Setting up a darkroom for newbie

Zane Yau · Jan 17, 2007

Hey guys

I shoot mainly 35mm film and sometimes 120 films with my Holga. I am thinking of setting up a darkroom for developing my own black and white negatives, both 135 and 120s. I am however not sure what is the likely cost involved in setting one up... i do have space available at home with a tap but not exactly light tight... Been thinking about it, any pointers would be excellent. thanks in advance.

Zane

Nick Zentena · Jan 17, 2007

Just develop the film?

Used or new film tank. If you go Patterson get a two reel tank. If you go Jobo matters less since you can add extensions.

At least one film reel.

Some thing to mix and store chemicals in. Plastic measuring cup like those used for cooking are fine for mixing. Used glass bottles can be used to store the chemicals.

Cost will depend on new versus used. But it can be done for less then $10 or you can easily spend $100.

All you need is a dark place to load the film. A closet will do.

Pinholemaster · Jan 17, 2007

You can use a light tight changing bag to load you film on reels and place in light tight tanks. So you don't even need a room.

If the room you have has a few light leaks, I find the cheapest material to plug holes is aluminium foil.

Roger Hicks · Jan 17, 2007

Zane Yau said:
Hey guys

I shoot mainly 35mm film and sometimes 120 films with my Holga. I am thinking of setting up a darkroom for developing my own black and white negatives, both 135 and 120s. I am however not sure what is the likely cost involved in setting one up... i do have space available at home with a tap but not exactly light tight... Been thinking about it, any pointers would be excellent. thanks in advance.

Zane

Dear Zane,

Take a look at the free 'Our darkrooms' module in the Photo School on www.rogerandfrances.com. Also try Photo School > How Do I...? for step-by-step shots of loading 120 film onto a developing reel (free again).

Cheers,

R.

reellis67 · Jan 17, 2007

I put up some insights that I had while learning to develop film at home that might be of some interest to you. The document doesn't go into printing yet, but it might give you some ideas on getting started and there is a "futher Reading" section at the bottom with more good resources for this type of info.

Go to http://www.redisonellis.com, click Articles on the bottom left and you should see them.

- Randy

Reinhold · Jan 17, 2007

Hi Zane,

If you haven't already discovered it, be certain to check out the treasure house of ideas posted on the Darkroom Portraits thread (42 pages, 416 replies, 62,000+ views).
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Tons of ideas, some of them Grand, some of them Simple.

Also, check out the Ilford tutorials at:
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=26

A word of caution: the darkroom can become ...very... habitual.

Have fun.

Reinhold

www.classicbwphoto.com

Neal · Jan 17, 2007

Dear Zane,

here are some helpful links:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ak3/ak3.pdf

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629187211322.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/aj3/aj3.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/databanks/filmDatabankList.jhtml?

Welcome to the dark side.

Neal Wydra

hywel · Jan 17, 2007

The only real cost is the processing tank. You need complete darkness to load it but after that the rest can be done in the light. I started off by going into the cupboard under the stairs where, once in, I'd hang a towel across the door to make it light tight. I picked up a couple of cheap plastic measuring jugs and some large plastic clothes pegs and that was it. Cost would have been next to nothing. Probably less than the cost of the film I was developing, or the beer I'd have been drinking if I hadn't have been giving it a go!

To be honest, two years later, the only thing I've changed is that I've bought a changing bag to load the film and then only because I've moved house and the cupboard under the stairs has gone, and my new "darkroom" also leaks a little light.

Practical advice would be to get a cheap roll of (any) film and use it to practice, practice and practice loading onto the reel. Do it in the light until you are comfortable, then with your eyes shut, then in the dark for real. And make sure the first film you process for real isn't a really important one.

Most importantly, give it a go and have fun. You shoot a Holga. There's not a lot you can do to your film that's worse than what your camera has already done to it!

