Darkroom Sins:

panchromatic · Apr 21, 2005

Ok heres a chance to come clean on habits you have in that darkroom that you could be scolded for!

DO NOT SCOLD ANYONE FOR ANYTHING... its a fun thread.

My Sins:

1) My ventilation is less than perfect, though we are resigning the basement so by July 1st I should have something much more exceptable.

2) Photography has been a hobby and a passion of mine, of course I have others. One being is cigars. I love em and I sometimes enjoy a fine cigar while printing, and I'm sure to be careful of the brightness of the cherry and such.
(I can't be the only one who does this!)

Admit your sins and come clean!

sctransplant · Apr 21, 2005

ventilation

i have no ventilation in my darkroom and at my advanced age and with my meds my gas production is prodigious. my wife and foto friends won't work with me but at least the chemical fumes are not noticable. sctransplant

Flotsam · Apr 21, 2005

I have a 2002 Brooke Burke calendar on the wall that I faithfully flip every month. I never looked at the calendar part anyway... even in 2002.

Dave Starr · Apr 21, 2005

I listen to police calls in the darkroom.

clogz · Apr 21, 2005

Neal,
Analogue photography is timeless. Eh, that is what you meant, right?

Jose A Martinez · Apr 21, 2005

Hurry to pee?, what the sink is for?

Flotsam · Apr 21, 2005

clogz said:
Neal,
Analogue photography is timeless. Eh, that is what you meant, right?

Um... Uh... Yeah! It's that timeless thing that you said. That's the reason. :rolleyes:

David A. Goldfarb · Apr 21, 2005

panchromatic said:
2) Photography has been a hobby and a passion of mine, of course I have others. One being is cigars. I love em and I sometimes enjoy a fine cigar while printing

Not a smoker myself, but in the old days, they would blow smoke under the lens to soften portraits. It can't have been too good for the lens, but you can try it and post some test shots in the Technical Gallery. Try that with a scanner!

djklmnop · Apr 21, 2005

Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

bobfowler · Apr 21, 2005

djklmnop said:
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

No, but passersby can...

eric · Apr 21, 2005

panchromatic said:
Ok heres a chance to come clean on habits you have in that darkroom that you could be scolded for!

DO NOT SCOLD ANYONE FOR ANYTHING... its a fun thread.

I had a darkroom in a spare room in a Brooklyn apartment. Shared it the apartment with some other people. Used to take my ummm, dates, in there for privacy

And when I processed film for a living in a lab, yes, I used to pee in the sink too. When you gotta go...you gotta go!

Jeremy · Apr 21, 2005

Nice thing about printing in the bathroom is that you have a REAL toilet to use

edit: the exhaust fan makes ventilation a breeze, too

glbeas · Apr 21, 2005

djklmnop said:
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

Only if you are smoking a seegar in there at the same time. Blow the door down!

Flotsam · Apr 21, 2005

djklmnop said:
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

Watch out for open flames!

rjs003 · Apr 21, 2005

My dark room is a small bathroom and I was reluctant to mention anything about bodily functions, but I'm glad to note that I'm not the only person that is glad the darkroom and the bathroom go well together.

blaze-on · Apr 21, 2005

Originally Posted by djklmnop
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

I think one's vision can tend to blur...

glennfromwy · Apr 21, 2005

What sink? I have no sink.

removed account4 · Apr 21, 2005

sometimes i get bored and turn on the safelight, just to see everything red
and i keep taking all my wife's wooden spoons to mix my chemicals.

rogueish · Apr 22, 2005

I usually get scolded after a film process or darkroom session. Film clips forgotten on the shower rod, prints still soaking in the tub, safelight left hanging on the medicine cabinet.
The worst was when the Mrs found with her bare feet, the top of the film cassette I could not find with my eyes.
As for bad habits in the darkroom? I'll never tell...
(don't want to get scolded even more)

FrankB · Apr 22, 2005

My "ventilation system" consists of opening the door in between prints every so often...

I generally have a can of coke in the darkroom. Yes, I know it's a no-no! I keep it on the dry side away from the chems (and well away from expensive and electrical items!) and don't put my hands anywhere near the top. Not great but it's that or evaporate in the summer!

ScottH · Apr 22, 2005

Cranking the music up too loud, to the point I can't always concentrate if it's a difficult print. I'll wait for the song to finish, then turn it down. Ventilation? What ventilation. That's what the door is for (good thing I have a slot processor).

On a more serious note, I'd say my biggest sin is rushing a finished print. I hate it when I've spent a lot of time on a print, move on to the next neg., and then notice that the finished print has some neglected area. I now typically keep a neg. in the enlarger overnight, sometimes over the course of a few days while deciding how to 'finish' it.

bobfowler · Apr 22, 2005

My worst darkroom sin I don't consider a "sin" at all, staying up until all hours when I have to go to work the next day. All too often, Liz gets out of bed at 3am to fetch me...

Donald Qualls · Apr 22, 2005

djklmnop said:
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

This has actually been recorded as cause of death once, that I've read about (though not in a darkroom). A (large) man was sleeping in a small, nearly airtight room, and his emissions apparently raised the methane content of the room air enough to cause pulmonary edema leading to death. This was on the "odd news" feature of Netscape.com within the past month or so, story from a wire service...

titrisol · Apr 22, 2005

darkroom sins?
- Using a flashlight to "burn"/solarize small sections in the developer
- Listening to sports-radio
- toning in selenium by inpesction under safelight/flashlight

Adrian Twiss · Apr 22, 2005

djklmnop said:
Can one die from passing too much gass in an unventilated darkroom?

It always amuses me how we are all drawn towards the fart section of such threads. I'm as guilty as the next man. Opinion is still devided as to the effects of gas on printing materials (especially the fast chloride and bromochloride papers). My suggestion would be a canary in a cage. When it falls off its perch it's time to leave. But watch out for that guano. It can play hell with your condensers.

Darkroom Sins:

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency