Beginner's Guide to Photography

Darkroom Supplies Overview

2006-10-03T20:10:37Z

A darkroom is an area that is made dark to allow photographers to use light sensitive materials to develop photographs and film and can be handled without being exposed to light. It can be as large as a suite of rooms, or as small as a changing bag. Setting up a darkroom is like setting up a den, it can be as simple or as fancy as you want. You will probably spend a lot of time in the darkroom, so you should make it functional and comfortable and efficient.

Darkrooms were used in the late 19th and early to late 20th century for black and white photography. Using black and white film, amateur photographers could control every step of the photographic process and achieve results at home. Due to the relative complexity involved in processing color film and printing color photographs, and due to first the Polaroid technology and later digital photography, darkrooms are quickly decreasing in popularity among both the amateur and professional photographers.

You can ask anyone who's ever printed their own pictures in a real darkroom what they thought of their first experience and they'll say it was magic.

What Basic Supplies Will I Need To Set Up A Darkroom?

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You're going to need a room that can be made completely dark, at least temporarily. Since you'll need running water to mix the chemicals and wash the prints, it is often convenient to use a bathroom or kitchen. However, you'll never need darkness and running water at the same time so it is just as well to have a dry
darkroom and do the mixing and washing elsewhere. If there are any windows in the room you are using, you can temporarily cover them with black plastic, fabric, or other opaque material. Light leaks around the door can be sealed off with dark fabric and tape. Very often it will be most convenient to do your printing after sundown
when the problems of light-proofing a room are minimized. Whatever room you use should have a sturdy counter or table for the enlarger and enough room to set out the four trays of processing solutions.
Since some photographic chemicals can stain many types of fabric and furniture, the area around the trays may be covered with plastic.
Finally, the room must have electrical outlets for the enlarger, timer and the safelight, and should be comfortably ventilated.

The essential equipment you need to set up your darkroom includes an enlarger with 50mm lens, enlarger timer, easel, safelight, printing tongs, set of 4 process trays, 6" glass thermometer, 100 ml cylinder, 650 ml cylinders, 2000 ml mixing beaker, 16 ounce storage bottle, 32 ounce storage bottle, 64 ounce storage bottle, filter funnel, and a 9" print squeegee.

A list of the basic chemicals you will need to set up your darkroom includes paper developer, odorless stop bath, and odorless fixer. Mix these with the appropriate amount of water and store them in your bottles.

When you look for paper, you should start with a gloss RC paper at first, but be sure to try other surfaces, like pearl/luster and semi-matte. Every brand of paper has a variety of surfaces to choose from, but you will need premium 8"x10" sheets, pearl 8"x 10" sheets, and semi-matte papers.

You will also want to have on hand a paper safe. A paper safe will keep unused paper safe from stray light. To protect and store your work there is also an 8"x10" print pages store.

What Kind Of Storage Bottles Are Available For Darkroom Supplies?

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Storage bottles come in all different sizes and are a requisite component of any darkroom. A sufficient supply, in different sizes, should be kept on site. Like trays and tongs, bottles should be labeled and dedicated to a specific chemical. Some bottles come with a blank area for writing dates and other notations. The labeling of bottles is an important factor when mixing and storing chemicals. It is very frustrating and not worth the aggravation of using chemistry that is outdated or spoiled.

Certain bottles are designed so the excess air can be squeezed out of the stock solution. This prevents unwanted oxidation of the chemistry and prolongs the life of the mixture. Storage bottles should also be opaque to prevent sunlight from affecting the solutions.

Large storage bottles are good for mixing stock volumes while smaller bottles are good for diluting to a working solution.

Smaller bottles are easier to group together for submersion into a water bath in order to bring them to working temperature. Bottles with a handle provide a firmer grip and bottles with a tapered neck allow easier pouring.

Why Are Negative Sleeves Needed In A Darkroom?

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Darkrooms, studios, closets and basements are messy places. Water, dust, humidity and other damaging factors can easily destroy negatives. Having a system for categorizing, storing, and preserving your valuable negatives is more than a good idea.

There are many ways to protect and file negatives. The most popular ones are the clear sleeves that you see hanging in packs of 25 or 100 at your local photo store. They come in a variety of sizes to accommodate any size negative. Sleeves can be made from various materials such as polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene. Polyester sleeves are the most costly and are most susceptible to dust. Polypropylene sleeves are firm, very clear material renowned for stability. Polyethylene is also a stable material but not as visually clear as polypropylene.

Once the negatives are stored within the sleeve, the sleeve itself can then be filed inside an archival binder or box. Just as with storage sleeves, there are many kinds of binders available.

When you begin a printing session and need to access your files, it might be a good idea to sort through the negatives that you want to print and set them aside outside the darkroom. As you finish a print, re-store the negative to its original storage sleeve and take the next one in.

Why Are Print Tongs Needed In A Darkroom?

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Printing tongs are what are used to handle prints when they are being immersed into chemistry. They are available in stainless steel, plastic or bamboo.

A set of tongs should be dedicated to each particular chemical. An ample supply should be on hand. Tongs should be considered disposable items but as a matter of course should be thoroughly washed after each session.

Impurities can remain on the rubber tips and contaminate images the next time you print. It is important when using tongs not to dent it. Sufficient pressure should be applied only to lift the print.

Why Will I Use A Squeegee In My Darkroom?

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Water spots can damage or ruin prints and negatives. A squeegee is a neat, quick and clean way to rid negatives and prints from excess water. They come in two styles: a traditional rubber or hard plastic design that resembles what you wash windows with or pincer design where a negative is placed inside and the pincer dragged over the length of the film. Flat squeegees are good for prints; pincers are better for negatives. After a print comes out of the holding tray, a good squeegee action will allow you to see the image more clearly, help with dry down, and afford you a better evaluation of the image. In conjunction with a good squeegee, a darkroom area should have a smooth, bubble-free, acrylic plastic or metal sheet on which to do the actual squeegee activity.

Resources:

WWW.BHPHOTOVIDEO.COM
WWW.ACTIONCAMERASF.COM
WWW.PICTURELINE.COM

Your Guide

2008-01-23T22:52:46Z

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