A plighted photographer

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

Sitting on my bathroom floor as i develop two negatives i shot today and a while ago ( both had normal development so i waited to do them together) i realized how makeshift everything i have is. I don't own any new pieces of equipment, when i develop film its in my bathroom with second hand chemicals, and i don't have assured access to a darkroom. I will be going to college at temple university (tyler school of art) for fine arts photography and photojournalism in the fall as a freshman and of course the first thing i did when visiting was check out the fantastic darkrooms. Two huge darkrooms with enlargers for 35mm up to 8x10, grand washing sinks in the middle, alternative processing, chemical mixing, emulsion creating areas, print finishing rooms with huge print washers and space for toning and post processing, and separate rooms for archival finishing and matting areas with very new and up to date equipment. You can realize how sad i was to hear that freshman cant take photography and whoever isn't taking photography cannot use the darkroom or equipment. So now i'm going to a college living in a dorm where i'm even more restricted on what i can do. I can bet i'm probably the only large format photographer in the entire college too, most high school/ college students are proud of just being able to process a print correctly or remembering to use developer first now a-days. Sorry for the weird introduction i figure the best way to learn about someone is to talk to them over a period of time, the big list of information on me will have to wait until it is the right time to put in what i have to say. Oh, and glad to be here, finally glad to be among those who love to shoot film of all formats as i do!

Christopher Walrath · Jul 15, 2009

Wirelessly posted (BBBold: BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Well, you sure found the right place. And so you know, my darkroom for processing and enlarging is my downstairs cubby-hole half bath. I feel ya. And welcome to APUG.

Jeremy · Jul 15, 2009

Nikanon said:
You can realize how sad i was to hear that freshman cant take photography and whoever isn't taking photography cannot use the darkroom or equipment.

This is common, most universities require Drawing I & II and Design I & II before you can take courses such as Photography or Watercolor Painting.

The reason for not allowing access to the darkroom/equipment is you aren't paying the course fees that keep it stocked and there's the issue of liability as you haven't had any instruction on how they run their lab and the pursuant safety regs. I would suggest finding out who the lab manager of the darkroom is and lay out your case for access to the darkrooms. Let them know you will attend a safety session at their leisure and you can bring your own chemicals, but that the biggest thing you need is access to the dark! I've only met two types of lab managers, those who are genuinely interested in helping others and those who see themselves as omnipotent deities over THEIR lab. If it's one of the former your willingness to abide by and understand lab rules plus your obvious interest in photography (don't forget to mention you're needing to develop large format!) will probably win them over. If it's one of the latter you're SOL regardless of what you do or say. You might also ask about the possibility of a part-time job as a lab monkey (or lab tech, but we always called them lab monkeys), which would provide access to the lab.

Anscojohn · Jul 15, 2009

Welcome, Nikanon.

Back in ye oldene dayz, in dayz of yore, I had access to the small college darkroom because I got on the staff of the student newspaper. I suppose, nowadays, that's all digit-hell, so that might not be an option for you.
If you have time to do your own work (and I doubt you will have such time) you'll just have to make really good friends with the TAs who run the darkroom.
A few words of local advice: watch where you are if you are lugging equipment off campus. It just to be a high-crime area; don't know about now; it is a Cheese Steak, not a Steak and Cheese. And only barbarians get a Philadelphia Italian Hoagie with mayonaise. I am told that, outlanders asking for such South Philly were never seen again. But that was a long time ago.

BTW, I attended a small state teacher's college about 95 miles due north on Broad Street (US 611).

Go Phillies.

Jeremy · Jul 15, 2009

Another option, since you're going to Temple in Philly (that's correct, right?) is to contact Tsuyoshi at http://www.projectbasho.org/index2.html and see if there is a student rate for the rental darkrooms or if you could work off time in the rental darkrooms by helping out around Basho. Just a thought.

mike c · Jul 15, 2009

It's tough to be on the out side looking in,just don't break in to the lab.May be showing some of your work to one of the Professors or instructors can gain. you some darkroom time .In the meantime check out this site,alot of people here that like analog photography might be able to help you out.Good luck on your schooling.

