Darkroom Club Rules?

Hi folks,

I've searched the forums for this, but I didn't see any threads about this.

Short:
Do you know of any common rules used by "darkroom clubs?" Have you ever been a member of a public darkroom, and do you have any pitfalls to warn me about?

Long:
A local college has reached out to me to ask if I can teach them how to use a basic black and white darkroom. Long story short, nobody is teaching analogue photography, but they had a fairly robust photography club for several years where experienced club members would teach others how to use the darkroom. Then COVID happened, and there was a break in the system and they have about 40 students interested in learning how to process B&W film and nobody to teach them how.

I've seen the space and it definitely needs a good cleaning and some organization. Part of that is probably because of COVID (some prints were left hanging to dry, a negative or two was left in an enlarger), but some other things I would consider "not best practice" didn't seem related to COVID (one container for chemicals had been used for D76, fix, and stop bath--I keep my containers to one thing only in order to prevent cross-contamination, but that could just be me being paranoid; I also found working solution D76 mixed up and simply labeled D76, as if it were stock solution).

I'm going to teach the leaders of the club the basics of mixing chemistry, processing film, and printing. (They are apparently not interested in printing but just want to scan their B&W negatives and put them on the internet. I'm hoping once they're introduced to printing, at least a few of them will find it magical.)

They have club approval and funding, so chemistry, paper, and a few dozen rolls of film will be available to the students.

I'm thinking the club needs to come up with some basic rules that they agree to follow (where are chemicals stored, how are they labeled, how many parts water to Dektol is the club standard for printing, etc). I'm also not sure how they should share communal resources like paper, film, or cameras (they have SLRs and some of the cheap plastic 35 mm cameras from the 80s).

The last time I was in a shared darkroom was 1997 and we had to buy, keep, and bring our own film and paper, and follow whatever rules my high school teacher set.

Even though I'm not associated with this college or any of these students, I would love for the club to be successful. Does anyone have any rules, advice, or pitfalls I can talk about with the leaders as they decide how the club should be run? I know things will likely change over time, but I'm hoping I can help make this launching a smooth one.

Thanks for any advice you have.

I started off in a community darkroom a few years ago and do have a list of things that diminished the experience for me:

1) The equipment was often not working as it should eg. broken enlarger timers, broken focusing mechanisms on enlargers, etc. which caused delays in getting started during a printing session.

2) The chemistry for making prints was not monitored for freshness as often as it should have been, so you'd often end up using exhausted fixer which resulted in ruined prints and wasted time.

3) Classes scheduled during peak usage hours like midday on the weekend, which made it difficult for others to access the darkroom equipment.

4) Limited weekend/holiday access to the darkroom, which is exactly when I had time to use it 24/7 access would have been great!

There's probably more but I don't want to sound overly negative While I am glad to have my own darkroom at home now, I learned a ton in the community darkroom and it gave me a chance to see if I liked the process before committing to it too deeply.

I'd say, if you can find a way to keep the equipment in working condition and provide access to the darkroom when people need it, then I think that will go a long way to making it a success.

I'd find a college -- hopefully in your area -- that has a darkroom and ask for their rules.

I would suggest you standardize on 1 film developer,1 paper developer, stop bath and photoflo as a basic service.

Provide small secure storage spaces for personal items and/or personal chemicals.

I would not suggest sharing photo paper; that almost never works out equitably. With the low cost of a 25 sheet packet of basic 5x7 B&W paper (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/826229-REG/MultiTone_MTP050725_Black_White_RC.html) it should be easy enough to give each student a starter pack and then let them take it from there and buy their own. I've seen too many large packs of paper ruined by someone sticking fixer laden hands into the box and shuffling the paper to grab a sheet.

Keep it simple, but make possible for more advanced users to use the facility with their own chemicals with the understanding that they are responsible for their own chemical storage bottles and maintaining the facility up to normal cleanliness standards.

Laminated, clearly written checklists for film processing, chemical mixing and storage, use of the enlargers, tray processing and how the facility should be left (clean and everything turned-off, secured).

Plenty of signs reminding the importance of cleanliness, avoiding water waste, the importance of NOT eating, drinking or smoking in the darkroom and an emergency phone number list for medical, police and a poison control center (just in case). It would also help to point out that cell phone screens will fog film and paper; not a problem I had to deal with when I ran University darkrooms, but one that should be considered now!

Initiate a sign-in and sign-out clipboard with date and time to track use.

Clipboards for chemical use to forecast use and need for reordering basic supplies.

