Darkroom Portraits (Part 2)

mark · Mar 4, 2020

danvphoto said:
A few shots of my darkroom I finished right before the ex-wife served me divorce papers

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That sucks.

danvphoto · Mar 4, 2020

CMoore said:
I JUST talked to a guy i worked with for many years. he is in the middle of a divorce.....and he is 80..!!!

Anyway...... LOVE your enlarger, does it say Leica.?
I REALLY Like the way it is cantilevered way, out, past the vertical support. Gives your hands lots of room to Dodge/Burn.

Enlarger is a Leica V35, so it’s 35mm only. I work for a newspaper and this was stored away in the back room, boss told me to take it

Unfortunately, the only thing I really got to print was some photos of the wife from when we were first dating. I was going to give them to her on our anniversary.

mark · Mar 5, 2020

danvphoto said:
Enlarger is a Leica V35, so it’s 35mm only. I work for a newspaper and this was stored away in the back room, boss told me to take it

Unfortunately, the only thing I really got to print was some photos of the wife from when we were first dating. I was going to give them to her on our anniversary.

Sounds like this was a surprise. Find someone to talk to, find a support group. You will get through this but it will suck for quite a while. Go take pictures.

danvphoto · Mar 5, 2020

mark said:
Sounds like this was a surprise. Find someone to talk to, find a support group. You will get through this but it will suck for quite a while. Go take pictures.

Only thing I need a support group for is not getting to print more when I got everything setup I've moved on and believe me, I've taken a lot of pictures.

glbeas · Mar 15, 2020

Latest darkroom configuration, finally have plumbing, and a little cleanup and reorganizing. Its 9” x18” at the point of the tapered corner, a total of 189 sq.ft.

Michael Firstlight · May 1, 2020

Fun to find a picture of my first darkroom.....sometime around 40+ or so years ago in my parents attic. Loved that M-601, and I can still hear the AM radio playing.

argentic · May 17, 2020

Somewhere in 2003 or 2004 I started this thread. It seemed to answer a need because it became the longest thread of Photrio (then APUG). And after Sean split it in 2012 it's still running today in 2020.

As a professional photographer I've been working digitally since 2006. In the meantime darkroom equipment has been gathering and I'll have to make a choice among several dozen enlargers, about 50 enlarging lenses and too many trays to count. Now that I'm semi-retired my trusty Nikon D7000 will stay the last digital camera I bought. I'm back to 6x6 and 4x5. And I can't wait to build a new dedicated darkroom and studio in my 80 m² (860 ft²) barn. The darkroom will need to be big enough to teach 5 or 6 people at a time, but also small enough to work alone. This new darkroom will certainly be my last and I've learned many new tricks from this thread. (Unfortunately part 1 seems to have disappeared.) But I'm still learning. So my question to you is threefold :

1. How would your ideal darkroom look like?
2. What is the most useful feature of your present darkroom (not counting the trash can) ?
3. What would you design differently ?

Argentic

Tom Kershaw · May 17, 2020

1. Plenty of counter top space and larger wet area.

2. My De Vere 5108 and 504 enlargers and the Jobo.

3. Priority to space and flexibility at the expense of fitting in lots of equipment.

David Brown · May 17, 2020

Argentic: I was going to answer your three questions, but that was not as easy as it first seemed. All of my darkrooms over the last 50+ years have all had compromises. Only once was I able to build from scratch, and I made that one way too small. (No idea what I was thinking.) I have been giving this some thought lately, however. I recently added a section to my website that recycled some old blog entries (no longer blog) about the darkrooms I’ve had over the years. I also wrote an essay about what I think a darkroom should have to be truly functional, and that may go to answer questions 1 and 3. It’s titled: “Do you need a darkroom?”

I doubt that I will ever have the “ideal” darkroom, but that’s okay. I’m retired, doing a lot more digital, and reducing (but not abandoning) my film work. Anyway, here is the link to the website: http://silverdarkroom.net

All of the darkroom stuff is under “tech data” except the essay, which is under (ahem) “essays”.

argentic · May 18, 2020

Hi David,

I'm reading through your very instructive pages and blog. Most of it is known for an old fart like me, but you formulate some real gems like :

What part of “total darkness” is not clear?
Build your darkroom around your sink.
Whatever you require for comfort in your house is not too much to ask in a darkroom.
I’ve almost never been in a darkroom with enough outlets in all the right places.
To build a small shed can be great but not if you plan to run an extension cord from the house!
Maybe you can work at 50°F/10°C but your chemistry can't.
Hindsight is such a good teacher.
I can’t think of anything substantial I bought at full price except the RH Designs enlarger timer worth every penny! (My experience exactly.)
An old microwave served very well for heating water to mix chemicals.
As everyone knows, film is dead. This has been widely reported on the internet and in the newspapers.
Professional photographers are dismantling their darkrooms faster than high-schoolers are learning to text while driving.
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary” solution.
I hate drywall. (Me too)

David Brown · May 19, 2020

argentic said:
Hi David,

I'm reading through your very instructive pages and blog. Most of it is known for an old fart like me, but you formulate some real gems ...