Mike

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

Jeremy i appreciate the advice, i actually did everything you said exactly! i immediately contacted the lab technician/manager as soon as i heard talk of freshman not being allowed in, i have pleaded my case and told my long story of my short time in photography, and i told them id bring my own consumables so there would be no tax to them, after getting the no thanks come again i basically laid out i was desperate so well see what happens!

cknapp1961 · Jul 15, 2009

I have been an avid photographer since the 1970s, worked in a studio for 5 years, a newspaper, now just doing my own stuff mostly, as I am in the U.S. Army, so I am not exactly in control of my time (even after 20 years of service so far). Anyhow, I only learned in the last couple of years that photography students are required to take Drawing and Design. But I can tell you that once I learned that, it makes sense to learn composition and lighting first, some of the best photographers I have met are formally trained artists.

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

yes i heard about basho, the price is kinda high for use, id need a major discount as i am in DIRE financial need for college and receiving almost no help (funny the two colleges which gave me scholarships, MICA and Corcoran, 8k per year and 12k per year respectively, were still higher than temples undeducted rate even after subtraction of grants!)

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

cknapp1961, yea thats how it was in high school too, haha but ill have to disagree with the last part of your last statement, i would say the two are the same! haha

Leighgion · Jul 15, 2009

OK, I have to ask... second hand chemicals? Do you mean you're buying old stock of questionable condition, are you literally picking up people's used stock solutions?

Welcome, though!

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

Haha, no leighgion the thought of that alone makes me quiver at what my results would be like, no i mean that they are chemicals someone else bought and were given to me when they werent finished, so they work just fine, theyre just very low grade (arista premium liquid developer) not what i prefer chemicals, i am looking into getting some Pyro Metol Kodalk though, i usually require high acutance and i like the sound of the image stain, so far im not one for a universal hydroquinone developer like arista

Anscojohn · Jul 15, 2009

Nikanon said:
yes i heard about basho, the price is kinda high for use, id need a major discount as i am in DIRE financial need for college and receiving almost no help (funny the two colleges which gave me scholarships, MICA and Corcoran, 8k per year and 12k per year respectively, were still higher than temples undeducted rate even after subtraction of grants!)

*******
Temple has always had a reputation for good educational bang for the buck.
That being the case; as I mentioned before, if you find time to do your own photography, you shall be quite lucky. College ain't high school; and every prof. you shall have is convinced theirs is the only course worth taking and will not adjust the work given in his/her class to accomodate long-suffering undergrads who might have the temerity to take courses other than theirs.

The most successful students are those who can budget time to squeeze 28 hours of work into a 25 hour school day.

Of course, back in MY day, our freshman course load a semester was 18 credits a semester; 20 class hours per week (not counting labs). That's true, btw.

We also walked to school 12 miles, uphill both ways, including snowy days in July; and we carried stone tablets instead of notebooks. Yup.

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

The faint deja vu of your last sentence put a smile on my face john, haha

Leighgion · Jul 15, 2009

I had this image if you knocking on the doors of photo labs and private darkrooms with a chem bottle in hand calling out, "Spare Rodinal for the poor? Excuse me, ma'am, were you going to reuse that D-76 or throw it out?"

Jeremy · Jul 15, 2009

Hrm, sorry to hear it hasn't panned out yet, but give it some time once the fall semester is up and running and try again. Depending upon the size of the lab and the department you may be able to just walk in and use one of the darkrooms regardless.

Having been in your position (literally: sitting on the bathroom floor agitating trays in the dark) let me tell you that you won't get any better with better facilities, they just make it easier to focus on the art and not how jury-rigged all of your gear is. Then again, it's a lot easier to say that from the standpoint of having been there, but now having much more accommodating facilities to work in. One benefit is that if you're willing to use sub-standard equipment and hack job facilities and you *still* love what you're doing then you know you're on the right track. Everything else can be fixed with money, but no amount of money is going to provide the drive and obsession to do something you love.

ps: Send me an email with what equipment you're working with now, I may be able to help with the lack of dark part.

Thomas Wilson · Jul 15, 2009

Welcome aboard. I think you might be right about being in the minority shooting LF as an 18 year old freshman. More power to you. I didn't pick up a real camera (not a Kodak instamatic 126) until my second semester, freshman year. I took Photography 1st semester sophomore year and by the end of the semester, I was able to bluff my way into the Photo Editor position for the college news paper.

