The Locked Down Darkroom

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Well.

I guess I'm not the only one. It's been a long time since I posted here. The rest of life happened (kid, PhD, house), and it kept me busy. But now I'm essentially house-bound and the place is large enough that I can permanently set up my darkroom in my garage for the foreseeable future.

So I've been going over stuff that I had left incomplete for the last five years or so: now the kid is five and he helps me out. I've been doing contacts and enlargements, in colour and in black and white. I bought new gear. I dusted off the Mamiya C330, the Contax IIa, the Nikon F, the Rolleiflex. I found out that my thermometer was 10 F off, and I bought a newfangled electronic one. I bought new film, new paper, new chemicals. I made Zone tests, I tried all my lenses. I tried to find again my EI and my developing times (for the first time in my life, they match box settings!). I did RC and fiber.

I mailed photographs, mainly to my parents, because we're unable to meet for the time being. The Sony A6000 is gathering some dust (don't worry, I didn't turn Luddite).

But man, I missed you "APUG." I know, I know you changed your name since you finished college and met that fella and....anyway, what I mean is: I'm back like Ulysses after his long trip; like Samwise Gamgee after the Grey Havens.

I never really left.

 

[peter k.]

Well, don't know who you the 'ell ya are, so its sure about time you showed up again, and having fun !!!

Boy it took a Fandemic of an occasion

 

[Fraunhofer]

Welcome back!

 

[MattKing]

Michel,
Je suis très content de te revoir.
From (mostly unilingual, but I still try) Matt

 

[gordrob]

Nice to have you back

 

[M Carter]

When it became apparent that millions of people would be locked down, it was really my hope that people would do things like get on youtube and finally learn to play guitar, learn new recipes, start on that novel they always wanted to write, get out the watercolors. For a couple years I've been lying in bed, thinking of how I could put together some crazy darkroom ideas but there was an intimidating learning curve (stuff like coating paper properly and rigging up a way to print much bigger). It's going well, I had made some forays forward this year but I seem to have more time for this stuff now!

 

[Black Dog]

Well.

I guess I'm not the only one. It's been a long time since I posted here. The rest of life happened (kid, PhD, house), and it kept me busy. But now I'm essentially house-bound and the place is large enough that I can permanently set up my darkroom in my garage for the foreseeable future.

So I've been going over stuff that I had left incomplete for the last five years or so: now the kid is five and he helps me out. I've been doing contacts and enlargements, in colour and in black and white. I bought new gear. I dusted off the Mamiya C330, the Contax IIa, the Nikon F, the Rolleiflex. I found out that my thermometer was 10 F off, and I bought a newfangled electronic one. I bought new film, new paper, new chemicals. I made Zone tests, I tried all my lenses. I tried to find again my EI and my developing times (for the first time in my life, they match box settings!). I did RC and fiber.

I mailed photographs, mainly to my parents, because we're unable to meet for the time being. The Sony A6000 is gathering some dust (don't worry, I didn't turn Luddite).

But man, I missed you "APUG." I know, I know you changed your name since you finished college and met that fella and....anyway, what I mean is: I'm back like Ulysses after his long trip; like Samwise Gamgee after the Grey Havens.

I never really left.

Hello and good to hear from you again-not all who wander are lost!

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Thanks everyone, I should be posting some pictures soon!

 

[mooseontheloose]

Great to have you back Michel!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Long time no hear.

 

[AndyH]

Another expat returns! Welcome back!

Andy

 

[removed account4]

MHV
stoked to see you made it home !
looking forward to the photos
john