darkroom - who cares ?

[luigi bertolotti]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Just a little thought in the evening... this area of the forum declares to be devoted also to darkroom... I do not pretend to read ALL is posted in ALL the areas of the forum...but seems to me to have seen about NO ONE post regarding darkroom issues, enlargers, chemicals (oh, now I remember something about developing with coffee...); is it dying the race of darkroom amateurs ? Enlargers years ago used to be matter of discussions, and Leica made such gear... old Focomats appear sometime forsale on the Net... I am italian, and we have (had ?) a pair of top quality manufacturers (Durst and IFF).

Just as a curiosity (I have no more enlarger by 20 years about...) are there amateurs that still spend part of their time in the darkroom ?

[francofile]

I might be an endangered species but I still have a darkroom ( or a room that I make dark sometimes). I enjoy the process of printing and believe that there is no substitute for a fibre based print in depth and tone. My preference is for mono so it is an easy choice - when it comes to colour I think that it is easier to get a professional lab do the work.

 

Perhaps there are not many posts about this subject as we are in the dark - not always in front of the screen!!

 

Said with a smile

 

Andrew

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[bleung]

Hi, I am new to this forum, also a amature who just got a Leica a week ago. I want a dark room, but now saving money to set it up. ^-^"

I think it would be nice if people become more involved into discussing about darkroom, so newbies like me can learn a thing or two.

[ddp]

I have all the gear required....good enlarger, lenses, trays...everything except the space! I WISH I could spend time doing that again....it would be such a nice change of pace from the albatross known as "digital workflow!"

[andybarton]

I have all that, including the space (I just need to build some walls and add some drainage.)

 

It's having the time and an understanding partner that's the real problem...

[topoxforddoc]

I still use my darkroom, albeit only for mono work. I have started to teach my youngest son, aged 6, who is entranced by his 'magic pictures'. I still don't see inkjet prints rivalling traditional silver prints for B&W work. Anyway it's fun.

 

Charlie

[plasticman]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I recommend APUG

[maxspbr]

Certainly!

 

Except for a few roll of XP2 I used few weeks ago, I only make my photos at my kitchen, well... darkroom. My enlarger is an old Omega D22 with Rodenstock lens for 35mm and 120 (I love Bessa and Super Ikonta. When everybody is laughting about the camera, I´m taking fine photos).

 

And I still make my developers in the old-fashioned way, with raw chemicals. A little difficult nowadays, when everything is prohibited (no way to buy paraphenilediamine or ortophenilediamine). I like to use some developers long-time forgot, like the DK-20 in two baths. Or a version of the D-76, with Metol, a lot slower but a finer grain. Or the D-25, very good for highter temperatures like we have here in Brasil. This for films. For papers I use phenidone-hidroquinone, phormulae without brand.

 

I'm still looking for a good Focomat Ic or IIc, but the prices must fall a litle more.

 

Martin

[Lucklik]

I've moved into a new appartment in december last year.

Two days ago I've have installed everything and made my first print in more then 6 months.

I still have to do some work, but I pan using it often the following months.

[peter55]

Good question as this is the Leica Film forum. I think for me the answer is that I just paid $3 to have 3 rolls of 24 exp developed into negatives. I will be scanning them into my computer tommorrow and the next day.

 

Some day I would love to learn darkroom skills. I bought a book 5 years ago burt I have not as of yet bought any dark room chemicals or equipment.

[AlanG]

Hi, I am new to this forum, also a amature who just got a Leica a week ago. I want a dark room, but now saving money to set it up. ^-^"

I think it would be nice if people become more involved into discussing about darkroom, so newbies like me can learn a thing or two.

 

I'm sure there are a lot of sites on the web where every aspect of darkroom work gets explained and examined.

 

It is fine that you are interested in having a darkroom, but I wonder why you feel you need to save for one. (I also wonder how many new enlargers get sold each year.) There is a lot of used darkroom gear gathering dust. My advice is to call professional photographers and tell them that you might be interested in picking up their old darkroom gear. A lot of photographers would be happy to give it away. Many schools are getting rid of their darkrooms too. Most companies ditched them a while ago.

