• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Darkroom portraits

Status
Not open for further replies.
 
My 3 day old darkroom. The plumbing is a temporary fix and I still need to build the dry side and sort out an easel, but I'm loving printing again.



 
Nice spaces! Well I am promoting to a bigger darkroom as well. Still the washing area will be outside the actual darkroom but better as it is now. Now I am on the hunt for free tables and stuff to put my trays, enlargers on etc. I will take some pics and post them here later.
 
Would anyone please point me into the right direction for helping keep the actual room at a norm temp? I'm building out the DR in a uncontroled garage. Plumbing etc., water panel and drainage have been thought of but since living in NJ the temp changes are drastic.

I'd like to think of a way, study the best way, of keeping the room at a even temp. But I'm of course worried about the flux in temp for the chems when the room is not being used.

Any leads please?
Thank you much.
T
 
It's been a while since I've posted mine, and in fact I think my photos from this thread have been deleted a long time ago, so I might as well post again.

It's been modified a fair bit (well, almost as much as you can do given the space) to accommodate my 4x5 enlarger and allow me to print up to 16x20 (still gotta get the trays). I picked up the 16x20 easel that's under the 4x5 enlarger a few weeks back for $1 (I still can't believe it!)!

I'm also meaning to get some lens boards machined up for the 4x5 enlarger, because they literally don't exist on any market, but that's easy enough to do. Also need a plug for my smaller enlarger so I can get both up and running again. It's been a while now since I've printed anything.
 

Attachments

  • darkroom3.jpg
    154.8 KB · Views: 431
I had a darkroom in a garage that faced west: In the summer, I printed early in the morning. In the winter, I used an oil-filled radiator (I still use it in my current basement darkroom) to maintain temp. I think you are going to have to find different solutions for different seasons.

 
I hope this is the right place to post this question.

I am in the process of getting a darkroom built, and my question has to do with installing Doran louvers to go with the Doran ventilation fan. The louver part (12" x 12") will go into a new wall that will divide the darkroom from a larger space. The new wall is a proper wall, built with 2x4s and drywall. The contractor has pointed out the the louvers are thinner than the wall, and finished on only one side. He wondered why I hadn't bought two of these so I'd have a finished part on both sides of the wall. While I'm not so concerned about the look being finished I'm just confused about exactly which way the louvers should go and how to fit them into the wall. I'm aware that I also need to put a filter in to keep out the dust but I'm not sure which side it goes on, the darkroom side or the adjoining room side. The filter needs to be accessible for cleaning too. Is there a particular way to install these louvers known only to secret societies? (I do not find a Doran website after a quick search.) I'm not sure who else would know, the marketing people at Freestyle Photo or B&H? Not likely but they may get the questions often. I'd appreciate any answers or suggestions of where to inquire.

Here are the links to the B&H website which show Doran louvers.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ail&Q=&sku=43102&is=REG&si=rev#specifications

Sara
 
I built my first darkroom for myself and im not my enemy yet.
Here is a rough sketch of my DR. Excuse my poor tablet drawing. Ill ad pix later

I simply installed a normal kitchen sink in a durable counter. This saved me a lot of money over stainless steel, but that is the one thing I would change if I could.
 

Attachments

  • darkroom plan.jpg
    205.3 KB · Views: 246
Doran louvers

ic-racer,

I do have a ventilation fan. And it finally occurred to me, after I posted my question, to look for installation instructions in the box with the louvers. The emphasis however tends to be on installing the fan, rather than the louvers. And the drawings also indicate that one should mount the louvers in the LOWER part of the wall rather than the UPPER, where I'd planned to. My husband is an engineer and says that the positive air from the air conditioner in the adjoining room will be cool and will tend to fall. I hope it will be okay. The ventilation fan will be installed just above the back splash of the sink.

I really appreciate your response.

Sara
 
GJA said:
I built my first darkroom for myself and im not my enemy yet ...
Click to expand...
Welcome from another NH darkroom builder. I have yet to post a portrait of my new space.

C
 
Here are a couple of pics of my Doran Louver.
 

