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Darkroom with a view

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Painted Hills # 3.jpg

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Oban waterfront, Scotland

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Ron789

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What a great experience, being able to do (B&W) darkroom printing while watching the view in front of my house during daytime, people passing by, birds in the canal and field, etc.. I did put a black curtain next to the enlarger today since I found that with bright sunshine outside, there was (minimal) fogging after exposing my RC paper during 5 minutes to this light.



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This will be of interest to teachers who are required to be able to supervise students doing darkroom work.
 
Awesome! What kind of coating is that, and where did you get it? I have a small window that this would be perfect for!!
 
I may have said this before but Les McLean told the story of a photographic shop he used to visit just over the Scottish border in Kelso, I think, who printed in a basement with a red window so he could see if any customers were about to enter his shop. Neat

pentaxuser
 
Great - where did you get this? I've been looking all over (in Europe at least) for something similar.
 
Hi Patrick, thanks for pointing at Ulano Rubylith! I see they have distributors spread over the world, though not in my country. This may be very helpful for others on this forum. The price is similar to what I paid. Who knows, maybe it is actually the same stuff.
I have already applied 2 layers, for the reason you mention. But still, a 50x120cm window at 70cm distance from my enlargers baseboard with bright sunlight outside was a bit too much. On a cloudy day it would be no problem but on a very sunny day it's better to shield off direct light from the window to the enlarger at such a short distance.
 
I remember reading decades ago about Eugene Smith using Rubylith in front of his B&W television.
 
As a point of curiosity, for practical purposes: how durable is Rubylith for direct sunlight exposure?

My darkroom is a West-facing basement multi-purpose hobby room, with a single window that I've been covering with a blanket for daytime photo use, and uncovering for general use.
The window gets some early-day shading from a big Maple tree during Summer, but otherwise gets direct sunlight all afternoon, year round.

Would rubylith stand up to daily full sun exposure, or would it fade, crack, fail over time?
 
barzune said:
As a point of curiosity, for practical purposes: how durable is Rubylith for direct sunlight exposure?

My darkroom is a West-facing basement multi-purpose hobby room, with a single window that I've been covering with a blanket for daytime photo use, and uncovering for general use.
The window gets some early-day shading from a big Maple tree during Summer, but otherwise gets direct sunlight all afternoon, year round.

Would rubylith stand up to daily full sun exposure, or would it fade, crack, fail over time?
Click to expand...
Rubylith is graphic arts masking film, a gel layer of sorts on mylar backing. It is made so the soft gel layer can be cut with an Xacto type knife and parts of the gel layer peeled away for masking. My experience is that is does not age well exposed to heat, the gel drying out and separating from the backing. I also don't think a large, bright light source such a window getting direct sunlight would be very safe with even 2 layers of Rubylith.
 
I am envious. I would not have even thought of this as an option.
 
Can anyone recommend a UV blocking film ? There are many options out there but lots of mix reviews. Some claim to filter 99% of the UV.
I'm building a darkroom for alternative processes and want to be able to work looking a the trees and birds in my backyard :smile: while keeping good amount of light inside. I have blackout roller shades for silver gelatin traditional enlarger work.
 
Before I moved into the city, I lived in a development in a rural area. There were Sodium vapor street lights. After putting up blinds, I found when printing black and white, the street light didn't bother the paper.
I've noticed almost every street light here in town, has been converted to LED.
Today my darkroom is windowless.
 
DMJ said:
Can anyone recommend a UV blocking film ? There are many options out there but lots of mix reviews. Some claim to filter 99% of the UV.
I'm building a darkroom for alternative processes and want to be able to work looking a the trees and birds in my backyard :smile: while keeping good amount of light inside. I have blackout roller shades for silver gelatin traditional enlarger work.
Click to expand...

You should be able to get that at any Home Depot and apply it right to the window glass. For your purposes I'd get one that also cuts the light down.

The Rubylith cuts UV too I believe. You should check that though.
 
Patrick Robert James said:
You should be able to get that at any Home Depot and apply it right to the window glass. For your purposes I'd get one that also cuts the light down.

The Rubylith cuts UV too I believe. You should check that though.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the option highlighted in this thread for silver gelatin work but I don't want red light coming through my window, it'll look like an underground club :D.
 
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