I’ve Just Bought an Enlarger!

[NathanJD]

Inspired by some of the wonderful images on Sparrow’s post entitled “I Just Printed This ...” recently, and the concept of having tangible positive prints in the real world and not on my hard drive, I have spent a little time trawling ebay for an enlarger and earlier today won a bid for a Durst B30 with a Neotar 50/3.5mm lens.

It seems pretty decent although it doesn’t come up on many web searches. There are a few posts from people who own one and ask about alternative lenses etc, but very little other than that. Does anyone here have any experience with this enlarger?

I guess I’ve got a bit more buying ahead of me, stocking up on paper and chemicals and some more trays and bottles etc! I already wind and develop my own film and I’m really looking forward to getting to grips with the whole ‘real world’ process of photo printing.

I’ve done a little reading around and read the Ilford guide to the printing process but further than that this is a totally new avenue for me so any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated 😉

 

[Finder]

The easier it is to setup your darkroom, the more you will use it. Don't underestimate this.

Keep things clean. Contamination, either dust or chemical, can be a real pain. You don't have to be excessive, but you do need to be careful.

Have a good viewing light. At the beginning, view your prints when they are dry (you can use a hair dryer), prints darken down from wet to dry.

As far as process, find exposure first, then contrast, then whether burning or dodging is needed. Sometime it takes a while to understand the difference between exposure and contrast in the darkroom.

I find using a full sheet of paper for test strips best.

Get a grain magnifier--you will never have sharp prints without one.

 

[MartinP]

Well done !

General tips might include buying paper and chemicals from mail-order places rather than local mostly-digital shops (this will save you a lot of dosh), consider only a resin-coated variable-contrast paper to start with (much easier for washing and general handling), find a piece of glass or perspex bigger than 10"x8" to weight down the negs for contact prints (the first stage to ending up with good prints as you can figure out exposure and contrast more easily), read up about how to check the safe-light is really safe and do it (also gives an idea of possible light-leaks in the temporary darkroom) and join APUG (apug.org, for lots - even too much - of info) !

 

[ChrisN]

Congratulations, and welcome to the craft! I'm a novice, still in my first year, and enjoying the learning immensely. I'm sure you will too. Cheers!

 

[Steve M.]

Freestyle Photo can help you w/ good prices on chemicals, trays and paper. You also might want to go to eBay and buy The Kodak: Print Your Own Pictures book. Gives you all the basics, and I see them for around $7 including shipping, which is a fantastic deal. I would recommend going to an El Nikkor 50 2.8 lens. Hard to beat for the usual selling price of $50. Make sure it works on your lens board (the Nikon has 39mm threads).

Congratulations on your decision.

 

[Bijesh]

I also bought a Durst B30 from a garage sale this weekend. I bought it because it was very light weight when compared to the Beseler enlarger I have. When I was unloading it from the car, it fell down and broke into pieces! 🙁

 

[gm13]

Congrats on you new adventure. Careful though, I picked up an enlarger on the bay and then ended up w/ this:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74560

A friend gave me a copy of Darkroom Techniques by Andreas Feininger in two small volumes, I found it to be an excellent resource for all things done in the dark. Amazon has some copies for $4.00.
Enjoy and good luck.

 

[tj01]

And much joy will come ...

 

[Tim Gray]

If it's a temporary darkroom, get a microwave cart to put your enlarger on. Then you can just wheel it in and out of the room.

I think Tim Rudman's book "The Photographer's Master Printing Course" is a great book to read about all kinds of cool techniques, as well as the basics. It has great illustrations too. I also like Les Mclean's book "Creative Black & White Photography" and David Vestal's "The Craft of Photography". The last one can be had for particularly cheap used, but it's kind of old.

 

[NathanJD]

Fantastic! Thanks everyone for your warm and enthusiastic responses! I’ll be checking out that website and some of those books too! I’m not quite sure where to set up the dark room yet, may be my office space in our 3rd bedroom (very very small) or my bathroom.

Am I right in believing that once a print is stopped and fixed and in some water it's no longer sensitive to light? I was wondering if I could do my prints in my office space and then take it into the bathroom or kitchen to run the prints under running water. or is there a standing water method of rinsing?

 

[NathanJD]

I also bought a Durst B30 from a garage sale this weekend. I bought it because it was very light weight when compared to the Beseler enlarger I have. When I was unloading it from the car, it fell down and broke into pieces! 🙁

oh no that's awful! i hope i haven't just bought yours off you!! lol! i'll try and be very careful with mine in that case!