Topic: First Darkroom

[Verian]

This week an important decision was made. Time for a darkroom. I’d like to try and follow the analogue photography process through from beginning to end by taking the images, developing them and then printing. I don’t envisage any colour developing at the moment, my focus will be more on black and white, but maybe in the future I’ll look at it.

I have a garage that is currently used for putting things in that we don’t really need any more, it’s a bit like rubbish limbo before ascending to a skip. I have to move everything out, then clean the place thoroughly, seal it as it’s quite old and not entirely waterproof, put new doors on it before the existing ones fall off and then the actual Darkroom can be started. This is not the work of a single weekend.

Price is a massive issue as I really need to make my investment in this as small as possible. My son has just started GSCE Photography at school so the plan is that this will be a joint venture of sorts as we are both novices and, hopefully, can learn from each other, and develop a procedure that suits us both and produces worthwhile results, or it will all sit at the back of the garage gathering dust, I doubt there will be a middle ground.

I did buy this yesterday:

Medium format ROLLEI RDE 6x7 6x6 6x4.5 & 35mm
Colour ENLARGER Minolta & Komura lenses

But received and e-mail to tell me that it had already been sold in the shop and they hadn't had time to take it off the internet. This was very disappointing.

I'm now looking at a Durst AC707, but it is a bit on the pricey side for me.

Any hints, tips, leads most welcome.

[Francois]

Well, Durst made some really wonderful enlargers. I have a small 35mm only model and I just love how even the light is on it. The handles need a bit of getting used to but that's OK.

You'll also need some trays. The rest, you can get away with a lot of stuff not designed for darkroom use.
A good simple tank is also needed. The ones from Paterson are very good. I've seen some from AP and they seem to be on par with the ones from Paterson. Their reels with "paddles" are said to make loading 120 easier... but I never had any problem with my regular ones.

Stainless tanks are another story. Some swear by them while others hate them.

A sink is very handy but you can get away with just using a bucket.

I got a lot of the materials for my room directly from a dumpster. You can cut costs by visiting commercial construction sites for some of their stuff.

For chemical storage, I have only one accordion type bottle for paper developer. Fix and stop bath are kept in Ocean Spray bottles (they're square and fairly rigid so easy to store). I mix liquid developer as I go from concentrate using a syringe.

Building something like that can be done on the cheap and still be quite comfy. Wishing you happy construction

[Verian]

Well, Durst made some really wonderful enlargers. I have a small 35mm only model and I just love how even the light is on it. The handles need a bit of getting used to but that's OK.

You'll also need some trays. The rest, you can get away with a lot of stuff not designed for darkroom use.
A good simple tank is also needed. The ones from Paterson are very good. I've seen some from AP and they seem to be on par with the ones from Paterson. Their reels with "paddles" are said to make loading 120 easier... but I never had any problem with my regular ones.

Stainless tanks are another story. Some swear by them while others hate them.

A sink is very handy but you can get away with just using a bucket.

I got a lot of the materials for my room directly from a dumpster. You can cut costs by visiting commercial construction sites for some of their stuff.

For chemical storage, I have only one accordion type bottle for paper developer. Fix and stop bath are kept in Ocean Spray bottles (they're square and fairly rigid so easy to store). I mix liquid developer as I go from concentrate using a syringe.

Building something like that can be done on the cheap and still be quite comfy. Wishing you happy construction

Thanks Francois. I have the bits and pieces necessary to develop the film (using a changing bag) though I need a lot more practice! Already have some trays and bottles and whatnot, so halfway there. The garage has electricity but no running water so it might have to be a bucket to start with, I was thinking of maybe using one of those water butts with a hand pump on it, not sure yet.

I bought my enlarger today, which was quite exciting, it's a Durst AC707 Autocolor Enlarger which would appear to have everything I need, pretty much:

AC707 enlarger head
Baseboard
Power supply and cable
Schneider 2.8/50 componon-s 50mm lens (for 35mm film)
Schneider 4/80 componon-s 80mm lens (for 120 film)
Blue/magenta/yellow/green/cyan colour correction viewing kit
Red safe filter
2x LAM231 halogen spare bulbs
Film masks for 35mm , 120 - 5x5, 66, 45
Printing easel

I pick it up next week so I have about 10 days to sort out my workspace. Fun times!

[Francois]

To make things convenient, just add a timer and you're in business

[geoffgeoffp]

A darkroom in a garage will need some sort of heating,and also dish warmers are essential for maintaining 20c for development.

[Francois]

It all depends where you live.
Here in Canada, heating is a must unless you like D-76 Popsicles.

[Verian]

I will definitely be needing a heater, I have picked up a tray warmer fairly cheaply. Just trying to find a timer and some other little bits and pieces cheaply now.

[mickld]

Congrats! If you are having difficulty finding a timer, a metronome (maybe as an app on your phone?) is more than enough to get started.

[Francois]

I read somewhere that a metronome was actually used by Ansel for his dodging and burning

[Verian]

Posted an update on my blog of how things are progressing with the garage. It's quite scary realising just how much work I have to do to get things up to scratch!

http://www.verianthomas.com

[Francois]

Now that is one heck of a project!

If you plan on using pallet wood, you need to know that there are two types.
Some are labeled HT which stands for Heat Treated. These can safely be used inside.
The others are labeled MT which stands for Methyl Treated. Think of this as pressure treated wood, they are good only for exterior use.

If you look at the Tiny Yellow House blog, you'll find a lot of information on using wood pallets as a construction material. They have a ton of advantages like being free and sturdy. A little handiwork and they can make a nice floor, walls, shelves. You name it, they can be used to build it.

[Verian]

The pallet is there to stop the door falling off more than anything! But thank you for the advice, I may well use some pallets as I try to sort it out.

[Francois]

If you want a more comfy floor, they're just the ticket. And you van insert some foam insulation inside them to make things extra cozy. Just need to rip apart a few pallets to fill in the gaps.

[Verian]

If you want a more comfy floor, they're just the ticket. And you van insert some foam insulation inside them to make things extra cozy. Just need to rip apart a few pallets to fill in the gaps.

I'd love a more comfy floor but if I raise it even half an inch I'll bang my head on the ceiling. People think being tall is always a good thing, but it isn't!

Picked up a test strip frame and an MF Contact print frame today. I was actually shocked at the price of a new MF contact printing frame, nearly £60! Paid £14.99 for a used Patterson, which is much more sensible a price.

[soeren]

I had the Durst AC 707 but replaced it with a modular 70 vario. The AC 707 kept annoying me because the column got in the way of the frame holding the paper so i couldn't even make medium sized prints. Eventually the AC 707 became landfill, I offered it for free but nobody wanted it.
Best regards

[Verian]

How odd. I quickly tested it the other night at around A4 size and there was plenty of room for that. I believe it also rotates. I expect 10x10 is as large as I'll want to go and that seemed to fit ok.

[Francois]

Thing is, enlargers with a straight column often don't have enough space between the center of the lens and the pole to make prints beyond a certain point. That's why people often mount those either using a wall bracket or using a heavy wooden bridge.

[Verian]

I can see why that might be a problem for large prints. I think it will meet my needs though, and I can always point it at the wall if I need to.