Hello from Denmark

[Helle]

I guess I’d better introduce myself.

My name is Helle and I live in Denmark.

Photography has been my passion for years now. It all started in the mid 90’s when I took a course in photography. After this course I bought a Canon SLR but didn’t have access to a dark chamber and therefore what I learned during the course didn’t stick. At least not processing.
Later, I bought digital cameras and have spent hours and hours shooting and processing in Photoshop. I was very active on Flickr for years, but as my life changed, I got less time for my DSLR and Flickr.
In stead, my iPhone and instagram took over. I still had a fascination for old cameras and have collected quite a few over the years. Most of them have been stored in my basement, though.

But recently, I have dived into the box of old cameras in the basement and have started working through the old films that have taken up space in my fridge for years.

I have started out shooting b&w with a Yashica Mat 124G and colour with a Minolta SRT 100x. Those were the cameras that I could grab without having to solve issues first.

Next step is to develop the b&w negatives. I’m going to need guidance, so plan to join a community nearby with a fully functional dark chamber. Maybe over time, I’ll feel comfortable enough to make my own set up at home.

I’m a nature lover, so that’s where I spend most time capturing what I see. Photography is my passion and theraphy. So I have an intuitive approach.

I look forward to driving into this community. I’m so happy to have stumbled upon it. And I’m impressed how active it is and how much knowledge seems to be combined in here.

 

[cowanw]

Welcome from Canada

 

[Jesper]

Welcome from across Öresund.
If you are looking for a darkroom you might find one to use at https://localdarkroom.com/

 

[mono]

Welcome from Germany!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Film cameras and film are more fun. Welcome!

 

[Helle]

Welcome from Canada

Thank you very much. You live in a beautiful corner of the world.

 

[Helle]

Welcome from across Öresund.
If you are looking for a darkroom you might find one to use at https://localdarkroom.com/

Tank you very much.

And thank you for the link! The darkroom in my area isn’t registered on the site, so once I contact them, I’d better tell them about the site so they can register.

 

[Helle]

Welcome from Germany!

Thank you. What part of Germany do you live in? I’m in the southern part of Denmark. About an hour’s drive from the border.

 

[Helle]

Film cameras and film are more fun. Welcome!

Yes they are. But it takes a lot of getting used to not being able to see the picture on the screen right away. That I’ll have to wait for the film to get developed before I can see my errors - and by that time I may have forgotten what I did and therefore what I did wrong.
But I guess that’s part of what’s so appealing too.

 

[mono]

Thank you. What part of Germany do you live in? I’m in the southern part of Denmark. About an hour’s drive from the border.

Southwest of Hannover, a bit far away from you.
But we were very often in St.Peter-Ording, closer to Denmark.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Yes they are. But it takes a lot of getting used to not being able to see the picture on the screen right away. That I’ll have to wait for the film to get developed before I can see my errors - and by that time I may have forgotten what I did and therefore what I did wrong.
But I guess that’s part of what’s so appealing too.

Develop your own film.

 

[Helle]

Southwest of Hannover, a bit far away from you.
But we were very often in St.Peter-Ording, closer to Denmark.

I had the pleasure of visiting your area during the Expo2000. But don’t remember much other than the Expo.

 

[Sirius Glass]

:

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

 

[Helle]

Develop your own film.

I’m working towards it. But so far i use colour films in my 35mm cameras, and I have no ambitions on taking that step. But I’m planning to develop my b&w myself in the future.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I’m working towards it. But so far i use colour films in my 35mm cameras, and I have no ambitions on taking that step. But I’m planning to develop my b&w myself in the future.

I have a darkroom and I can develop and print color film, but I rarely do that now because it is not cost effective compared to sending it out. I only develop and print my black & white film at home, so Helle you are in good company.

 

[Trail Images]

Welcome Helle to the Photrio community and the various forums.....

 

[Helle]

I have a darkroom and I can develop and print color film, but I rarely do that now because it is not cost effective compared to sending it out. I only develop and print my black & white film at home, so Helle you are in good company.

Sounds nice.
I think I have most of the equipment to start my own darkroom. I tend to buy that kind of stuff when I stumble upon it. But I don’t feel comfortable taking the leap without some kind of guidance. And in this case, this forum isn’t enough.
But luckily, I’ve found out that not far from here, there’s a darkroom and hopefully a good community to learn from. And in order to get acces to their equipment, I’ll have to take a 3 hour instructional course - which is perfect.

 

[Helle]

Welcome Helle to the Photrio community and the various forums.....