 

I have a 16x8 foot room in my basement full of professional darkroom gear that hasn't been used in about 10 years. I've just been uninterested in using it and I've been too busy to sell it. (After many years of developing and printing, the "magic" is long gone for me, and it just became work.) So there it sits. I can't be the only one.

 

By the way, you can develop film with just a tank and some chemicals. You load the film in a changing bag and the whole operation can be done anywhere with the lights on. You can learn how to do this after spending a little time reading some instructions. It's so easy a caveman can do it. (I read a book and learned b/w developing when I was 11.) Color negs aren't much harder. You can scan the negatives rather than printing with an enlarger.

[haris]

Just a little thought in the evening... this area of the forum declares to be devoted also to darkroom... I do not pretend to read ALL is posted in ALL the areas of the forum...but seems to me to have seen about NO ONE post regarding darkroom issues, enlargers, chemicals (oh, now I remember something about developing with coffee...); is it dying the race of darkroom amateurs ? Enlargers years ago used to be matter of discussions, and Leica made such gear... old Focomats appear sometime forsale on the Net... I am italian, and we have (had ?) a pair of top quality manufacturers (Durst and IFF).

Just as a curiosity (I have no more enlarger by 20 years about...) are there amateurs that still spend part of their time in the darkroom ?

 

Not only amateurs, but professionals too! I don't know how much of them you will find on Leica forum (that is professionals who use darkroom for theire job, not private photos), but there are still clients who buys and order portraits, lenascapes and like made with medium and large format cameras and prints made in darkrooms.

 

There is exclusevly analoug photo forum, APUG (http://www.apug.org) If you want to go into darkroom world, go there. When I said exclusevly analoug I mean that, that is you can't ask there even how to scan film! Scanning is considered as hybrid, not analoug, and on internet you can find forum for hybrid photography, APUG is analoug only.

 

I find little bad when see that on film part of Leica forum people start threads about scanning film, about computer photo printer papers/inks etc... and here is digital part of forum, so one can ask those questions there. But, whatever

[AlanG]

.

 

I find little bad when see that on film part of Leica forum people start threads about scanning film, about computer photo printer papers/inks etc... and here is digital part of forum, so one can ask those questions there. But, whatever

 

Well a lot of people may want to use their film Leicas but don't have room for an enlarger, sink, and trays. So at least they can process the film using a changing bag and scan the negatives. (The negatives can always be printed later with an enlarger.)

[Michael-IIIf]

And I still make my developers in the old-fashioned way, with raw chemicals. A little difficult nowadays, when everything is prohibited (no way to buy paraphenilediamine or ortophenilediamine). I like to use some developers long-time forgot, like the DK-20 in two baths. Or a version of the D-76, with Metol, a lot slower but a finer grain. Or the D-25, very good for highter temperatures like we have here in Brasil. This for films. For papers I use phenidone-hidroquinone, phormulae without brand.

 

Respect. Next you'll be making your own film emulsions

[haris]

Well a lot of people may want to use their film Leicas but don't have room for an enlarger, sink, and trays. So at least they can process the film using a changing bag and scan the negatives. (The negatives can always be printed later with an enlarger.)

 

Yes, and people have right to do whatever they want, but wasn't talking about that.

 

I was talking that, as I am film purist , I feel bad when scanner or other digital gadget talking is used into film (analog) talk.

[haris]

Respect. Next you'll be making your own film emulsions

 

Again, APUG

 

There you can find descriptions how to make emulsion and coate your own paper. Also where to buy needed stuff for that (coating blades etc...)

 

But, while paper is realatively easy to coate in your kitchen, film is another story, virtually impossibile to do in "home lab"

[Michael Hiles]

Just a little thought in the evening... this area of the forum declares to be devoted also to darkroom... I do not pretend to read ALL is posted in ALL the areas of the forum...but seems to me to have seen about NO ONE post regarding darkroom issues, enlargers, chemicals (oh, now I remember something about developing with coffee...); is it dying the race of darkroom amateurs ? Enlargers years ago used to be matter of discussions, and Leica made such gear... old Focomats appear sometime forsale on the Net... I am italian, and we have (had ?) a pair of top quality manufacturers (Durst and IFF).

Just as a curiosity (I have no more enlarger by 20 years about...) are there amateurs that still spend part of their time in the darkroom ?

