Chasing Light Leaks (and Still Thinking About It) – Amanda Shopa, PhD

[FilmIsCheap]

My brother built my darkroom. When he was done with the bones of it, it was my job to make the room light tight. I figured I’d need a cheap caulk gun and a few tubes of caulk and I’d be done in an evening. But it was incredibly difficult to make the darkroom, well, dark.

Click here to watch the full blog entry content.

Don't hesitate to comment about this blog entry.

 

[MTGseattle]

That is a good blog post. For me, my last "surprise" of light was the condensation pump for my furnace. I got everything else taped and blocked well enough to not fog printing paper and then caught an odd wave of blue and green. I had a stool or box or something blocking it from direct view.

 

[FilmIsCheap]

That is a good blog post. For me, my last "surprise" of light was the condensation pump for my furnace. I got everything else taped and blocked well enough to not fog printing paper and then caught an odd wave of blue and green. I had a stool or box or something blocking it from direct view.

Oh man, that wouldn't be anything I'd think of either. And the colored light would have thrown me off!

 

[mshchem]

It can be daunting. Just remember how sensitive your vision is and you have a lens in your eye. A tiny pinpoint of light takes time and position to spot your paper or film.
When printing wrong safelight assumptions can bite you.

Fun learning, one time I chased every conceivable light only to realize I had forgotten to add starter to my color print developer, over active solution was chem fogging the paper.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

My brother built my darkroom. When he was done with the bones of it, it was my job to make the room light tight. I figured I’d need a cheap caulk gun and a few tubes of caulk and I’d be done in an evening. But it was incredibly difficult to make the darkroom, well, dark.

Click here to watch the full blog entry content.

Don't hesitate to comment about this blog entry.

the longer you sit in the dark the more leaks you find. Human eyes are incredibly sensitive whendark adapted. Nevertheless, it is a well-worth effort.

 

[FilmIsCheap]

It can be daunting. Just remember how sensitive your vision is and you have a lens in your eye. A tiny pinpoint of light takes time and position to spot your paper or film.
When printing wrong safelight assumptions can bite you.

Fun learning, one time I chased every conceivable light only to realize I had forgotten to add starter to my color print developer, over active solution was chem fogging the paper.

I'm wondering how you felt after you figured out that error! I can imagine I'd roll my eyes and then just laugh about it.

 

[FilmIsCheap]

the longer you sit in the dark the more leaks you find. Human eyes are incredibly sensitive whendark adapted. Nevertheless, it is a well-worth effort.

The funny part about this is that I did all of that work, but I still use a changing bag for film. But I don't know exactly how my darkroom habits and printing activities might change in the future, so even if I could get away without a pitch black room now, I might need it in the future.

I'm glad I did it, because it's one less thing to worry about.

(Plus, it was definitely easier to do without all of the stuff in the room!)

 

[MTGseattle]

Changing bag for me also, I stopped my efforts well short of the space being safe for unexposed film.

 

[chuckroast]

My brother built my darkroom. When he was done with the bones of it, it was my job to make the room light tight. I figured I’d need a cheap caulk gun and a few tubes of caulk and I’d be done in an evening. But it was incredibly difficult to make the darkroom, well, dark.

Click here to watch the full blog entry content.

Don't hesitate to comment about this blog entry.

A few comments:

• Expanding foam it your friend, It will expand into open spaces, seal any corners and try that way. The run out can be carved off with a knife or saw once the foam has dried.
  
  
• Exposed wood and concrete shed dust in miserable ways. They are darkroom enemy #1. (It's best to vacuum the space before installing the darkroom to get rid of the gross amounts of cement dust and sawdust, but a normal shop vacuum throws of some dust was it works, so you need a good fine filter.
  
  
• For walls, the easiest treatment is to put clear plastic construction sheeting against the wall. You staple it to the floor joists above and then tack it to the wall itself every 18 inches or so with construction glue delivered in a caulk type gun, leaving 4-6" at the bottom to be tacked to the floor.
  
  
• For concrete floors, an easy treatment is buy a mop with replaceable heads. Wash the floor until the mop no longer shows new dirt. Then use a new mop head to broadcast and smooth out an acrylic based floor wax. A couple of coats should. If the floor is well cleaned, the wax will stick very well and wear for a long time. As it does, another coating with the mop does the job.
  
  
• Avoid Gaffers' Tape and prefer black paper tape or painter's masking tape. The adhesive in Gaffer's Tape dries over time and sheds all over the place. I started this way and after about 10 years, I had to redo all things Gaffer's to eliminate the dusty mess it was creating.
  
  
• Door and window frame edges can be made light tight by using roll film backing paper taped in place on the back of the door or on the edge of the window, again using paper tape. Like this:
  
  
  Darkroom Door Light Trap
  
  
• Never use carpets in the darkroom, but your back will thank you if you put down industrial cushioned walking mats.
  
  
• Once built, never vacuum in a darkroom. Mop wet and dry to clean up the floor.

I built my latest darkroom over 30 years ago and it still pretty much looks the same except it has more stuff in it now

Keeping it clean and dust free was a priority during construction and it has worn very well as a results. (I cannot recommend the ceramic tile floor of the proper type and floor mats enough.)

Darkroom