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Message |
    
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 21, 2004 - 3:57 pm: | 
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I feel like I'm in a sci-fi movie where I'm the last one left; at least as far as the wet darkroom is concerned. I hate using the term 'wet' because it insinuates there's another way. Is there anyone out there who still likes the real darkroom? |
Antony Bailey (Antonyb)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Antonyb
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 21, 2004 - 4:06 pm: |
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> > hey i do! but i've just moved house and dont have room now... will try and set up in my attick sometime though... nothing like a red light and the smell of chemicals ;o) |
Patricia Kerrigan (Kerriganp)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Kerriganp
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 21, 2004 - 4:21 pm: |
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> Yes, Ted, I love the darkroom! I've only been at it for a couple of years, but I feel that there is nothing more stunning than a handmade, black & white print. My first camera was a digital, and I liked photography enough that I went back to school and to film and the darkroom. It's much more satisfying, and to be honest, I don't trust most labs with my film! Keep at it. |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Friday, October 22, 2004 - 2:19 am: |
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I feel better now. At least there's three of us in this big forum.
It's funny, people love digital and color, but when they see a good black-and-white they're awestruck as to how beautiful it can be. I've had many people (non photographers) say they prefer B&W. Yet, when you talk to photographers many think B&W in the darkroom is too much trouble.
Any way, just for the record: I use Kodak 400 Tmax, 100 Tmax, and TriX developed in Xtol; my favorite papers are Ilford; and I use mainly Sprint chemistry for paper. I also shoot about 95% medium format. |
chris huning (Chris_huning)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Chris_huning
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 10:53 am: |
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After having let photography lie for a few years, I bought a digital camera ealier this year, thinking the ease of it was the way to go. The effect it has actually had is to make me go back to my Olympus OM stuff, esp.my beloved OM4ti, and then acquire a Hasselblad 500c/m. A natural progression from that has been to start processing my own films (b&w, E6 and C41), which I enjoy enormously, and I have now acquired a fairly elderly (mid-80s) Durst enlarger. This I have yet to use, but am in the process of setting up a darkroom. And the digital camera is at the back of the cupboard. I'm sure I will be posting many idiot questions in the near future. |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 3
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 3:36 pm: |
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Welcome back! I hope more people would understand the satisfaction you can get from real photography and the real darkroom. There's a sense of accomplishment in the darkroom that you don't get on a computer. I teach photography (real) and internet design at the community college in the county where I live so I have to contend with both worlds. My heart is with the darkroom.
Keep us posted about your progress in setting things up. |
Patrick Lee (Falcom2002)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Falcom2002
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 4:29 am: |
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May I introduce myself. I am from Singapore and have been doing darkroom work some years back in the 70's to the 90's. Now I am learning about digital but still maintain my darkroom facilities in one of my rooms with a couple of enlargers.
I teach enlarging and printing during my spare time and still experimenting with the wet process using various means of manupulation.
Greetings from Singapore to members of this forum. |
Robertas Kanys (Samsa)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Samsa
Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 2:10 pm: |
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Greetings from Lithuania,
B&W enthusiast,who makes prints in the darkroom. |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 4
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 2:38 pm: |
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Patrick: what types of manipulation do you experiment with?
Robertas: welcome to the forum. How long have you been doing b&w and the darkroom? |
Patrick Lee (Falcom2002)
Member ( <10 postings)
Username: Falcom2002
Post Number: 6
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 3:33 pm: |
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Ted, it is exciting to explore what others may or may not have done. The masters like Man Ray and the rest of the gang are experts in darkroom
manipulation using light source, chemicals, sensitized paper and so on.
What else can you do if you are asked to explore new ways that non of these masters had done? |
Robertas Kanys (Samsa)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Samsa
Post Number: 2
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 3:09 pm: |
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I see,that my comments disappered,so I'll repeat it,I have doing b&w in a darkroom from 1987. |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 4:51 pm: |
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Robertas, I just checked and your original post is still there. Anyway, what type of photos do you do and are you still in the darkroom? |
Robertas Kanys (Samsa)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Samsa
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 10:36 am: |
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Hello,my photographs-cityscapes,still-life,portraits.This time I make the darkroom in a new living place,so my works in a darkroom is stoped. |
Florian Divis (Flo)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Flo
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 23, 2004 - 8:43 am: |
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I just subscribed in this forum and wanted to say hello to everybody.
I spend a lot of time in the darkroom and just love it. Although I am an "amateur", meaning I am not earning my living by being a printer, I mainly shoot with a Hasselblad 501cm.
Cheers and merry christmas to all of you
Below one of my personal favourites: Machrie Moor Standing Stones on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, 2003.
