Darkroom secrets, tips and tricks

[Sirius Glass]

• Choose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.
• Paying attention to detail (e.g. enlarger alignment) makes a big difference even with mediocre equipment.
• Be nice to your working solutions. When printing, the main purpose of the stop-bath is not to stop development but to save the fixer from contamination. Give it time to get in there if using FB paper. Using two fixer baths (of which number 2 is freshly mixed) is also hugely beneficial.

Stop bath with indicator is just so damned expensive!

 

[grahamp]

...that way, when the film is finally in the tank, you know that the room was not really light tight!

(Had that happen once - didn't turn out as badly as I thought, but I was scared. Moral: be patient, or use a timer, when checking light tightness.)

 

[cliveh]

When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.

Also, fog a piece of printing paper under bright light and give it maximum development. Take another piece of printing paper and fix it straight from the box. Wash both and pin to your darkroom wall. You then have a comparison to any print you make, when white light switched on, for max black and white.

 

[Pieter12]

When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.

Your exposure times will not correspond to the times you would employ with filtration.

 

[snusmumriken]

Stop bath with indicator is just so damned expensive!
View attachment 326009

I know. It's what has driven so many people to digital photography.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

• Choose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.
• Paying attention to detail (e.g. enlarger alignment) makes a big difference even with mediocre equipment.
• Be nice to your working solutions. When printing, the main purpose of the stop-bath is not to stop development but to save the fixer from contamination. Give it time to get in there if using FB paper. Using two fixer baths (of which number 2 is freshly mixed) is also hugely beneficial.

Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!

On your About page you say...

"...But my working life went down another route entirely, and I wasn’t able to invest much effort in taking photographs until quite recently. Consequently, this website is a rag-bag collection of occasional images with not much in common except that I like them..."

If they are mostly post-retirement photographs, you have been prolific to say the least. Also, I would argue against your feeling they have "not much in common" as they exhibit a very strong consistency of vision, no matter what subject matter you photograph.

May I suggest:

1) Organize about 20 of them,

2) bundle them up,

3) and make appointments to go see some gallery owners and/or publishers.

You my friend, are 'the real deal'.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!

On your About page you say...

"...But my working life went down another route entirely, and I wasn’t able to invest much effort in taking photographs until quite recently. Consequently, this website is a rag-bag collection of occasional images with not much in common except that I like them..."

If they are mostly post-retirement photographs, you have been prolific to say the least. Also, I would argue against your feeling they have "not much in common" as they exhibit a very strong consistency of vision, no matter what subject matter you photograph.

May I suggest:

1) Organize about 20 of them,

2) bundle them up,

3) and make appointments to go see some gallery owners and/or publishers.

You my friend, are 'the real deal'.

I happily concur.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

Don't answer the phone while you're in the darkroom, no matter how persistent the caller. You can call back in 5 minutes or so.
Please don't ask me why.

 

[snusmumriken]

Just had an enjoyable romp through your website...very, very, nice work!

I happily concur.

Thank you both so very much! I haven’t blushed for a long time.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Removable magic tape is perfect for holding negatives squarely in the film gate of the enlarger.

Also when not using a glass carrier, tape one side of the negative to the negative holder, then attach another piece of removable magic tape on the opposite side, stretch the negative as you place the adhesive tape onto the negative holder. While not as good as glass, it is quite good enough to get the negative relatively flat.

The really best use for removable magic tape, is in removing dust specks from the negative on the emulsion side, and as a secondary benefit, it will also remove persistent dust spots from the glossy back side of film. I've been using removable magic tape to remove persistent dust spots for well over 35 years. If you cannot readily find removable magic tape, then post it notes will suffice; the adhesive is one and the same as far as I know.

 

[Sirius Glass]

When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.

Also, fog a piece of printing paper under bright light and give it maximum development. Take another piece of printing paper and fix it straight from the box. Wash both and pin to your darkroom wall. You then have a comparison to any print you make, when white light switched on, for max black and white.

