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Create a Basic Darkroom Kit
Deciding to start up a home darkroom is an investment in potential. The enlargers, tools and trays in a darkroom are nothing by themselves. There is little to no automation in a darkroom, nor is there a team of darkroom technicians, it's just you watching the image appear on paper and working to make it match your vision. That's a whole lot of potential and it's all under your control.
While film cameras may not be as popular today well made prints of personally relevant photographs are always in fashion. Many photographers believe that having control over every aspect of an image - from setting the shot up to drying the final print - is where photography makes the leap from simple memory recording to an art form.
No matter where you fall on the spectrum of photo skills, working in a darkroom is fairly basic stuff that requires only a short learning curve to get up and running. And like using a camera, darkroom experience and practice ultimately improves the final print. You can get an idea of the process by reading Porter's Darkroom Procedures PDF.
Basic Kit Components
While there are many options and choices that can be made the list below outlines a good foundation for a darkroom. I have recommended liquid chemicals from Ilford because they can be mixed as needed while powdered chemistry must be mixed all at once. Feel free to substitute any preferred product for any other on this list. For example, my list features the Beseler Cadet II enlarger but any of Porter's enlarger would fill the bill. With that understanding, here is my list for a basic darkroom:
- First up we need to develop the film. I have always liked the Paterson System 1 tanks and easy load reels. Some folks have a fondness for the older style stainless steel reels and tanks but I prefer to keep frustration to a minimum in the darkroom.
- Once developed the film will need to hang dry. Film Clips hang the film and the weighted end clip helps keep curl to a minimum.
- The dried negatives are placed into the enlarger, focused onto the (empty!) paper easel using a magnifying focus finder.
- After the negative has been focused onto the easel, the box of photo paper is opened and a sheet loaded into the easel,l the timer is set and the paper is exposed.
- After exposure, the photo paper is placed into a series of three trays: developer, stop bath and then fixer. Print tongs are used to move the sheet from one tray to the next. This process can be done with a safelight on to illuminate the work area.
- The chemistry for a darkroom comes in either powdered or liquid form. Either way it has to be mixed with water to create working solutions. Some liquid chemistry such as Ilford's product line can be mixed in single use sizes which is very convenient. Gallon sized light blocking brown bottles are used to store working solutions of chemistry. One bottle is needed for each chemical, usually five total bottles are needed. Powdered chemistry is used at room temperature but must be mixed at a higher temperature, this is where a dial thermometer and a graduated cylinder is required.
When it is all totaled up it will cost at least $700.00 to start a darkroom from scratch. The bulk of the expense is in the enlarger and the timer - about $500 of the overall cost. The good news though is that darkroom equipment never really wears out. Chemical supplies, paper and film need to be replenished, light bulbs burn out in enlargers, but the actual parts and pieces of a darkroom are highly durable.
| SKU | 9010 |
|---|---|
| Brand | Porter's |