Hywel

Zane Yau · Jan 17, 2007

Thanks a lot for the valuable info

And Pinholemaster, excuse my newbie use of terminology - when I said "develop", I mean "develop and print" - just not used to it yet

Those links are really helpful - I will take my time to read them (Have just enrolled in a darkroom course here in Sydney, to start in Feb)

Yes Hywell, thanks for the practical tips, I will start with some useless films - friend of mine suggested that I shoot a roll of same scene with different exposure settings to process as my first roll.

Kevin Caulfield · Jan 17, 2007

Hi Zane,
Welcome to APUG from down the road. What you may find quite useful is that black kind of cloth-reinforced "gaffa" tape. You can buy it by the roll at hardware shops or large supermarkets for about $6 a roll. That, combined with the black gardener's type plastic sheeting (which usually comes in a double layer) is invaluable for light proofing a room.

reub2000 · Jan 17, 2007

Pinholemaster said:
If the room you have has a few light leaks, I find the cheapest material to plug holes is aluminium foil.

Seems like a bad idea since it reflects light. Dark materials absorbs light before it can get through any cracks. Black poster board can be used to cover windows.

I had some extra black fabric that I had used for making a backdrop for my studio. I lined the edge of the door with this stuff. I also taped a piece of it under the door.

Still a few holes in my darkroom. There's a huge hole where the pipe for the air conditioner. However I haven't noticed any fogging when I use my dark room at night. Maybe if I patch up a few holes I can use it during the daytime.

Zane Yau · Jan 18, 2007

Thanks for the tips Kevin, I am thinking of converting my second bathroom which means I got to seal the window. However my second bathroom is only 1.2m x 3m which consists of a shower area, a tiny sink and a toilet, not sure whether this is enough

PatTrent · Jan 18, 2007

Zane Yau said:
Hey guys

I shoot mainly 35mm film and sometimes 120 films with my Holga. I am thinking of setting up a darkroom for developing my own black and white negatives, both 135 and 120s. I am however not sure what is the likely cost involved in setting one up... i do have space available at home with a tap but not exactly light tight... Been thinking about it, any pointers would be excellent. thanks in advance.

Zane

For print processing trays, you can save a lot of money by going to the supermarket and buying kitty litter pans. I've used them for years.

Pat

Woolliscroft · Jan 18, 2007

Did you really mean just develop the film, or do you want to print it as well? The two need totally different equipment. You don't actually need a darkroom at all just for developing, if you get a changing bag. Once the film is in a tank, everything else can be done in the light.

David.

hywel · Jan 18, 2007

Zane, I'm going to be careful what I say becuase once you've gone on your darkroom course you'll probably know more, and more properly, than me. Especially at the start I used to just wing it and make do. In many areas I still do. And yet I still manage to produce some pretty good prints. So I'd say don't worry too much, get the basics, and give it a go. Once you get hooked you can add and refine.

But I see that you've added the size of the room, and it's not big. Check out the Kodak pdf on darkroom design (AK3 in Neal's post above). They have a layout for a 3 foot by 4 foot space! And I've just had a quick measure of my workspace. It's housed in a large room but boils down to two tables, one for the enlarger and one for the trays. By my measuring I could fit both on a table, side by side down a 3m wall, and still have enough room to walk up and down and access them. So with a bit a planning it should be do-able. The other option that comes to mind for a cramped space are the vertical slot processors (and washers) but I have no experience of them, so you'd have to get someone else to help you.

Finally, to keep the price down, in Sydney, I'd be looking for someone who has been tempted down the digital road, and taking their used equipment from them for the pittence it's now worth.

Best of luck, and enjoy it,

Hywel

Mick Fagan · Jan 18, 2007

For what it's worth I have used showers as my wetside of the darkroom for many years before actually getting a darkroom. I moved around a lot and was usually in small flats or even bedsits.

I have often printed B&W using the moonlight coming in through a door or window in an adjoining room for light. The moonlight is quite strong and if you wait for about 45 seconds your eyes will be adjusted quite well. I never had a safelight for paper for a long time, not the greatest thing, but shows just what is achievable

As long as the moonlight doesn't come into direct contact with the paper, you should be able to put out surprisingly good work.

For about 5 years my enlarger was a little Meopta that came apart and went into a little suit case, and I mean little suit case. This suit case travelled on the back of a motorcycle whenever I moved house, which was about every 4 months or so.

