Dark room

[LustyLew]

And not that kind you dirty beggars!

Has anyone here ever had a photographic dark room?

I'd really like to get back into Photography but would like to do everything, not just taking the shots.

I was wondering what sort of gear I'd need, I know I'd need an enlarger, but I can't remember the chemicals you need as well.

I know it would make more sense to get a digital SLR, but after using my mates digital camera at a recent go karting event, I'm not too impressed with their responses.

Any info will be greatly appreciated.
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[G]

Personally, unless you are very interested in developing yourself (I have done this in the past) rather than just taking pics I would look digital.

Have a look at recent digital SLRs.
They are much, much better than most non-slr digital cameras.
Cost will probably be less for digital from the outset as you don't have the expense of a darkroom, never mind the continuing expense of films and chemicals.
Obviosuly digital also means you can instantly see if a shot has worked or not as well.

Alternatively, try a Minolta Z1; I've got some good shots with Bendy's one of these and have just got myself one for £60 on ebay.
These are much, much better than some of their rivals on shutter lag, some of which are truely dire. Also has all the basic manual modes as well as various auto ones so you can play as you so desire.
Only 3mp, but still enough for an A4 sized print.

If you can get to a Bemsee (my club racing) event, why not see if you can blag goes on people's cameras as there's usually a good range.

[Itchy]

unless you want to be a spy ,

with 35mm or even the 110 films you can zoom in and enlarge postage stamp areas of a picture and still have them crystal clear digital goes all pixelly unless you take huge uncompressed pictures.


But with that postage stamp enlarged picture you can then enlarge a postage stamp sized part of the picture to a full size picture ,

which was a favourite spy trick , ie to hide pictures of secret documents in seeming innocent pictures take them to spy hq and enlarge the documents in the background of the innocent pictures

[stinkwheel]

You will need (at a minimum)

1) A light safe box/drawer to keep your film and paper in.
2) A safe light.
3) A plentiful supply of water and a sink.
4) A light-proof film developing tub with spool.
5) Chemicals: Developer, Fixer, Stop bath. You might want some things like wetting agent or other specialist chemicals later.
6) A selection of bottles to keep your chemicals in and a jug/cylinder to measure them in.
7) A thermometer to measure the temperature of the chemicals.
8) Three trays to develop the prints in.
9) A film squeegee.
10) Tongs.
11) A stopclock with glow in the dark hands.
12) clips to hang your drying pictures on.
13) A sign or bolt for the door to stop people walking in (this is important, if they walk in when you have the drawer containing hundreds of pounds worth of light-sensitive material open, you will not be amused)
and
14) An enlarger.

I bought all of the above second-hand for £60 (with a few other odds and sods thrown in) from a guy who was going digital.

If you want to do colour prints, this will be a lot more expensive. If you haven't done it much before, best sticking to B&W for a bit anyway, you have to do colour in total darkness (although you can easily develop the colour film and do a contact sheet in a basic darkroom).
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Doing it in college evening classes at the moment. Quite fun (and B&W film is dirt cheap these days).

You can pick up B&W enlarging equipment quite cheaply on Ebay at the moment, and I have just bought a load of stuff (still need some blackout curtains for the spare room, some chemicals and a timer for the enlarger, although I could cheat with a timer clock). 10"x8" variable contrast paper (from Jessops, thought to be Agfa paper really) is about £18 for 100 sheets with a student discount.

However the quality doing it yourself from 35mm B&W film is not as good as you might expect compared to a decent digital SLR. Doing 10"x8" prints they are coming out with a noticeable amount of grain from the negative (although that is possibly something to do with the film developing stuff we are using). Digital SLR stuff is now pushing the limits of the lenses.

Developing takes ages and is a bit boring but enlarging is quite fun.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[G]

[biker-dj]

You took the words out of my mouth Stinkwheel, and as someone else mentioned there is a lot of darkroom stuff on ebay - I was looking myself the other day thinking I might like to get back into it. I only did black and white but so satisfying to do everything from start to finish. I expect the chemicals are quite cheap now. One other little tip is buy some marbles - as you use the chemicals up put marbles in the bottle, the less air there is in the bottle the slower the chemicals oxidise. Good luck if you do get back into it
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Ride with the music!

