I'll show me mine if you show me yours!

[dr bob]

Well, I did it. I made a Polaroid of the combination darkroom / laundry and posted it in "Non Gallery". It has to be about the worst image I've made in quite a few years. Sorry about the Papillion wall paper. It was there when I moved in.

This seemed to put off one student upon their visit as they ask. “Is this where all those ‘prize-winning’ photographs are made?” I don’t know what they expected – maybe they had been reading AA’s books (as required) and had formulated a preconceived notion of what a darkroom should be. I told them their darkroom should suit them in their endeavors what ever that entails. It doesn’t _have_ to be pretty or expensive.

Truly, dr bob.

 

[bmac]

I thought it would be fun to bring this thread back, since there are so many new members since the last time this thread was active. So lets see some pics, and hear about your darkroom!

 

[glbeas]

I just "upgraded" my enlarger with a condensor head. I'm going to see if I can get any better results out of my old negs. (and newer ones)

 

[Grady O]

I have a small one in my basement. It has running water, a small vent, and just enough room for a print washer and trays. My only fault is that I never keep it as clean as it should be. Working in a nice darkroom makes things easier, but I tend to leave things out and not clean up after me. Usually once a month I'll do a really good cleaning and re-paint the floor if needed (cement).

 

[glbeas]

Ever think about rehanging the door to swing out, jdef?

 

[Bruce Osgood]

there's nothing for me to click on.

 

[bmac]

then you already voted

 

[Bruce Osgood]

then you already voted

Oh... did I win?

 

[bmac]

Sorry, you didn't win.

 

[glbeas]

Only other thing to think of would be a sliding door that disappears into the wall. Very dependant on how the wall is put together whether it would even be possible let alone practical. Wonder how a bifold door would work in a situation like yours?
I've worked in some tiny darkrooms, one real advantage is the ability to reach almost anything from where you're seated. Yours sounds like a quite nice one.

 

[grahamp]

I went with a pocket door, but I had the advantage of having to build a partition wall to separate the darkroom from the adjacent storage area. If you do not mind a step, a simple slot threshold does a good job of light-trapping. The construction and inital organisation pictures are at Dead Link Removed .

 

[glbeas]

Just finished overhauling the darkroom. I got rid of the office desk my enlarger was on and built a counter 36' high with a gap with inset rails so my Beseler sits flush with the countertop. Under the enlarger is open to allow doing bigger prints by removing the baseboard and projecting through. I also raised the matting and mounting table to about 36" to make all the work surfaces equal. Then I put a few new shelves in for storing larger boxes of paper. I also mounted a small desk lamp modified with a dimmer and a 7 watt bulb controlled by a timer to do highlight bump exposures as needed.
I think the darkroom will be 100% more functional with these modifications. Heres a few shots to illustrate.
The tennis ball is to protect the scalp from the shelf.

 

[papagene]

Pegboard on the walls - oh man, Gary you are a genius!! You have just helped me solve my storage issues.
My darkroom is in a corner of the basement where the water main is and I had to build around it. It has about 8' 6" square usable space. The enlarger (an ancient Beseler 57MB with custom built in cold light) is attached to a table I built with a sliding base that I can lower.
I have a plastic utility sink that has a pump under it to pump the water up and out over to the main waste line. The trays are on another table I built with two shelves under it. And there is about a 3x5' are for me to walk around in. I have to be a little careful about any splashing that may occur from the sink.
So I think putting pegboard up is really gonna help.
gene

 

[glbeas]

The pegboard wasn't my idea, I saw it here recently in another darkroom posting but I couldn't find the thread to hook this to.

 

[Leon]

I've just starting sorting mine out. A brick built out-house on the font of my house - i have painted the floor and ceiling (yesterday) and picked up a massive d.r. sink from a lab that has gone to the darkside (digi) for only £16 - what a bargain!! just need the plumber round now - oh and the old kitchen units - when ive got them out of the kitchen - and some extra power points. then I'm well away! cant wait. My enlargers and rhdesigns analyser pro have been boxed up for too long

 

[Jim Moore]

The pegboard wasn't my idea, I saw it here recently in another darkroom posting but I couldn't find the thread to hook this to.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[glbeas]

Thanks JMoore! Your inspiration has made a vast improvement in my darkroom. The biggest difference I made is using the brown perfboard behind the enlarger to kill stray light leaks from the enlarger. I stll need to figure out what else can be hung on the perfboard.

 

[John McCallum]

Yes, good idea that peg board. Now if I can just talk my wife into letting me put one over the bathroom mirror .....:rolleyes: .

Do prints up to 12x15 on the bathroom benchtop. For larger prints the D3 has to go on the floor so the head doesn't hit the ceiling. Then can fit two 20"x24" trays on the bench and a third on the floor. Only have to move the enlarger about 18" to open the door. But it's great, two door entry and no windows. The only the problem is when the phone goes (takes 5mins to get out).
Solved that on Sat by taking the cell phone in. Left it by the enlarger (duh!), someone phoned me and fogged a print .