Attachments

  • Doran Louver 002.jpg
    25.8 KB · Views: 298
  • Doran Louver 003.jpg
    46 KB · Views: 333
  • Doran Louver 004.jpg
    86.7 KB · Views: 334
  • Doran Louver 005.jpg
    58.1 KB · Views: 314
Jerold,

I had seen the website below a month or so ago and had forgotten that this was why I had decided the louvers should go higher on the wall:

"By pushing the chemical vapors in the sink down and back towards the rear of the sink, it keeps them out of the respiratory system of the person working over the sink. So, its important to place the light tight louvers above the head of the printer, and not what is typically found in most darkroom as shown below. Note 2 indicates that make-up air should enter the room at the eight (8) foot level."

Dead Link Removed

Not sure how much difference this will make but I'll keep the framing where it is (higher), rather than change it.

I like your solution for the inside-the-darkroom vent cover and appreciate the photos very much.

Sara
 
I went to Home Depot to get a vent cover for the interior of the dark room (like Jerold's) and found it, but couldn't find a filter that my contractor had talked about: blue, plastic (or fiberglass?) ,washable, and which probably would have to be cut down from a larger sheet. So I bought the only 12x12x1 filter that is not washable, but seems to fiter down to very fine particles (mites and pollen and mold spores). It's a Natural Aire Standard with an 8 rating. It's white and fibrous. I hope it isn't so fine as to block the flow of air or that fibers will blow around.

Can anyone recommend a filter for the louvers to combat dust?

Sara

Sara
 

Not a direct answer to your question, but I use one of those recirculating HEPA filter units that I keep running to suck up the ambient dust.

http://www.honeywellcentral.com/honeywell-air-purifiers.php
 
With the relatively small amount of air flow, you won't need to change the filter much. I have not changed mine in three years.

The HEPA filter is a good idea. I don't have one but most people say they work great. If you happen to have a central vacuum system, use that for cleaning so the dust is not simply re-circulated.
 
Darkroom

I have been a photographer for over 40 years, professionally for almost 30 of them. After leaving the news business due to a layoff and slowing down of the news industry in general I switched careers to IT. Finally after moving to New Mexico and retiring last year I built my new darkroom using all of the equipment that I had stored since moving here. This, hopefully, will be my last and best facility.



 
Oh, Rick. Sigh........

Exceedingly nice digs!!!!

Welcome aboard APUG by the way

Murray
 
Rick. just amazing. I really like that you put a white reflective above the safe light. Smart.
 
Thanks for posting Rick. Its nice to see, and get ideas from a real pro-style analog setup. Excellent attention to detail, like the white area above the safelight.
 
I have recently installed three Doran 12X12 louvers in my darkroom. Two high and one low, mainly because that is where I could place them without getting in the way of something on the other side. There is a finishing piece that can be placed on the other side. I took some black foam board and built a box between the sheetrock, taping it carefully with gaffers tape to prevent sucking insulation/dust in from the void between the walls. Can't tell you how it works yet, as the project continues. Should be up and running in a few weeks. Bill Barber
 
This is my -almost finished - darkroom.

The place is still a bit cluttered and messy, but it works...

I'm adding a new cabinet next to the enlarger, on top of which I'll put the time and other stuff..

The sink is a bit small, but deep, and at this end I can print there.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2666.JPG
    71.1 KB · Views: 454
  • IMG_2668.JPG
    49.3 KB · Views: 402
Thanks to Jerold and ic-racer for their suggestions for keeping down darkroom dust. Besides a filter to fit inside the ventilation louvers I have some (ionic--?) Saba filters on hand which were purchased for general use by my husband who has allergies. (They no longer seem to be available to purchase.) I don't know if they have the effectiveness of hepa filters but will start out with them and see if I can need to find space for the much larger hepa filter systems.

Sara
 
ic-racer,

The white patch above the safelight was painted because my previous darkroom had a lower ceiling which increased the ambient light enough to see the print in the developer. Instead of buying and installing another light I just added the patch which worked out just right.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Menu
Log in
Register