Ahhh, a blast from the past. I don’t shoot film now but back in the 90s I had to roll film, shoot it, develop it and print it.
Of course, back then the subjects were shots of various and sundry molecular/cellular biology data — don’t ask... We had a couple of darkrooms on the floor where our lab was. A revolving door to get in. A sink and counter top, a red light, and enlarger and some trays and the chemicals we needed. Not fancy at all but it got the job done.
(Don’t tell but one time I did take a roll of lab film out in my camera and shot and developed and printed for a personal project — which ended up being a framed shot of a transformation station as a bespoke gift for someone who worked at ABB, a Swedish electricity company, thinking I’d gift an artsy BnW shot of wires and struts — and that was pretty awesome. Going out and shooting BnW film and printing it was awesome, not my little project 😉).
I really liked learning how to deal with film and printing back then (we even used the first, or maybe second, iteration of Photoshop, back when it was just a one-time licensing purchase, but that was for the digital shots we took through the microscope).
By the time I decided to slap down some cash for a “real” camera, it was the digital age. I miss playing in the printing stage but I don’t miss those nasty chemicals.
Thank you for an interesting read that brings back old memories.
just set up a mud room darkroom with a gifted beseler 23, a folding table for my trays, and the room's utility sink. so far, so good. About $400 all in, fetching the lenses, timer, chemicals, and easel (hugely expensive for good ones!!!!)
Thank you for another interesting read, Andrew. Brings back memories of my Heath Robinson darkroom in the spare room when I was still living at home with my parents (too many years ago to dwell on). I was never that talented with it, though I did manage some half decent prints. You’d cry if you knew what’s become of my Durst M670…
A really helpful article. Looking to buy a 6x7 enlarger for school now that we’ve got hold of a Mamiya RB. Hoping Mr Cad has just the thing (and doesn’t mind posting it to me 😉)
That was a really helpful and interesting read, Andrew! I’ve actually been on a similar “how-to” hunt myself lately, looking for alternatives to set up a small, “mobile” darkroom.
For context, I do have a proper enlarger — a Fujimoto Lucky 450D — and it’s an absolute joy to use. But it’s big, heavy, and sadly not workable in my current space.
So I ended up finding what feels like the perfect temporary solution: the Intrepid Compact Enlarger (https://intrepidcamera.co.uk/products/intrepid-compact-enlarger-35mm-120). It’s an all-in-one unit that handles anything from 35mm up to 6×9, it’s lightweight, and mounts easily (assuming you have a sturdy tripod or a copy stand at hand). The controls are very intuitive, it allows for F-stop printing — a big plus for me — and since it’s LED-based, you don’t even need filters because you can adjust the light colour directly.
All in all, I genuinely think it’s a fantastic option for this kind of situation.
Great article! Almost makes me want to set up a darkroom again. - In the late 80’s I had a portable darkroom set up in my apartment kitchen. It was the perfect room since it had running water and no windows. I just put a piece of light tight fabric over the doorway. I had a small enlarger that I stored in the linen closet when not in use. I remember those days fondly and have often toyed with the idea of recreating it. I wish I had kept the whole setup.
Great series. I set up a darkroom last year - and began my journey in printing. So much room for improvement - but there are few things that seem as magical as watching the photo emerge from the chemicals. :)
I’ve said it before. Your consistent content is great for those starting out. I will say that when I built my darkroom, I did all the research myself and had no help at all. Was it perfect? No. Did I inhale way too many fumes because I had no ventilation? Yes. But in time, I improved upon it year by year until it got to a point where I could walk in, turn out the lights and never miss a beat and that route memory is what counts. To do that, I had to be very disciplined and not change it up too often. Great post!
Ahhh, a blast from the past. I don’t shoot film now but back in the 90s I had to roll film, shoot it, develop it and print it.
Of course, back then the subjects were shots of various and sundry molecular/cellular biology data — don’t ask... We had a couple of darkrooms on the floor where our lab was. A revolving door to get in. A sink and counter top, a red light, and enlarger and some trays and the chemicals we needed. Not fancy at all but it got the job done.
(Don’t tell but one time I did take a roll of lab film out in my camera and shot and developed and printed for a personal project — which ended up being a framed shot of a transformation station as a bespoke gift for someone who worked at ABB, a Swedish electricity company, thinking I’d gift an artsy BnW shot of wires and struts — and that was pretty awesome. Going out and shooting BnW film and printing it was awesome, not my little project 😉).
I really liked learning how to deal with film and printing back then (we even used the first, or maybe second, iteration of Photoshop, back when it was just a one-time licensing purchase, but that was for the digital shots we took through the microscope).
By the time I decided to slap down some cash for a “real” camera, it was the digital age. I miss playing in the printing stage but I don’t miss those nasty chemicals.
Thank you for an interesting read that brings back old memories.
just set up a mud room darkroom with a gifted beseler 23, a folding table for my trays, and the room's utility sink. so far, so good. About $400 all in, fetching the lenses, timer, chemicals, and easel (hugely expensive for good ones!!!!)
Thank you for another interesting read, Andrew. Brings back memories of my Heath Robinson darkroom in the spare room when I was still living at home with my parents (too many years ago to dwell on). I was never that talented with it, though I did manage some half decent prints. You’d cry if you knew what’s become of my Durst M670…
A really helpful article. Looking to buy a 6x7 enlarger for school now that we’ve got hold of a Mamiya RB. Hoping Mr Cad has just the thing (and doesn’t mind posting it to me 😉)
That was a really helpful and interesting read, Andrew! I’ve actually been on a similar “how-to” hunt myself lately, looking for alternatives to set up a small, “mobile” darkroom.
For context, I do have a proper enlarger — a Fujimoto Lucky 450D — and it’s an absolute joy to use. But it’s big, heavy, and sadly not workable in my current space.
So I ended up finding what feels like the perfect temporary solution: the Intrepid Compact Enlarger (https://intrepidcamera.co.uk/products/intrepid-compact-enlarger-35mm-120). It’s an all-in-one unit that handles anything from 35mm up to 6×9, it’s lightweight, and mounts easily (assuming you have a sturdy tripod or a copy stand at hand). The controls are very intuitive, it allows for F-stop printing — a big plus for me — and since it’s LED-based, you don’t even need filters because you can adjust the light colour directly.
All in all, I genuinely think it’s a fantastic option for this kind of situation.
Great article! Almost makes me want to set up a darkroom again. - In the late 80’s I had a portable darkroom set up in my apartment kitchen. It was the perfect room since it had running water and no windows. I just put a piece of light tight fabric over the doorway. I had a small enlarger that I stored in the linen closet when not in use. I remember those days fondly and have often toyed with the idea of recreating it. I wish I had kept the whole setup.
Great series. I set up a darkroom last year - and began my journey in printing. So much room for improvement - but there are few things that seem as magical as watching the photo emerge from the chemicals. :)
That’s it. I’m setting up a dark room. Now, about that whole room thing…
I’ve said it before. Your consistent content is great for those starting out. I will say that when I built my darkroom, I did all the research myself and had no help at all. Was it perfect? No. Did I inhale way too many fumes because I had no ventilation? Yes. But in time, I improved upon it year by year until it got to a point where I could walk in, turn out the lights and never miss a beat and that route memory is what counts. To do that, I had to be very disciplined and not change it up too often. Great post!