looking into doing a few prints on my own -- something I've not done since I was 18 in high school, so like 20 years. I'd definitely like someone to run me through the gear again, but the workshop at the local darkroom is like $120 and all day. I think that's a bit more than what I need. :)
 
The way I started developing and printing my own film was through a local community college course. I don't know if this is offered in your area, but for me, it was a great way to learn how to do it. Each term I have access to the darkroom during their open lab times and can develop and print all the film I want. To date, I have not invested in any darkroom supplies or chemicals, although I may do so in the future now that I know how it's done.


You might check out college courses in your area to see if a darkroom class is offered.

In any event, it's not hard to do and the results are very satisfying.
 
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