Thank you so much

 

[Sirius Glass]

Sounds nice.
I think I have most of the equipment to start my own darkroom. I tend to buy that kind of stuff when I stumble upon it. But I don’t feel comfortable taking the leap without some kind of guidance. And in this case, this forum isn’t enough.
But luckily, I’ve found out that not far from here, there’s a darkroom and hopefully a good community to learn from. And in order to get acces to their equipment, I’ll have to take a 3 hour instructional course - which is perfect.

Look for posts by PE who was designed films and developers for Kodak including Kodachrome and Ektachrome. His career was at Kodak.

 

[Helle]

Look for posts by PE who was designed films and developers for Kodak including Kodachrome and Ektachrome. His career was at Kodak.

Cool. Thanks for the advice

 

[IMoL]

Welcome from Sweden!

 

[michaelfoto]

Hi Helle.
Welcome from Bogense Fyn. Not far away from you. If you need any kind of help, I am a retired photograper with a good deal af analog experience.
Michael.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Hi Helle! Welcome to Photrio from Japan! Since I've never had a dedicated (wet) darkroom I've been developing black and white film over my kitchen sink for the past 17 years in 3 different countries. I'd like to try developing colour film, but I don't shoot enough of it to make it worthwhile.

I had a 12-hour stopover in Copenhagen a few years ago which was not nearly enough. I'd love to go back and spend more time visiting your beautiful country.

 

[markjwyatt]

Welcome, Helle!

And developing B&W at home is really easy. Getting it digitized (if you so choose) takes some set-up, but if you have a DSLR already you could probably make something work.

 

[Helge]

I guess I’d better introduce myself.

My name is Helle and I live in Denmark.

Photography has been my passion for years now. It all started in the mid 90’s when I took a course in photography. After this course I bought a Canon SLR but didn’t have access to a dark chamber and therefore what I learned during the course didn’t stick. At least not processing.
Later, I bought digital cameras and have spent hours and hours shooting and processing in Photoshop. I was very active on Flickr for years, but as my life changed, I got less time for my DSLR and Flickr.
In stead, my iPhone and instagram took over. I still had a fascination for old cameras and have collected quite a few over the years. Most of them have been stored in my basement, though.

But recently, I have dived into the box of old cameras in the basement and have started working through the old films that have taken up space in my fridge for years.

I have started out shooting b&w with a Yashica Mat 124G and colour with a Minolta SRT 100x. Those were the cameras that I could grab without having to solve issues first.

Next step is to develop the b&w negatives. I’m going to need guidance, so plan to join a community nearby with a fully functional dark chamber. Maybe over time, I’ll feel comfortable enough to make my own set up at home.

I’m a nature lover, so that’s where I spend most time capturing what I see. Photography is my passion and theraphy. So I have an intuitive approach.

I look forward to driving into this community. I’m so happy to have stumbled upon it. And I’m impressed how active it is and how much knowledge seems to be combined in here.

Hello Helle, fellow Dane.
Would you like to share links to your Instagram and Flickr accounts? It could be interesting to see examples of what you photographed where you live in Denmark.

All you really need to load the spiral is a room you can seal off from light. Alternatively wait til it's dark, turn off all lights in the house and close the door to a windowless room.
A cellar or bathroom is good.
Going directly to a darkbag could turn into a nightmare of sweat, creases and frustration.
You can also build a darkbox from a dense styrofoam container or another non light-permeable material. Cut the sleeves off a dark bag and glue them in the box or make your own from black-out curtain fabric and elastic band.

The rest is really very easy:
You need chemicals: Developer (Rodinal seem to a favourite for first timers), stop bath, fixer and photoflo.

Then you need a tank. Go with plastic spiral Patterson. Metal and others will drive you insane. The spiral wheel on some vintage tanks might be very slightly deformed or roughened. This will make loading them almost impossible. So make sure to plan for buying a new reel.

You'll also want demineralised water to mix the chemicals (you can use tap, but the impurities and hardness of the water is just another factor to content with).
Don't worry about disposal. B&W chemistry is not any more hazardous than any of the stuff you pour into the sink or toilet on a daily basis.
E6 and C41 (colour) isn't much worse, but it can be bad for your skin and eyes in the concentrations you develop with).

You need a mixing beaker with millilitre markings.

A thermometer is almost indispensable, but could be omitted in stand development.

And then finally get some drying clips to hang the film to dry.

Sounds intimidating maybe, but it quickly becomes routine.