I then had my own private darkroom w/ a Leica focomat with all the trimmings. I'm sure that darkroom has been long retired. But, where there's a will...
Philadelphia is a neat town. Don't know what you like to shoot, but I'm sure you will have plenty on the menu. Enjoy.

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

Heres a few of my shots thomas, my style isnt exactly the city but i can make it work

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3270271235_2923b91e08.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3401/3271091188_5333cbaa5d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2996841313_e677fdeca4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3199753523_a68980141e_b.jpg

and yea jeremy i know exactly what you mean, i just feel like i want to say so much to agree with you but i actually have a profile page on flickr thatll do a bit better on my philosophy at least

http://www.flickr.com/people/26744954@N04/

and yea ill get right on that email, did you mean everything i own and work with, chemicals, cameras, lenses, etc?

Thomas Wilson · Jul 15, 2009

Nikanon said:
Heres a few of my shots thomas, my style isnt exactly the city but i can make it work

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3270271235_2923b91e08.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3401/3271091188_5333cbaa5d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2996841313_e677fdeca4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3199753523_a68980141e_b.jpg

They are fricking gorgeous!

Your right, not exactly urban, but definitely my cup of tea. I don't know if you are from the area ( I'm from Baltimore, college in Carlisle, family from Main line) but I can assure you that a 30 minute drive will put you in sensory overload.

One of my favorite artists, Andrew Wyeth lived just down the road in Chadds Ford. Wyeth-like landscapes still abound just a stone's throw from down town. Hit me up any time for pointers, suggestions, directions, short-cuts, etc

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

AH! Wyeth lived right by my grandparents, in chadds ford , i shoot there all the time! They met him personally at a party. I go out to chadds ford any days im off work to go shoot, i know that area like the back of my hand! haha

Nikanon · Jul 15, 2009

After visually studying the spectral sensitivity and transmission of a hoya R72 on rollei IR400 i went out and tried a roll, this was one of my first IR exposures, done right in chadds ford! this is the dilworth farm that is now vacant, http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/3116328543_a52207a192.jpg

Wyno · Jul 16, 2009

Hey Nikanon, why don't you let them know that you already do large format photography and that you don't have access to a darkroom. They may say that if you provide your chemicals and paper that you can use the darkroom for a small fee or even for free. I did it with the tertiary college I work at and they said no problem. The fact that I provide the students and teachers with photographic information might have had something to do with it. You can do the same with information you pick up here.
Mike

Thomas Wilson · Jul 16, 2009

Nikanon said:
AH! Wyeth lived right by my grandparents, in chadds ford , i shoot there all the time! They met him personally at a party. I go out to chadds ford any days im off work to go shoot, i know that area like the back of my hand! haha

Not surprising, I should have guessed.

Maybe we can get you out to shoot some of the countryside in Montgomery County. There are still plenty of large, old stuccoed working farms to see and shoot out there.

Nikanon · Jul 16, 2009

I tried mike, but so far nothing! I actually have quite alot of information ive taught myself over the past 1 3/4 years ive been doing photography that i apply very often, all types of equations for lens extension factors, filter factors in varying conditions, characteristic curve application and making, density readings and applications, chemical formulas for developers, sodium sulfite, sodium thiosulfate etc, and what i do is everytime i learn something anywhere, be it from a person, a book, practice, or personal experimentation, i write it down in a little moleskine i keep in my pocket, ive filled up about 6 of them with exposure information, print exposure times, burning dodging, film usage, etc etc etc, but yes! actually the exact reason i joined here was to talk to people who knew what they were talking about like i did, i know everyone here has a good head on their shoulders and i bet every person on APUG could tell me at least one bit of information i didnt know, i strongly welcome anything from here!

Anscojohn · Jul 16, 2009

Nikanon said:
AH! Wyeth lived right by my grandparents, in chadds ford , i shoot there all the time! They met him personally at a party. I go out to chadds ford any days im off work to go shoot, i know that area like the back of my hand! haha

******
Where do you live now, Josh?

A plighted photographer

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