One trys. Thanks, Wilbert.

dkanarek · May 20, 2020

Here is my little basement darkroom setup. Running two enlargers Beseler 45 w/Ilford 500 and Zone VI Type II w/VC head. Both controlled by Heiland Splitgrade System. Put a lot of work in restoring both enlargers, still some minor fixes left on Zone VI but it feels great to get them working like new again. Still working on installing sink w/Leedal Temp control in the utility room but it’s the journey that I enjoy.

Kino · Jun 14, 2020

Last week I finally overcame my inertia and began constructing my darkroom in my basement. Only just at putting up the framing for the walls and demolishing others to redesign the foot traffic path, but at least I have started.

I plan on having a bifurcated wet/dry 14' x 14' space with a Jobo ATL 2200, Arkay Film Dryer, custom plywood sink (to come), Nova Slot processor, 2 enlarger stations (I have to choose from the 5 I have) and a small, dry work area for a multitude of tasks. Have roughly designed a forced ventilation system, as well as a good water tempering system that will probably include a Hass Intellifaucet D250 and a chiller loop to be constructed of an Igloo-type, insulated water cooler with a copper wort chiller coil that can loaded with a bag of ice and cut into the cold supply for extra hot days.

Decided to keep the prints to a max of 16 x20; probably the bulk will be 8x10 and 5x7, as no one I know wants large prints and I just don't want to deal with the large trays and such.

I can finally sort through the mountain of darkroom equipment I have scavenged over the years from garage sales and gifts from retiring photographers. I will keep just what I need and hope I can distribute the rest to others who need it once I have settled on my final selection.

Being that this is tied into a general basement refresh and remodel that will eventually grow to encompass remodeling two bathrooms on the main floor and rewiring large sections of the house for "nightmare" wiring I inherited, it will not be over any time soon.

But at least I started...

Jim Blodgett · Jun 15, 2020

"...but at least I have started."

Good job, Kino. "Once begun, half done." Keep leaning forward, you'll be done and printing in there before you know it.

Kino · Jun 15, 2020

Jim Blodgett said:
"...but at least I have started."

Good job, Kino. "Once begun, half done." Keep leaning forward, you'll be done and printing in there before you know it.

Thanks, Jim. I look forward to slimming down to just what I need and begin able to use it.

argentic · Jun 18, 2020

Kino said:
But at least I started...

That's the most important step. It's always easier to keep going than to start up. I hope you'll keep the momentum.

srmcnamara · Jul 3, 2020

This is my darkroom! It’s a Zone VI type I enlarger. I still need to get water going in the basement but there’s an unused washer hookup that will hopefully work. I also have a rotary canvas print dryer in storage. Down the line I will replace the picnic table with a custom built slop table that will cover the giant rock (a hazard in the dark). I also need to build a drop table for larger prints. Of course now I have a newborn so I think all plans are on hold for now!

argentic · Jul 8, 2020

Nice setup.

AgX · Jul 8, 2020

srmcnamara said:
This is my darkroom!
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For sure yours is one of the most peculiar darkrooms we got. With its trip hazard...

sruddy · Jul 8, 2020

srmcnamara said:
This is my darkroom! It’s a Zone VI type I enlarger. I still need to get water going in the basement but there’s an unused washer hookup that will hopefully work. I also have a rotary canvas print dryer in storage. Down the line I will replace the picnic table with a custom built slop table that will cover the giant rock (a hazard in the dark). I also need to build a drop table for larger prints. Of course now I have a newborn so I think all plans are on hold for now!

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Nice and organized, what’s the history of the building? Neat rock.

srmcnamara · Jul 9, 2020

sruddy said:
Nice and organized, what’s the history of the building? Neat rock.

It was built as a one room schoolhouse in 1877 and converted into a home around the 1910s. Sometime in the 60s or 70s the owners prior to the owners we bought it from dug out the basement. The gentleman encountered this rock and was preparing to dynamite it before his wife put a stop to it. There are holes drilled in it for the sticks of dynamite!

sruddy · Jul 9, 2020

srmcnamara said:
It was built as a one room schoolhouse in 1877 and converted into a home around the 1910s. Sometime in the 60s or 70s the owners prior to the owners we bought it from dug out the basement. The gentleman encountered this rock and was preparing to dynamite it before his wife put a stop to it. There are holes drilled in it for the sticks of dynamite!

Woe, thanks for sharing the history, sounds like a cool house.

argentic · Jul 9, 2020

And how cool is it to have a big rock in the middle of your darkroom.

Donald Qualls · Jul 9, 2020

Wait. Dynamite? In the basement?!

Seriously, if you knew exactly what you were doing, you might be able to break the rock without blowing up the house -- but I wouldn't let anyone try it in my house!

srmcnamara · Jul 9, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
Wait. Dynamite? In the basement?!

Seriously, if you knew exactly what you were doing, you might be able to break the rock without blowing up the house -- but I wouldn't let anyone try it in my house!

So the legend goes. We heard it from the woman we bought it from and we also heard it from the woman whose father it was that tried to blow it up.

Darkroom Portraits (Part 2)

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