[stinkwheel]

[Kickstart]

Hi

50 speed film, but using a large amount of magenta to up the contrast.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[LustyLew]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I did GCSE photography but sadly the school went to was full of mindless thugs and a lot of the developing/enlarging equipment got vandalised. Even so it was a long time ago, my work got sent off to the examineing board so I never got it back.

I'd like to get back into it, but as many of you have pointed out, it's not cheap, it's time consuming and dSLR is rapidly catchign up. But perhaps I'm just a traditionalist.

I'd love to have my old camera back. Manual foucs and manual wind. Nothing battery powered to fail. Simple, basic technology. Great!

G, when is the next BEMSEE at Brands? I'll have to see if I can get some time to take you up on that. I was looking at getting some action shots!

Cheers for all the advice guys, much appreciated!
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[stinkwheel]

Hey, if you are really into that kind of thing, try some pinhole photography.

You will need to make a cardboard box with a pinhole in it. Put your paper in the back, take it out and prop it somewhere you want a picture of. Uncover the pinhole for 2-3 minutes, cover it then take it back to the darkroom. You will need a tray of developer and one of fixer to develop it (you can use a stopbath inbetween if you are feeling fancy, dilute vinegar works fine).

The results are in negative but the resolution is as crisp as it is possible to be. All parts of the picture will be in sharp focus.

I fully intend to try this using x-ray film in the camera. This should make it possible to get a positive picture by exposing the developed x-ray film onto the paper like doing a contact print using a giant negative.

[Kickstart]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Just converted a body cap for use as a pinhole on a dSLR. Works OK, but doesn't half show up the rubbish on the sensor. Unfortunatly not that clear so I think I need a smaller hole (current hole is 0.35mm).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[stinkwheel]

[flat spot]

I've got my own darkroom. You'll have to decide whether you're going to be happy just doing B+W or you want to do colour.

I personally don't do the developing and get all my pics on slides. I only do colour and it's bloody difficult to get it right. Basically it's very expensive to do colour as there is a lot of testing to do before you get the correct settings for the final print. Worth a thought.

[Kickstart]

Hi

The chemicals do cause the grains to clump together though. Through a focus finder the grains are fairly clear.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[LustyLew]

Yeah, it would only be B&W. I used to enjoy doing it before. I think I'll probably keep an eye open on eBay for all the kit.

David Bailey, I am not. I'm more of a Julia Margaret Cameron.
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[Silver]

[LustyLew]

Hmmm that is a good point. I guess I could pickup a cheap SLR to start with while I save for a dSLR. Get the best of both.

I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist as it's what I worked with before. I've only ever had two digital cameras before and I just dont seem to get on with them. Perhaps it's all the different settings that you get that just seem a bit daunting.
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[Kickstart]

Hi

If you buy a dSLR then many of the settings that matter are the same as a film SLR.

If you are tempted to get a film camera for now then choose one which you can then use the lenses, etc, when you upgrade.

Decent film SLRs are dirt cheap these days on Ebay, etc. For example you should be able to get a Canon Eos 5 for around £100 in good condition (5fps, good autofocus, allows full manual control). You could also pick up an early dSLR for not that much money. You should be able to get a Canon D30 for £200~£250 (seen them sold by camera shops with a warrenty within that price range).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Silver]

[LustyLew]

Yeah, I will have a litte moer of a think before rushing into anything. On a plus, I've just had a Pentax MZ-50 plonked in my lap (cheers dad!). So I'll get out and have a play this weekend.


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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[Annabella]

My dad has a dark room set up in his attic.

It's fantastic for blowing up photos and black and white.

There's something so much more 'pure' about real photography over digital (I'm sure Jon will disagree with me ). Much more satisfaction obtained from manipulating an image manually.

The biggest downside of the dark room is that you really need to have a lot of photos to print and films to develop to make the most of it. We always seem to have a lot of expensive chemicals left over and going off...
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[LustyLew]

Hiya guys, keep the info coming!

If I have a manual focus SLR, then upgrade to digital in a few months/years, I guess they'll still be compatible. Just need to focus!

Just glad it's lighter in the evenings, can enjoy the light a little more!
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Like a Yorkie - I'm not for the girls

[IronMaiden]

You can turn any room into a dark room if you surround a normal light bulb with a piece of Rubylith film. (It should not actually touch the bulb.) It can also be used on windows if you don't have blackout blinds. It blocks out UV light only.

I turn my whole workshop into a dark room using this method for exposing screens for screen-printing on T-shirts.