Turned 60; Time to Learn Darkroom Stuff

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landryrk

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OK, today I signed up at Austin Community College for a general photography class which includes basic film development in a darkroom. Course starts this Saturday and runs all the the way to March. They will focus on the film SLR camera but I'll have my beater M3 to back-up my 'classroom' Canon A-1.

I can't wait for the frustration of loading a film reel in total darkness! I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
 
landryrk said:
I can't wait for the frustration of loading a film reel in total darkness! I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
Click to expand...

Sacrifice a cheap roll of film and practise in day light until you get the knack. It will be $2 well spent in frustration prevention.

Wayne
 
landryrk said:
I can't wait for the frustration of loading a film reel in total darkness! I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
Click to expand...


Hah! At this very moment my 16-yr-old is fighting with a changing bag for the first time, she's already been warned once about cursing :rolleyes: .

I set up a home darkroom last month--hadn't developed/printed my own stuff in 30 years, quite the blast to smell the chemicals on my hands again.

Enjoy!

JT
 
You'll have fun learning about the darkroom. Loading film on spools isn't THAT bad...after a couple, it should be nearly automatic. As far as the changing bag problems, it's really a function of visualizing what's happening inside the bag. Once you're familiar with the few pieces and parts, just a matter of assembling a really, really easy puzzle.

Have fun!

Regards!
Don
 
landryrk said:
OK, today I signed up at Austin Community College for a general photography class which includes basic film development in a darkroom. Course starts this Saturday and runs all the the way to March. They will focus on the film SLR camera but I'll have my beater M3 to back-up my 'classroom' Canon A-1.

I can't wait for the frustration of loading a film reel in total darkness! I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
Click to expand...

If you decide to do this at home. GET HEWES REELS!!! They're more expensive, but woth it.
 
If I can learn Photoshop Cs2 at 60+ along with digi scanning and processing and printing, you can learn darkroom.

I will be back in there soon too. They are both fun.
 
I've started leaving the little tab on the film sticking out a little - I pull out enough to cut it off and just get the tip of the film past the balls that advance it, then turn out the light. Pull back on the spool, reel it onto the spool. Repeat until you reach the end, and then cut it off. Also saves you from having the film unrolling onto the floor.
 
Well, in all likelihood you will be working with plastic reels in your class. They will also likely be the Paterson type with the small guides and pretty heavily used. So practicing will be key, practicing with your eyes closed will be important (that visualization thing), and good, regular technique will be to your benefit. If you do find difficulty getting the film on to the reels, cut off both leading edges of the film - making the front of the film you are feeding into the reels either rounded or, if you're like me, an actual point, like an arrow. This is easier to feed in than a straight cut.

have fun.
allan
 
Well, I just ordered two Hewes Tundra reels. I suppose that we'll be using the plastic reels in class. I think that the first part of the class will be on general use of cameras and maybe I'll have my SS reels in and will have time to practice with them before we go into the darkroom.

Thanks to all who replied and thanks for the encouragement!
 
...the beginning of a journey.

what fun!! congratulations on taking the plunge. learn the basics well, be consistent and be patient with yourself.

for me, 30+ years later, the anticipation and excitement of getting that first look at the just-rinsed negatives is still there...(err, sometimes i have to peak right after the fix is poured back in it's container - before the pre-rinse & orbit bath, wash cycle). the magic of watching a print start to come up in the developer tray still thrills me.

when it comes to setting up a home darkroom, you'll find lots of (mostly) very reasonably priced gear on ebay (also here, over at www.apug.org and at www.nelsonfoto.com)

aaarrgghh, there be treasured ahead!!

____________________________________

breathe, relax, smile and enjoy
_____________________________________

hasta la vista, voyez-vous plus tard, daskorava, fino al prossimo tempo, auf wiedersehen, adeus para agora, la revedere, shalom, zaijian & later y’all :p :D :p

“...patience and shuffle the cards.” miguel cervantes

kenneth lockerman
NEVER FORGET BESLAN
www.neverforgetbeslan.com
www.neverforgetbeslan.org (under construction)
 
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landryrk said:
OK, today I signed up at Austin Community College for a general photography class which includes basic film development in a darkroom. Course starts this Saturday and runs all the the way to March. They will focus on the film SLR camera but I'll have my beater M3 to back-up my 'classroom' Canon A-1.

I can't wait for the frustration of loading a film reel in total darkness! I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.
Click to expand...

That's great! Won't take you long to learn the ins and outs of reel loading etc, a little practice always helps...and the buzz of pulling the film out of the tank when you're done never leaves - as someone said above.

Hope you enjoy your course and the new skills...
 
I have a little gem of a developing tank called an Agfa Rondinax 35U. My parents gave it to me for Christmas when I was a teenager......I have just turned 60 also. It hasn't been used for about 30 years due to offspring and career issues, but now that the former are off our hands and the latter is winding down, I have dragged it out of the back of the wardrobe, dusted it off, and it's about to go into service again.

The reason it is such a gem is that it is a daylight-loading tank. The best way to describe its action would be that it loads in a way not dissimilar to loading a camera. The film cassette is loaded into a chamber at the top, the film leader attached to a clamp on the centre of the reel which is on a horizontal rather than vertical axis , the lid put on to make it light-tight, then the film is wound on to the reel. When the film is fully wound on there is a built-in blade to cut it off. The other big plus is that it uses a very small amount of chemicals, but the trade-off is that the reel has to be constantly turned during development because only the bottom half of the reel is immersed.

I believe that Agfa also made a similar tank for 120 film, but I have never seen one.

Cheers, Peter.
 
DRAT! I showed up for my class this morning and it was changed to a digital photo class without any darkroom labs. So I cancelled. Now I have to punt, decide what to do with two new Hewes Tundra reels, and where else in Austin where I can find a class.
 
You could save money and borrow a book from the local library, and ask for a shopping list here.

B&W dev is like 1st girl friend, maybe not as much fun... (censored

Noel
 
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