But a wet print looks much different than a dry print. Instead use Dektol and develop for two minutes. That eliminates development time as a variable and it is easier to get to the proper exposure.

 

[silvercloud2323]

I had read somewhere that Ansco 120 was superior to Selector Soft. The writer ended with something like, "If you don't believe me, test it and you'll never go back".

I had been using Dektol & Selector Soft separately & combined. That last comment about Selector Soft got under my skin and wouldn't go away, so I tested it, and never went back. The Selector Soft prints were muted, veiled, while the Ansco 120 prints were 'soft' yet still had vibrancy and distinct separation of tones.

That led to trying Ansco 130 (which was snappier than Dektol) and now that I was comfortable making developers from scratch, I dabbled around a bit and came up with 12/15 which worked for my images.

Lesson being...keep your spidey senses up at all times...watch and listen for the signs...follow tantalizing paths...scratch creative itches...there is no One & Only Way.

hi Murray,

Thanks for your reply.
But what you mean with Selector Soft? I googled it but could not find .

 

[GregY]

hi Murray,

Thanks for your reply.
But what you mean with Selector Soft? I googled it but could not find .

Selectol soft was a Kodak paper developer. Back in the days before variable contrast paper, using graded papers, we often used a tray of Selectol Soft and a tray of Dektol .....& used some time in @ to tweak the print contrast to get the result we were after.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

hi Murray,

Thanks for your reply.
But what you mean with Selector Soft? I googled it but could not find .

oops...sorry...stupid auto correct.

Greg beat me to it...should have been Selectol Soft.

 

[cliveh]

But a wet print looks much different than a dry print. Instead use Dektol and develop for two minutes. That eliminates development time as a variable and it is easier to get to the proper exposure.

It doesn't look much different, just slightly darker when dry.

 

[silvercloud2323]

Choose exposure to get the highlights how you want them, then choose contrast filter to get the shadows how you want those. I learned this from Ralph Lambrecht when his book came out, after rather too many years of unsystematic flip-flopping.

Hi

Very interesting it looks.
Could you tell me a little more about this? Or where can i find it in the book of Ralph Lambrecht?

I guess i just found it on page 295 : "Fine-Tuning Print Exposure and Contrast"

 

[silvercloud2323]

When making your first tests strips in printing, turn all filtration off and place a small bit of paper on the brightest highlight, darkest shadow and mid-tone and then just experiment with exposure times.

Also, fog a piece of printing paper under bright light and give it maximum development. Take another piece of printing paper and fix it straight from the box. Wash both and pin to your darkroom wall. You then have a comparison to any print you make, when white light switched on, for max black and white.

Hi cliveh,

Could you tell a little more about it?

 

[cliveh]

Hi cliveh,

Could you tell a little more about it?

What I am trying to say is that you may not need any contrast control if you get the printing exposure correct. Once you do you can then determine if contrast control through filtration is needed.

 

[VinceInMT]

The chemicals last longer than the manufacturer suggests.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hi cliveh,

Could you tell a little more about it?

Search the internet for Ralph Lambrecht's book. It may still be available at his website.

 

[henryyjjames]

A big garbage can. I still use mine quite often.

 

[albada]

1. Start with RC paper because it washes and dries quickly and flat.
2. When placing the paper on the easel, rub top and bottom gently with a finger. The smoother side is the emulsion, which should be on top.

Mark

 

[Guivd]

Yes start with RC paper is better (easier to wash and dry)
Also fluorescent tape is useful for a spatial memo when it's full black on the darkroom.

 

[albada]

Also fluorescent tape is useful for a spatial memo when it's full black on the darkroom.

A couple of months ago, I got lost in my darkroom! It's in a spare room also used for storage, with paths between stuff being stored. I turned off the safelight, and thought I could easily find the door in the pitch black. But I went down the wrong path, and didn't know where I was. It took a few minutes of slowly crawling before I found something familiar.
I didn't use my brain, as I had my phone in my pocket.

Mark

 

[Guivd]

A little piece near the light switch, always useful!