Put together a list of inexpensive items to purchase and that are handy in the darkroom and easy to find locally. (Aprons, gloves, clothes pins, darkroom towels, etc.)

Of course, you can over do it, but somehow make the users understand these things are for their safety and to ensure the best possible results, not just some control issue.

I agree with the above, but a big one I heard was absolutely no mobile devices/electronics in the darkroom. Perhaps have a small set of lockers outside that the students can keep their phone safe, but out of the darkroom.

All it takes is someone receiving a text and their phone lights up fogging film or paper. I doubt most students have an appreciation of how dark total darkness needs to be to handle film.

Craig said:

I agree with the above, but a big one I heard was absolutely no mobile devices/electronics in the darkroom. Perhaps have a small set of lockers outside that the students can keep their phone safe, but out of the darkroom.

All it takes is someone receiving a text and their phone lights up fogging film or paper. I doubt most students have an appreciation of how dark total darkness needs to be to handle film.

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Unless, of course, they are using a darkroom app - the f/stop timer app on FADU comes to mind.
I ran a shared darkroom for a student newspaper many years ago. We printed three issues every week, and we had a higher than average ratio of column inches devoted to photographs, so we were a busy photo department.
One thing that was critical was to enforce cleaning responsibilities.
The other was to assign to one person (at a time) control over chemicals.
I handled doling out film and paper.
Any such rules are likely to flow from the details of the location, so I'd be reluctant to copy and paste exactly what others have used.

I used to go to a pretty nice shared darkroom in Portland before it shut down in about 2015. You had to sign out Multigrade filters and sign them back in because they were one of the things that frequently disappeared or were ruined by people. You had to sign out the lens you wanted to use, one at a time. All the enlargers were the same so this was the lens and board.

For film, D-76 stock and fixer were provided. You were asked to use the D-76 1+1. There was a return tank for fixer and I didn't pay too close attention but I think they were cycling a portion of new fixer into the tank and then swapping them. Enlargers were all provided with an easel and timer. Everyone supplied their own paper. At the beginning of an open time they would put out trays in the darkroom for print development. Dektol for paper and unknown fixer again for paper. They used two fixer baths and someone did a chemistry check on the trays every so often if it was busy.

You were asked to remove your film from the film dryer and prints from the print dryer within as reasonable a time as possible when they were finished. Left-behinds were put out for a few days and then tossed out.

Other rules:

• No food in the darkroom or work area
• No mobile devices in the darkroom
• You clean up all your own messes
• No chemistry or liquids near the dry work area (i.e. light table, fiber print press)

Probably there was more but this was most of it that I remember. Good luck!

Good thoughts from everyone, I'm taking note as I'm thinking of trying to revive the university darkroom which has been pretty dormant since COVID by leading a workshop or a small series. It isn't even organised as a club, just loosely associated with a department which, however, doesn't use it for classes at all.

You might ask a successful community darkroom operation. One is Glen Echo Photo Works in Washington, DC. Another is the Community Darkroom, part of (I believe) Flower City Arts Center in Rochester, NY. Both have been in existence for a long time and are quite successful.

The first rule of Darkroom Club...is you don't talk about Darkroom Club. ;-)

MattKing said:

Unless, of course, they are using a darkroom app - the f/stop timer app on FADU comes to mind.

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Is that safe for use with paper? I'm assuming that's an app for a phone?

GregY said:

The first rule of Darkroom Club...is you don't talk about Darkroom Club. ;-)

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Or wear only what Greg Davis wears in his

pentaxuser

Craig said:

Is that safe for use with paper? I'm assuming that's an app for a phone?

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Or tablet.
As I understand it.
It actually is set up to work with some "smart" outlets that are apparently available in the UK.
You can find some posts and threads on it on FADU - Film and Darkroom User.

I run my college darkrooms (not a paid position, unfortunately) and teach workshops on development and printing, and I am constantly learning and adjusting. I've been working on making all the rules/tutorials/guides available on our website (dupa.ie/darkrooms), but there's still more work to do on it. I have lots of signs hanging everywhere to help people remember things. I also keep the chemical concentrate and paper supply under lock and key and distribute them as needed. I've been managing the spaces for about a year now and plan to continue here at Uni.

(They are apparently not interested in printing but just want to scan their B&W negatives and put them on the internet. I'm hoping once they're introduced to printing, at least a few of them will find it magical.)


THis is the essential thing you have to deal with. They, in your own words.. are only apparently interested in develop film and scan... So in reality


a dark room, a paterson tank, and a bottle of Rodinal is all you really NEED to make them happy.

the use of enlargers and associated equipment and sundies is more of a fell good excercise on your part now.