Shot with a Nikon FM3 on Kodak T-Max 100, Positive-Process with Ilford products.
 |
webmaster (Admin)
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 14
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 23, 2004 - 12:16 pm: |
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Hi Florian,
welcome in our darkroom forum. It is not very busy at the moment, but we hope to get more speed in 2005 - for both, the wet darkroom and the digital darkroom.
There is jus so much to learn and share in both areas!
Merry christmas to all of you too |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
Member ( <10 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 7
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 23, 2004 - 4:11 pm: |
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Florian,
Glad to have you in this forum. I'm sure we're all looking forward to interesting discussions in the near furture. It has been sort of slow lately.
Right now I'm preparing prints for showing at our community college in this county. I'll be hanging 24 black-and-whites and the show will last 3 months. |
Patrick Lee (Falcom2002)
Member ( <10 postings)
Username: Falcom2002
Post Number: 8
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 5:03 pm: |
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Hi Ted,
It would be nice of you to share some of the prints you did at your community college. |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
Member ( <10 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 9
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:36 pm: |
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> I have a web site at http://www.tedfelton.com which has on it a > collection of photos that covers a number of years but really have > nothing to do with the college. I teach there. I don't take > pictures or print there. I have my own darkroom and studio where I > do all of my work. |
rob finlayson (Robf)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Robf
Post Number: 2
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Monday, April 17, 2006 - 6:39 pm: |
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Hello Ted,
No, you may be feeling lonely but you are not alone. I still enjoy making B&W prints in a darkroom. It is getting harder to find film, paper and chemicals but I think these will be around for a while. All of my friends have switched to digital photography and they generally seem to fall into one of two groups:
1) "I took 50,000 mediocre photos during my last holiday. Would you like to look at all of them?"
2) "I had battery problems with my new camera and I was only able to take one photo - the waiter's foot. Yes, I know it's out of focus but the colours are excellent."
Rob Finlayson
PS I use a Rollei SE |
Ted Felton (Tfelton)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Tfelton
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 17, 2006 - 7:33 pm: |
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> Hello Rob, Somebody's really there! It's really funny with digital > people. I live in a tourist-trap town and you see them holding the > camera a foot or two from their face and they're always such dinky > cameras. I think to my self they should get a 'man's camera'. I'm > working in the darkroom today and saw your e-mail during my lunch > break. Ted Felton and P.S. I also use medium format. |
Bob Edge (Bobedge3149)
Active Member ( <30 postings)
Username: Bobedge3149
Post Number: 18
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 2:57 pm: |
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Hi all,
I have nothing against digital, and I use both.
I do get anoyed by people who think they are superior to me when they see my film camera though. I ask them to show me some photos, & invariably they either get the camera out & show me a 2" screen, or go to switch on the PC. WHERE ARE THE PRINTS????
In 80 years time my descendents will find my work in the attic & enjoy seing their ancestors, and my arty work.
These all digital people will have trouble finding their childrens baby photo's in ten years time, and that is a great shame.
I use a Nikon F4s I got from ebay for a steal.
Regards Bob... |
Rolleijoe (Rolleijoe)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Rolleijoe
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 12:40 am: |
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I've just found this forum and am also glad to see there are at least a few people still interested in darkroom work.
I've a full setup with Omega D5XL Super Dichroic head, chromegatrol, several saunders easels and all the speed ezl sizes. Plus a JOBO ATL-3 until a couple of weeks ago.
Since Agfa is gone, I've since replaced it with Fotokemika varycon fiber, and am very happy with it. I shoot MF with Rolleiflex, (am working on a 500CM at the moment), Efke 25, Plus-X, Tri-X, Fomapan, everything in Rodinal.
Just wanted to say HI! |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
Active Member ( <30 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 15
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 2:21 pm: |
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Things are looking up. The community college where I teach photography has just approved a degree program in photography starting this coming January. Of course it took a long time to get this through. We will now have 10 photo classes; eight of which will be film and two of which will be digital.
Ted |
Florian Divis (Flo)
Active Member ( <30 postings)
Username: Flo
Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 2:36 pm: |
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Ted
Congratulations! Having clearly more film classes than digital ones should be proof for anybody that photography with "real" silver is not dead at all. Quite the contrary.
I am still doing and adoring the dark room work. Soon I will be able to fit in my own dark room (instead of using somebody elses enlarger for example).
So here is a question for all:
- with what enlargers do you work? Lenses etc.
- how would you suggest to build a dark room? Size, plumbing etc. |
Gareth Davies (Garethd)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Garethd
Post Number: 2
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 4:36 pm: |
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Hi
I use very modest equipment in a far -from- ideal venue - an attic bedroo m which has no plumbing but, thankfully at least has black out blinds. My results are good. I use an old Krokus 66 enlarger with eiither a Nikkor 50 lens or Fujimoto (Lucky) 80mm lens (for mediumjformat) I have just b ought a decent easel/masking frame on ebay which does right up to 16 x 12 inch with lovely wide borders. My plumbing is a bucket. My timer is an elect onic metronome. I generally use multigrade papers with slot in filters. It i s all solid and, used carefully, produces fantastic results. I only do balc k and white.
