Why? Because you will need space for four processing trays, each of which can fully contain your biggest enlargements. The area of the wet side's work surface is dependent upon the largest size of enlargement you plan to make. The work surface on the dry side must at least be large enough to hold the enlarger and a paper trimmer. If your darkroom has only one working surface, build a small partition between the wet and dry areas to keep the liquids on their proper side. When space is at a premium, you do what you can, and keep wet and dry materials separated as much as possible. This separation is effective in preventing damage to the enlarger, timer, film and paper supplies from splashed or spilled liquids. Two separate work areas - one dry, one wet - One practical darkroom design has a table or countertop along one wall for the enlarger, trimming board and paper supplies (the dry side), and another countertop or table along the opposite wall for print processing trays and, preferably, a sink (the wet side). Added insurance is achieved if the interior of the box is spray-painted with matte black paint and has a heavy, black velvet curtain over its opening. If, for some reason, you just can't block a dim light leak (one that you first observe only after you have been in the darkened room for five minutes) and are concerned that it might fog fast film, you can create a simple light barrier by opening the film cartridge inside a cardboard or wooden box that faces away from the trace of light. Use cardboard, cut to size, to seal a window, taping it in place for peace of mind. Sometimes this means simply placing a towel along the base of the door. Note where light seems to be coming in, usually around the door, windows, around ceiling tiles and even through electrical outlets. It's surprising, but the room that appears to be totally blackened for the first five minutes may reveal a number of dim light leaks after you've been in it for twenty or thirty minutes. Here's a good rule of thumb for the minimum amount of darkness required - if you don't see any light in the room over a period of five minutes, it's dark enough for normal usage. They can also be printed by your color shop, but you should expect some unusual (but not always unpleasant) tones in your images, from sepia to blue-gray, unless the technician doing the printing is experienced in color-correcting with this type of film and takes the time to suppress the overall color tones so your images show true shades of gray.ĭarkness - The ideal darkroom is pitch black, but total darkness is sometimes difficult to achieve in the home, especially if you have commandeered a room that also serves other purposes, such as a bathroom or kitchen. You can print them like regular negatives. Color-process black-and-white film is developed in a standard color processor, like the one at any one-hour photo shop, if there is one remaining in your town, but the resulting negatives are black-and-white. Some black & white films like Kodak's T400 CN film or Ilford's XP2, can be color-processed when you don't have the time to develop and print them yourself. In order to do this, you need a darkroom. Discounting the time required, it is less expensive to develop and print your own film. Many black and white film photographers ( yes, there still are some) rely upon commercial film labs to do their processing for them, while others feel they get the results they want by handling the job themselves. If, like most photographers these days, you take pictures using a digital camera, you will need to "process" them in the digital darkroom - on your computer, or have a photo lab do it for you.Ĭlick here for information, tips and hints on editing digital images. This article deals with a traditional film darkroom.
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