Darkroom - who Cares? I do!

 

My focomat Ic is used fairly frequently to make B&W prints I mount and frame. I like the silver image better than anything I have seen from an ink jet printer.

 

I think that there are great B&W papers available, perhaps better than we have seen for some time, making silver gelatin prints still very worthwhile.

 

I scan my negatives and use photoshop to plan my darkroom work - deciding on best contrast, burning, dodging, edge burning etc.. I make a work plan, and then go into the darkroom and print, onto Ilford fibre-based multigrade. The prints a wonderful, but they require work and some planning. But they are wonderful.

 

I would like to find a Canadian supplier of Ilfochrome paper and chemicls. I have not done colour prints in some years, and would like to start again. Notwithstanding some very nice prints from scanned Kodachrome on big Epson printers, Kodachrome/Ilfochrome (Cibachrome as was) still knocks them all dead, from my perspective.

 

I think you get what you pay for, and you get back what work you put into it.

[odd]

Chao Luigi,

 

I’m a passionate film and darkroom user who practising the handcraft weekly.

I’ve finishing these days a series of more than forty pictures for a summer exhibition

 

I had an post on an other tread a few days ago. My English isn’t that good so I make a short cut and quote my self:

 

“To me the satisfaction of work with the film is the counterpoint of the stress in my daily life:

- - Pre visualisation, measuring the light to set the black point, decideing which part to be in Zone III.

- - Makeing another measuring to decide the contrast and make a decision for the development of the film. To me this is a creative process, taking my time, considering

- - This make me work slowly, it gives me time to work with every motif, consider the composition… I think this makes me a better photograph,

 

- The challenge of developing the film, make a perfect negative. Give it the contrast that I’ve decided. Handling the chemicals.

And finely; the challenge of the darkroom. The handcraft. The refining of the negative without any button for regrets. The struggle to make the photography as I previsualised it.

 

- On my camera I have only tree buttons, the ISO dial, and the shutter and the aperture ring. (and the focusing ring) And my equipment is out of date to day and will be out of date tomorrow. I don’t have to think about the latest versions of Photoshop, printer etc. I use my time on the photography, not all the technical stuff.

 

- This doesn’t mean that I’m against the technical development. I know that the radio and the radar are useful.

- But to me, film is an other media. “

 

I have both have a Leica Focomat and a Durst.

If you want to try film, I’ll recommend it. I don’t think the equipment will cost you much. Now a day I think it will be possible to get it almost free. If you have any internet sites for photo with by/sell sites I would try to negotiate for a weary love price.

I’m a member of a photo club, and the only one that still work with film.

I have been offered a lot of equipments for free from people that are glad to get rid of it. I’ve even got chemicals and paper.

 

Good luck!

(Sorry for my English :-) )

 

 

Regards

OM

[maxspbr]

Respect. Next you'll be making your own film emulsions

 

I ever tryed to make my own enlarging paper! Paper for direct copy, at sunlinght, is easy to make. Enlarging paper is a little more difficult, the results weren't good. But I tryed just twice.

 

I won't that I will make film emulsions... But if film disapear, I will start making glass emulsion!

 

Martin

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[maxspbr]

Again, APUG

 

There you can find descriptions how to make emulsion and coate your own paper. Also where to buy needed stuff for that (coating blades etc...)

 

But, while paper is realatively easy to coate in your kitchen, film is another story, virtually impossibile to do in "home lab"

 

I will visit the APUG, looks very very interesting. Normally I use some Photo formularies like Jordan & Wall, Jacobson and Viebig (a Brazilian photographer, from the 50s).

 

Of course is funny to make emulsions, etc, but darkroom is more than this.

 

I think that darkroom means care with a image, working slowly, with looking at all details. Never make more than 4 or 5 enlargements at one night. Photoshop is better? I don't know - never used it (in fact, never scanned a negative of a slide. My skills about scanning are very very scarce. I can prove that with my photos at this forum). I just know that in darkroom I have plenty of freedom and control about the images, and a process that i really enjoy. And sometimes, when I get a really good negative, the pleasure to make a huge enlargement (50x60cm) that I can be really proud of it.

 

Martin