Are there any darkroom people left :-(

[davyluvzizgravy]

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Leica M8, M8'2, M9, give me a break please..... :-}

Can anyone remember the joy and excitement of producing your very own print?

The endless possibilities and formulae, not possible with Photoshop, Aperture or any other computerized media, which can be used to create a piece of fine art on "proper" paper that can last for generations?

I am not a purist, far from it, It's just that I feel that those of you out there who possess the incredible, creative ability to produce fine art photography, should not let it this tradition fade into the past.

Don't get me wrong....I never stood in the way of progress, I am guilty of falling into the digital photography trap, but since I have been introduced, very recently, to the Leica M Camera system namely the IIIf and the M3 i have fallen in love with the quality and workmanship of Oscar Barnack that it wasn't very hard to decide to revert back to B&W film photography and learn to produce my very own fine art.

So why not pass on the darkroom tradition to our young photographers and keep it alive.

Thank you for your attention. I just felt that I needed to say this.

Happy Photography everyone.

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[Jager]

Sure, there are darkroom people left! A bunch of us. Even, believe it or not, among those of us who love the M9 and M8 and their digital brethren.

 

This morning I ordered another 16GB card for my M9. Last week UPS delivered two treasured bottles of Rodinal.

 

The choice need not be either/or...

[Jeff S]

You'll find kindred spirits here...http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/

 

Jeff

[elansprint72]

I still have all my darkroom equipment but don't have time to use it- one day.

 

In all technical fields of interest there will be folks who want to do it the old way.

 

The Steam Car Club of Great Britain

[andybarton]

Old way, Pete? You can still buy Tri-X and HC110 and all that stuff

 

I am at Williams BMW, having my brake fluid changed ( only lasts 18 months now, apparently ). I will ask the salesman who has just walked in to see the latest 535 Mammod with the titanium boiler and the tank of meths in the boot.

[elansprint72]

Old way, Pete? You can still buy Tri-X and HC110 and all that stuff

 

I am at Williams BMW, having my brake fluid changed ( only lasts 18 months now, apparently ). I will ask the salesman who has just walked in to see the latest 535 Mammod with the titanium boiler and the tank of meths in the boot.

 

I still have some 1955 3x2 sheet film for the Speed Graphic mini- how much longer will it last?

 

I usually keep my flask of meths in the glove-box.

[kenneth]

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You could say that I never left darkroom processing which is strictly not true. I did not do any processing for about 25 years as I photographed exclusively with colour reversal. With the demises of Hemelchrome I have returned to the red light area full time. I guess you could say cut me and I will bleed Rodinal.

 

Film and Darkroom User - Powered by vBulletin

 

This site does nothing else. It is UK based and has a membership of photographers dedicated to a wide variety of traditional processing

[earleygallery]

Well I started to process my own film again but don't have space for a 'proper' darkroom. I guess I could black out the bathroom though.........

 

As it happens, enlargers and stuff seem to sell for reasonable money on ebay etc., I have looked from time to time expecting to pick up a complete darkroom set up for a fiver - so it seems that there's plenty of photographers out there still keeping it real!

[haris]

Leica M8, M8'2, M9, give me a break please..... :-}

Can anyone remember the joy and excitement of producing your very own print?

The endless possibilities and formulae, not possible with Photoshop, Aperture or any other computerized media, which can be used to create a piece of fine art on "proper" paper that can last for generations?

I am not a purist, far from it, It's just that I feel that those of you out there who possess the incredible, creative ability to produce fine art photography, should not let it this tradition fade into the past.

Don't get me wrong....I never stood in the way of progress, I am guilty of falling into the digital photography trap, but since I have been introduced, very recently, to the Leica M Camera system namely the IIIf and the M3 i have fallen in love with the quality and workmanship of Oscar Barnack that it wasn't very hard to decide to revert back to B&W film photography and learn to produce my very own fine art.

So why not pass on the darkroom tradition to our young photographers and keep it alive.

Thank you for your attention. I just felt that I needed to say this.

Happy Photography everyone.

 

http://www.apug.org/forums/home.php

[microview]

In the unnecessary remake of The Omen, the photographer seems to be enjoying hanging his pics of the fated priest up to drip dry. Five minutes later he's reviewing them on a whacking great Mac screen:D:D:D. (It was on UK terrestrial TV last night).

[Michael Hiles]

I still use my (B&W) darkroom - never stopped. Silver gelatin prints look wonderful. I have no desire to give it up, and from what I see, digital pictures do not satisfy me.

 

Materials also get better and better. B&W films available today are outstanding, probably the best they have ever been. And so are the papers I know of. The materials are not so readily available, but so what. They can be obtained fairly easily.

 

I use digital processes, however. I scan all my negatives for both cataloging reasons, to share images, and to test for silver printing. From a good scan, I can get a quite good idea of the contrast filter I will start with, and I can get a very good sense of what burning, dodging and other manipulations will look good. I then make a recipe from these tests, and when I go to the darkroom I am way ahead.

[Mark Pope]

I got rid of my darkroom in July 2009. I hadn't used it for well over a year and we needed the space in the garage and to be honest, I can't say I really miss it. I sold it to fund a second M8 and an 18mm SE lens, so I have no regrets.