There should be quite a lot of (old) books on dark room design but I thin k the key rule is to have a separate wet and dry side. Good luck
Gareth |
Jürgen Loob (Jotloob)
Member ( <10 postings)
Username: Jotloob
Post Number: 7
Registered: 08-2005
| | Posted on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 4:53 pm: |
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Hi there
Here is an other darkroom freak , from the other side of the ocean .
I am working mostly in MF and LF and only in B/W . (Zone System)
My enlarger is a JOBO (japanese) 4x5 with a HEILAND SPLITGRADE HEAD . Very comfortable to work with .
The lenses i use are outstanding . APO-RODAGON 150mm and APO-RODAGON 80mm .
I have no plumbing either , but the bathroom is just next to my darkroom and thats also where my watering devices are permanently installed .
So far for today . Will have a look into this forum more often now .
Regards Jürgen |
Ted E. Felton (Ted)
Active Member ( <30 postings)
Username: Ted
Post Number: 16
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, October 14, 2006 - 5:29 pm: |
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Flo,
As far as equipment goes I use a Saunders 4550XLG with a 50, 80, 100, and 135mm lenses.
Darkrooms are very personal and describing one can get quite involved. I think the only firm quide is keep the wet and dry side seperate. Size is dictated by what's availble. Mine is 8'x16' and is more than enough space. The smallest I ever used was 8'x8'. My Father had a darkroom in a closet. The darkroom we have at school is two large classrooms put together with 22 enlargers around three walls and a lot of sinks and stuff in the middle, along with a film room.
To break a darkroom down you need the dry side with the enlarger, etc., a place to dry film, a place to dry prints, an area for your trays, and a sink with some sort of print washer, plus storage. I would suggest that you simply think of all the darkrooms you've been in or worked in and then come up with what you think would be an ideal darkroom; then try and fit it into the space you have available.
Ted |
Florian Divis (Flo)
Active Member ( <30 postings)
Username: Flo
Post Number: 12
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 10:02 am: |
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Thanks for all the answers!
Since I also live "over the ocean" (Switzerland) some equipment is quite hard to get. Found once a Saunders easel in eBay and am quite happy with it for smaller prints (up to 25x25 cm). Made my own easel for larger prints (fix size 35x35 cm) which is the largest format I do with my MF negatives.
So far I have been working in 4 dark rooms, none of which I would like to reproduce.
I am lucky enough for my new one to have one room (ca. 9 m2) as the darkroom and another (+ 14 m2) as a working room for drying, cutting, mounting and storing the prints.
As regards getting an enlarger I hesitate a bit to trust in sites such as ebay. For smaller items without too much technology and optics that may work. So I am rather for a brand new one with brand new lenses too.
I am used to work with colour heads for handling the contrast. But must admit that I have no experiance at all with Splitgrade heads (read about it though).
Has anyone any experiance with or an opinion of Kienzle enlargers (german made)?
What about timers? I read a lot of good stuff about a british product: StopClock Pro from RH Designs. What do you think?
I should change the thread maybe since this evolves in more than a mere hello. |
David Scouffas (Sc_david)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Sc_david
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 12:18 am: |
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Hi,
I'm a new guy to this site, and I am also into gelatin silver prints. Luckily, living near San Francisco, I have a wonderful resource here where I can reasonably rent black and white darkroom space and get lots of good advice as well (Rayko).
I'm starting off in photography but I am determined to learn traditional B&W and color, in addition to digital. Each of the methods has unique attributes and advantages. At least for now, I have accesss to facilities that allows me to persue all three approaches.
David |
Dirk Seffern (Seffern)
Patron of Darkroominfo.com
Username: Seffern
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 27, 2006 - 12:30 am: |
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Hi Ted et alii
we are considering some improvements for this darkroom forum. We are for example thinking of adding new section for photography questions, not just darkroom work, i.e. compositionn of a photo, legal questions, general question about photography etc etc.
Would there be any interest in this? Any other ideas you would like to see in this forum?
P.S.: If you enable e-mail notifications in your profile, you will not miss any posting. You can use this forum in this case also like a mailing list.
And do not forget to recommend this place in your photo classes so that more people with the same interest are meeting here and help each other! |
Jennifer Weil (Jweil_2000)
New member (<5 postings)
Username: Jweil_2000
Post Number: 1
Registered: 06-2004
| | Posted on Friday, October 27, 2006 - 5:27 pm: |
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[I think that a section on composition would be good. In addition, I need some inspiration to work darkroom stuff into my busy (non-photography-related) schedule...maybe a discussion on this would also be useful.] |