Ive learned that at work, Im considered to be an overbearing prick because i work, expect the person with me to be working, and not have skype date with some one from tinder at the same time.

Ive also just learned they hate me because i actually report osha violations...

It's been over 30 years since I used my school's dark room....but back then there were some sensible rules/protocols.

They standardised on one set of chemicals which were available for us to use and factored into the costs. It was permitted to bring in one's own chemicals as long as all equipment was thoroughly washed after. Never heard of using separate tanks for dev/stop/fix to be honest. We had to provide our own photo paper. No food or drink in the dark room. If you needed a snack or drink you went outside.

If multiple persons are going to be present, you'll need a decision on mobile devices. The downside is they produce light which can fog papers. The upside is that there are several useful dark room apps that people may wish to use. The last thing you want is for a phone to light up in a pocket because someone has received a call, when film is being loaded or paper is on the enlarger. Possibly phones in "airplane mode"? Do the apps work without an internet connection? The only one I've used was a simple timer that displayed in a red similar to a safe light.

If you're running a traditional design with a wet side and dark side, then no chemicals in the dry side. Definitely wash everything, dry if possible. Or use the dish washer if you have one. Try to leave everything as you found it or better, ready for the next user. Some form of paperwork so people can log what chemicals and other consumables have been used from the room's stock....eg if you provide photographic paper, chemicals, even detergent. And a form to fill in if someone damages something, or has an accident.

Simple things like occupancy...how big is the room and how many people can safely be in there? Last thing you want is to have someone innocently turn round and knock a full bottle of chemicals out of someone else's hands all over the floor or in their face. You could also state sensible clothing, long flappy sleeves aren't compatible with chemical use. Also consider if you want any covid-related social distancing. Pretty unusual now but some places might still consider this. Could be worthwhile having a book with a brief description of the chemicals provided, safety info etc.

redbandit said:

(They are apparently not interested in printing but just want to scan their B&W negatives and put them on the internet. I'm hoping once they're introduced to printing, at least a few of them will find it magical.)


not have skype date with some one from tinder at the same time.

Ive also just learned they hate me because i actually report osha violations...

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What or where is tinder and what's osha violations?

Thanks

pentaxuser

GregY said:

The first rule of Darkroom Club...is you don't talk about Darkroom Club. ;-)

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I only came here to say this

pentaxuser said:

What or where is tinder and what's osha violations?

Thanks

pentaxuser

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Tinder is an online dating/ hook up for sex site and OSHA in the USA is Occupational Health and Safety Administration. It's the government department that sets workplace and worker safety standards and has power to enforce legislation to ensure a safe workplace.

FilmIsCheap said:

Hi folks,


A local college....

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I'm originally from Minnie and still have friends and relatives there who are interested in film. Which school is this?

GregY said:

The first rule of Darkroom Club...is you don't talk about Darkroom Club. ;-)

Click to expand...

madsox said:

I only came here to say this

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Hahaha, I only came here to see if someone has said this.

Oof, wow, there is SO much information in this thread! Thank you, thank you!

So far I've taught several people how to process film, and I've taught two of the key people the very basics of how to make prints. (Test strips, contact sheets, and test prints, but we haven't talked about dodging and burning or filters yet.)

We've been talking about safety stuff and organization stuff, and I've been bringing in points from this thread. (Especially about shared paper and having a key person in charge of mixing chemistry, etc.)

Since I won't really be involved (at least not this year) after this week, I'll be making up a packet of information to get them started on things and to give them ideas of further resources.

Thank you for sharing these ideas--I know rules and routines will be different from setting to setting, but this at least gives me an idea of things to talk to them about that they likely wouldn't consider since this is their first time being in a darkroom.

Thank you!

pbromaghin said:

I'm originally from Minnie and still have friends and relatives there who are interested in film. Which school is this?

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One of the private liberal arts colleges in the Macalester-Groveland area of Saint Paul.

FilmIsCheap said:

...I've taught two of the key people the very basics of how to make prints...

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And I hope and pray you are teaching them f-stop printing...

"Our Father (or Mother, as appropriate):
Please lead this teacher and his pupils in the paths of righteousness.
Forgive them any transgressions of linear time.
As we know you are logarithmic,
And have commanded us to go forth and Multiply, not add.


------
P.S. Darkroom Automation offers educational discounts.

" Foolishness will not be tolerated in the darkroom "