Darkroom portraits

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Robert Hall

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New Darkroom images

Ok, I have been working away in my new-ish darkroom now for a little over a year and wanted to update some images.

Water Boards




Chems


Film processor and Sink


Negative Storage


Paper and film storage




Medium format and 4x5 enlargers


Printing side sink, 16 feet of plywood and Fiberglass Resin


8X10 Enlarger, Zone VI (my baby!)
 

rootberry

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Wow Robert, that's a darkroom I can aspire to.. I tried to build a sink about a month ago..... it did not go well

I've got an 8x10 enlarger now, so I guess I better get my stuff together!
 

Robert Hall

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I have found it takes practice to do the resin. I usually find I have to do a little patch work, but after once or twice, it comes together.
 

johnnywalker

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Robert, in what part of the process does the Everclear fit?
 

Robert Hall

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johnnywalker said:
Robert, in what part of the process does the Everclear fit?
Click to expand...

SHHHH!!!!! It is either for the bad days, or wet plate. Ok, maybe the really bad days. lol
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Man, I've got to move someplace where real estate isn't so expensive. Fantastic, Robert.
 

Robert Hall

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Thanks, David. I remember my flat back east was just more than half size of this, and a bit more expensive. That was '81.
 

Resoman

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My darkroom in Texas

My darkroom is in the center of a new house my wife and I built in rural Texas in 2002. The room measures 12 ½ feet by 9 feet, with an 8 foot sink and an 8 foot countertop on the dry side. I’ve got an adjacent closet for the storage of negatives, prints and cameras.

The enlarger is a wall mounted LPL 4550 XL with the color module in place. I’ve got the VCCE module, but found I prefer printing VC with the dichroic color head.

I’m set up to print FB and RC black and white in print sizes up to 16x20, from negatives from 35mm through 4x5.

I’ve got Zone VI print washers in 11x14 and 16x20, and an Intellifaucet D250 to control water temp. Prints are dried on screens which fit in slots beneath the counter.

Assuming I start shooting 4x5 this year, I’ll be processing TMX in BTZS tubes. My main film in 35mm and medium format has been XP2 for many years and, although I have access to perfectly good 35mm C41 processing at the local grocery store, I’m nowhere near a lab that will do 120 C41, so I may well go back to using a conventional film in 120 format.

All in all, it’s a great room to work in, and I’m grateful to have it!

Thanks for looking,

Gary,
East Snook, TX
 

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David Brown

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Gary:

That's a nice looking lab, and it is obvious that you have put much thought and resources into it and have plenty of good gear. Yet, you take your film to the grocery store. I would suggest going to "conventional" film in all formats. Developing black and white film is the easy part. But then, that's just me. YMMV

Another Texan,
 

Robert Hall

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It looks very nice, I love the storage and the floor.

Do you have any trouble getting things in and out of the washer to the end of the sink?
 

Resoman

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Robert asked -

"Do you have any trouble getting things in and out of the washer to the end of the sink?"

Good question! I just recently added another level to the shelf unit that supports the print washer in question. I did this to raise the bottom of the washer higher than the bottom of the sink, so that I can siphon the water out of the washer (this 11x14 model has no drain). Raising the print washer has put the top of it nearly at chin level - higher than ideal, certainly, but still workable.

When I get around to printing 16x20, loading and unloading the larger print washer in that location my be a real handful, and I'll need to have to have a usable procedure worked out. Perhaps a small stepstool will be all I need.

Thanks,

Gary
 

Ljusdahl

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Seeing all these huge professional darkrooms really makes me not want to show mine!
 

bdial

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Lenswork Extended had a tour of Edwards darkroom, it's remarkable in its simplicity.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Weston's darkroom is pretty amazing. People don't talk too much about that retouching stand, probably because they don't know what it is. It's interesting that he evidently thought it was more important to have a retouching stand than, say, an enlarger, or even a fancier light source. I wonder how much he used it for its intended purpose.
 

Deckled Edge

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I own, and regularly use, an identical Eastman Retouching Stand. A mirror directs light from underneath the negative, and, when combined with a 5x magnifying lens on a stalk, shows all the dust spots and "Efke character areas" that need SpotTone. I tried it with a kerosene lamp once, but that was hopeless. I suspect Edward did his spotting with daylight from a nearby window.
Weston made his money doing portraits, so he was probably doing a great deal of retouching, not just spotting. I'll bet he used the stand a great deal.
 

Kevin Caulfield

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My new darkroom

Here are some snaps of my new dedicated darkroom. Sorry the first one is sideways. That shows the door from the outside. The second and fourth ones show the setup for printing. The third one is looking upwards through the door at the baffle below the exhaust fan.
 

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Jeffrey A. Steinberg

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Jan 11, 2004
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Updated photos of my darkroom

I just added a Hass Manufacturing computer-controlled mixer. Just love it.

Attached are photos of the wet side (with the Jobo processor on the right) and the Saunders enlarger with the Heiland splitgrade head.
 

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