Let's see

[IdahoPhotoist]

I live in the mountains of No Idaho, off the grid. Running from Solar panels and an inverter, a generator for backup, does have its issues.... especially if you are running on batteries, and in the middle of a print the inverter kicks out because the batteries are getting low. My darkroom is 10x12, and this last fall I finally got water into the room. It had for years been my computer room, move over digital, analog demands priority. My computers went upstairs.. All that is still invading my darkroom is a 44" Epson printer, I need to lug it up to the computer room... I am in the process of adding 24x36' on to my cabin, it will provide room for a small camera room, a work area for mat cutting, framing ah yes and the pool table (thats in storage. Last summer I bought a used sawmill and we are making all our own lumber for building with... Yikes so much to do so little time to do it. anyway the darkroom has four enlargers and is equipped for both color and B&W though at this time I want to only do B&W. The salvaged cabinets I used someone had painted Pink so I haven't posted my darkroom though the pink is now gone and it is blue... but I still have much to do before I invade with a camera.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, IdahoPhotoist;

So you are doing off grid living with solar panels and a back-up generator. OK. I have done things like that also. I built my first solar panel back in 1962. It is not here any more. It got thrown up into the air and I cannot get it back now.

Anyway, there are many forms of battery monitors with adjustable set points or triggers that can be used to warn you when the battery system voltage is approaching the inverter drop-out point. That would give you some warning that you are getting close and must either abort or just run through "just this last one" before shutting off the enlarger and allowing the batteries to be recharged. If you have a fair site, wind makes a very nice supplement to solar, and it can also work at night. I am very happy with my combination solar and wind power for portable short wave radio operation from remote locations. The wind generator is an older Southwest Wind Power (www.windenergy.com) Air-X 400 Watt unit that lives in a suitcase. The mast is an old military type radio mast that is carried in a ski bag. In most of my experience where I have gone, I think the 200 Watt version that starts at a slightly slower wind speed would provide more electrical power overall than the 400 Watt unit, but the 200 Watt version was not available when I bought mine.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

 

[bluedog]

Hi all,
I am building a darkroom in my house as part of larger rennovations/extensions. No more converting the laundry. I just hope film and chemical supplies remain accessible for the next few years.

 

[Ricus.stormfire]

Hello all

I am currently on darkroom no.4. No.1 was a small blacked-out bathroom where I had to work on the floor with a prehistoric enlarger. No.2 was my bedroom blacked-out (during weekends, then I slept on the couch in the living room, washing was done in No.1 (sans black-out). No.3* was my first permanently setup darkroom (it had no running water of drainage, but it worked, washing also done in a bathroom). No.4 *is the newest, I bought the house I live in just because there was space for a darkroom (a small granny-flat next to the garage. This one has running water, all washing is done in a bathroom (which I never have to takedown because it's part of my darkroom & not of the rest of the house.)

have a nice day
Ricus

* pictures of both on Flickr (& the "Darkroom portraits" thread

 

[billie williams]

hi everybody,
my darkroom is my office/art studio with blackout curtains. it has running cold water that drains out into a bucket that i lug into the house and empty. it's a pretty big space and has lot of beautiful windows, so putting up the blackout curtains can be time consuming and requires a fair amount of gaffers tape as well. i try to leave it up as darkroom for long stretches of time. don't mind the lugging water and the curtain thing. i feel pretty fortunate to even have that space at all. the house is waaaaaaaay too small to handle a darkroom.

 

[Nikonfan07]

Hello everyone, well I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dan and I just found APUG yesterday looking for info about my Canon AE-1 I just received. Anyway after registering and looking around this fantastic website I came across this group. One of my passions is black and white photography and yes I love printing my own photos and yes I am not very good at it but love it anyway. I want to build my own darkroom but currently I just don't have the room but as luck would have it I do have access to one which is nice.

When its time for me to build one of my own I will be leaning on you experts for advice on equipment etc... In the mean time I wanted to join this group because I do work in a darkroom wanted to share my passion with others with the same passion.

Take care,
Dan

 

[Polovy]

Like Ricus I used to work on the floor in my bathroom. Now I managed to half-adapt one of the rooms (It is an office but easily converted once the windows are blacked up). I still struggle with the limited space and no running water, but recently I've been working with emulsion on small (10cm x 10cm) tiles, so I had no need for large trays. Still a piece of my own heaven... except its red. Ah... I also organised a separate fridge for my own needs (films, paper, beer) with a lovely red light.

P.

 

[Pfiltz]

I just bought my first Film Camera. An RB67. I've shot 2 rolls of Tri-X so far. Now I'm waiting on the chemicals and hardware to arrive to setup a mini-darkroom. At this stage which is early, I'm not sure if I'm just going to try to develop and then scan neg's or actually go down the road further and try to print. Anyway, I'm hoping to be able to read through the DR forum and pick up some info along the way.