 

I do still have some developing tanks as well as my 4x5 outfit. I can always scan my negatives if I want to, so for me, it's the best of both worlds, assuming I ever get to use 4x5 again...

 

Cheers

 

 

Mark

[aesop]

...yes, we're still here, Davy, honing our craft and enjoying the rewards (or conversely, suffering the pain).

 

Incidentally, one of my MPs recently clattered down 16 floors of a building, hitting several concrete and steel features before finally coming to a juddering halt with a resounding thud (at least that's what it sounded like) against an asphalt surface. The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion and I was very lucky - it could have been me.

 

The Summilux 35 ASPH lens was severely damaged - the barrel ended up looking like it was made out of Play-doh. The MP body didn't fare much better, with the top and base-plates taking several hefty impacts. The viewfinder was smashed to smithereens, and I guess the rangefinder mechanism was in a similar condition.

 

Unbelievably, when I cocked the shutter it fired. Over and over again.

 

The level of stoicism displayed by the folks at Leica when I dropped the damaged equipment off is worth mentioning - one can only assume they have seen much worse and have thus become somewhat de-sensitised against such occurrences. I, on the other hand, await their update with not inconsiderable trepidation.<sigh>

[giordano]

The Summilux 35 ASPH lens was severely damaged - the barrel ended up looking like it was made out of Play-doh.

 

I can't help asking, before some other half-wit does: was it a black one or a chrome one? If black, would a chrome one have survived better, or vice versa?

[aesop]

I can't help asking, before some other half-wit does: was it a black one or a chrome one? If black, would a chrome one have survived better, or vice versa?

 

...it was a black one, John. I have no idea if a chrome version would have been equally mangled, but one thing is clear - the resultant trauma is something you would not readily wish upon your enemy.

[jpattison]

Please keep us informed with it's progress!

Perhaps a new thread?

 

As to the OP's question, I'm typing this on my Mac Pro, facing my Jobo processor, with a Durst Laborator 1200 with Ilford 500H multigrade head, and a Durst 138S 5x7 next to that.

To my left is my HP B9180 printer, next to the 6 foot Darkroom sink!

 

The best of both worlds!

 

Although the wet process needs more time than the electronic, it is more satisfying.

 

John

[tobey bilek]

I have three Nikon digicams, one full frame, and a collection of 15 lenses, mostly primes. All hve Katz Eye split image focus screens.

 

Last week I ordered 100 feet each of 100 & 400 Tmax and bought an almost unused 1978 Nikon F2.

 

I still have all the M and R cameras and around 30 lenses for them. The darkroom has 7 enlargers.

 

Also have a Zone 6 4x5 with 6 lenses, 90 to 300 mm.

 

The only thing I ever sold was my first Pentax screw mount collection from 1966 to buy Leica M.

 

Not sure if Digi RF is ready for prime time yet. Do I want to get into a proprietary camera that nobody can fix but them in this economy. Seems risky to me. It cost way to much money for little benefit to me at this point in time.

[batmobile]

I shoot nothing but B&W film from 35mm to LF. I have no intention of stopping. Film is different. not necessarily better per se, but closer to what I want of the photography experience. I will probably buy a M10 (or 9.2 - whenever they improve the high ISO), but intend to continue shooting film even then. I have a darkroom and print whenever I am in the UK. I've probably made 200 20x16 and 16x12 prints in the last few years, but get a master printer to do my important stuff when time is tight.

 

I love the wet process. Its still magic and there seem to be few people that can resist a well done fibre print.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Xmas]

...yes, we're still here, Davy, honing our craft and enjoying the rewards (or conversely, suffering the pain).

 

Incidentally, one of my MPs recently clattered down 16 floors of a building, hitting several concrete and steel features before finally coming to a juddering halt with a resounding thud (at least that's what it sounded like) against an asphalt surface. The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion and I was very lucky - it could have been me.

 

The Summilux 35 ASPH lens was severely damaged - the barrel ended up looking like it was made out of Play-doh. The MP body didn't fare much better, with the top and base-plates taking several hefty impacts. The viewfinder was smashed to smithereens, and I guess the rangefinder mechanism was in a similar condition.

 

Unbelievably, when I cocked the shutter it fired. Over and over again.

 

The level of stoicism displayed by the folks at Leica when I dropped the damaged equipment off is worth mentioning - one can only assume they have seen much worse and have thus become somewhat de-sensitised against such occurrences. I, on the other hand, await their update with not inconsiderable trepidation.<sigh>

Hi

 

If you did not have a passport I'd have sent them photos and asked it they wanted it for an exibit, of MP resilience.

 

I get my darkroom kit for free, e.g. color head enlarger, the wives normally supply me foodstuff in gratitude.

 

Noel

[analogisch]

I have a darkroom at home, 2 enlargers (1 for MF). We try to transfer the "darkroom spirit" to younger crowds by joining an open B&W class (including hardware), offered to use for free by the local authorities. But honestly speaking; each time we have new faces around, they will dissapear quickly (after they have learned the basics) and not join our group for good. Having said that I shall mention, that the average age of us, who hang on, is approx. 35 to 40 years.