Tropical Darkroom

[Curt]

I am rebuilding my darkroom and it will be smaller and more comfortable to be in. For the ceiling I have had sheets of Mahogany plywood, the old stuff with thick plys, sitting around for years. It was originally used as shelves in a department store in the '50's. I put it up as sheets and will trim it to have a coffered look. With halogen white trimmed recessed lights in the vaulted ceiling it looks stunning. Being Mahogany it's beginning to look like a "tropical" darkroom. I just need some stainless steel plate covers and something in a red leather for trim. Maybe some red leather wrapped crown moulding, molding, to complete the project. Or brass plate covers?

Curt

 

[MikeSeb]

You'll be stylin' in the dark! But you use what you got on hand, eh?

I once read about the construction of the Pentagon in the early 40's. There was a nationwide shortage of lumber due to the huge burst of military-training-camp construction going on all over the country. We're talking pine 2x4's, etc.

All they could get were expensive fine woods like mahogany which were used even for structural members that would never see the light of day, such was the hurry to get the building up. Gen. Leslie Groves was in charge of that project--he later headed the Manhattan Project.

 

[eddym]

I live in Puerto Rico. My "tropical darkroom" is made of the same material as my house: concrete!

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Curt- brass-and-palm-frond ceiling fan, and a coolie to bing you mint juleps while you operate the enlarger from your red leather club chair. And don't forget the potted Areca palm!

 

[Curt]

Curt- brass-and-palm-frond ceiling fan, and a coolie to bing you mint juleps while you operate the enlarger from your red leather club chair. And don't forget the potted Areca palm!

Ha FC aren't you busy on your own thread these days? Yea it could be really plush in there. I might fall asleep and never get anything done. I don't believe that trees should be cut down for this but the sheets were given to me years ago and I thought I would put them to good use. If I lived in Puerto Rico I would most probably have a concrete constructed building also. Concrete just makes sense.

It's interesting that the International Building Code has banned "green board" sheet rock and requires cement board or cement for tubs and shower and wet areas. I got a sheet with the notice when I was picking up some James Hardie cement board for my darkroom wet area. I guess I will have to tile in there now.

 

[ragc]

I live in Puerto Rico. My "tropical darkroom" is made of the same material as my house: concrete!

When I lived there mine was also concrete, terrazzo, and ceramic tile (it was a bathroom). The big issue was keeping the light from filtering through the aluminum "venetian" windows!

 

[eddym]

When I lived there mine was also concrete, terrazzo, and ceramic tile (it was a bathroom). The big issue was keeping the light from filtering through the aluminum "venetian" windows!

When we built our new house in 1993, I solved the problem by replacing the screens (which are on the interior side of the windows) with 1/4" plywood cut to fit. It worked perfectly.

 

[ragc]

We just waited 'till nightfall!

The darkroom doubled as a bathroom for my dad's studio. The enlarger was in the shower, and a countertop spanned from the enlarger table to the sink, over the toilet. This was for the trays. A cabinet over the toilet housed the chemicals. When not in use as a darkroom everything was stored in the shower, behind the shower curtain.

Is Rahola still in business?

 

[eddym]

We just waited 'till nightfall!

The darkroom doubled as a bathroom for my dad's studio. The enlarger was in the shower, and a countertop spanned from the enlarger table to the sink, over the toilet. This was for the trays. A cabinet over the toilet housed the chemicals. When not in use as a darkroom everything was stored in the shower, behind the shower curtain.

Is Rahola still in business?

I used to "wait until dark" too, back when I first got started in photography and lived in Georgia. My darkroom was an unused bedroom. I installed a small air conditioner for the hot Georgia summers, but there was no heat in the room. I used to print in the winter by wearing a coat and using a warming tray from the kitchen to keep the trays near 68!

As for Rahola... that's a sad story. They bought out Cine foto in the 90's, so they became a huge chain operation, with stores in every municipality. Then Kodak Caribe bought Rahola. Rahola celebrated their 50th anniversary... then within a couple of years went bankrupt! They closed up completely, every store, everywhere! The only "camera store" on this island right now is TEC color lab. It's a pity. And TEC is hurting because now everybody has a digital camera and an Epson printer.

 

[ragc]

Eddy:

We have some interesting parallels going on:

I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, 29 years ago.

My darkroom is in our basement, and it gets so cold down there that my developer wants to go to 60 and stay there. I have to constantly pour it from tray to graduate and heat it by inmersing it in hot water. I'm going to get a space heater for it.

Too bad about Rahola. It used to be a fantastic chain. In the 70's it was a place to behold...

Rafael Garcia (ragc)

 

[eddym]

Their big store at Parada 18 is still there, closed up and fast turning into Urban Blight. Sad.