For unbreakable trays I used low steel baking dishes, these travelled well and although they acquired stacks of little dents packed on a motorcycle, they always worked.

I've loaded film under a sleeping bag in a two man tent many a time. Film drys hanging from trees in a warm breeze, in about 30 minutes.

Basically if there is a will, there is a way, it really is very easy.

Mick.

Mark_S · Jan 18, 2007

Zane

Taking a photo class with darkroom before building your darkroom is a great idea - it will let you know what is needed, and what is nice to have. Also see if there is a local photo club where there are members who have darkrooms and go look at as many darkrooms as you can - more ideas are always better.

That said, I have two darkrooms (I live in one place, and have an apartment where I spend weekends - I couldn't manage to live without a darkroom in the apartment). The main darkroom is described in the 'Darkroom Portraits' section, but the apartment darkroom may be more applicable so I will describe it here:

The apartment darkroom is a temporary space, that is a bathroom when not a darkroom. The bathroom has a tub/shower, a sink and a toilet. I built a sink which is like a table with a 5cm high lip around the edge which is the same size as the bathtub, and has short legs so that when put over the tub it brings the sink up to a comfortable height - I then have a folding table which fits over the toilet and holds the enlarger. I unscrew the lightbulbs for the bathroom and replace them with a safelight. The way the bathroom is wired, you cannot turn on the fan without turning on the lights, and I really want the fan.

Darkness is more important for developing film than for printing. I load film onto reels in a light tight bag. The bathroom darkroom is not 100% light tight - it has no windows, but the door has light leaks around it. I installed hooks above the door from which I hang a piece of heavy fabric which blocks enough light from coming around the door for printing. I also turn off the lights in the hall outside the bathroom.

Most of all - enjoy the process!

Zane Yau · Jan 18, 2007

PatTrent said:
For print processing trays, you can save a lot of money by going to the supermarket and buying kitty litter pans. I've used them for years.

Pat

Thanks Pat... it's important to save money for the enlarger i heard

Zane Yau · Jan 18, 2007

Woolliscroft said:
Did you really mean just develop the film, or do you want to print it as well? The two need totally different equipment. You don't actually need a darkroom at all just for developing, if you get a changing bag. Once the film is in a tank, everything else can be done in the light.

David.

Hi David, sorry about the confusion - I do mean both develop and print

Zane Yau · Jan 18, 2007

hywel said:
Zane, I'm going to be careful what I say becuase once you've gone on your darkroom course you'll probably know more, and more properly, than me. Especially at the start I used to just wing it and make do. In many areas I still do. And yet I still manage to produce some pretty good prints. So I'd say don't worry too much, get the basics, and give it a go. Once you get hooked you can add and refine.

But I see that you've added the size of the room, and it's not big. Check out the Kodak pdf on darkroom design (AK3 in Neal's post above). They have a layout for a 3 foot by 4 foot space! And I've just had a quick measure of my workspace. It's housed in a large room but boils down to two tables, one for the enlarger and one for the trays. By my measuring I could fit both on a table, side by side down a 3m wall, and still have enough room to walk up and down and access them. So with a bit a planning it should be do-able. The other option that comes to mind for a cramped space are the vertical slot processors (and washers) but I have no experience of them, so you'd have to get someone else to help you.

Finally, to keep the price down, in Sydney, I'd be looking for someone who has been tempted down the digital road, and taking their used equipment from them for the pittence it's now worth.

Best of luck, and enjoy it,

Hywel

Thanks again Hywell ... I may need a bit more space if my wife is ok with that Yeah, I don't mind getting used equipment at all

Zane Yau · Jan 18, 2007

Mick and Mark - thanks for the tips and the encouragement...

Krockmitaine · Jan 19, 2007

Same here !
I will look into the references that you provided here and see what I can do. Also, I founded an old Ilford publication on how to devellop that I bought years ago, when I almost started to get seriouly in photography.

Any pointers on how to develop 4x5 ?
Marc

Setting up a darkroom for newbie

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency