Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them into a photographic darkroom.
Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space too.
I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
However, I have two reservations: 1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space that could be used for other things). 2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for £50, get quite a nice one for £100, and £250 would allow us to do negatives and prints in a space that's fun to use.
So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
I think having a dark room is a fantastic fit for the hackspace.
Just some general points: - It has been suggested already that one of the toilets be turned in to a shower, we probably need to decide if two toilets is really enough (there may be regulations we need to adhere to?). - I'm not sure what the popularity of it would be like, as its not been mentioned before - but at the same time it might attract members from the photography community who would not have considered using the hackspace for this. - This isn't something that the hackspace would be able to fund right now, so you'd need to set up pledges for purchasing the equipment.
> Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. > Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our > sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them > into a photographic darkroom.
> Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. > Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a > bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members > experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium > or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or > mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would > also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and > photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space > too.
> I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and > printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting > out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also > be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested > members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
> However, I have two reservations: > 1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering > generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for > it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space > that could be used for other things). > 2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
> Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for 50, > get quite a nice one for 100, and 250 would allow us to do negatives and > prints in a space that's fun to use.
> So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good > fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not > worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a > general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
>Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. >Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our >sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them >into a photographic darkroom.
>Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. >Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a >bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members >experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium >or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or >mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would >also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and >photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space >too.
>I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and >printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting >out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also >be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested >members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
>However, I have two reservations: >1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering > generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for > it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space > that could be used for other things). >2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
>Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for £50, >get quite a nice one for £100, and £250 would allow us to do negatives and >prints in a space that's fun to use.
>So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good >fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not >worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a >general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
> Data point WRT popularity, Noisebridge has a darkroom that apparently gets quite a lot of use.
Aye - though their community currently has a different markup; and I could imagine there to be different drivers/money considerations involved here too - a larger class of people has little access/suitable space and little storage - while some money & used-to-travel - while in the UK it is perhaps slightly the other way round.
The original proposal for a shower allowed a toilet to share the space. That's perhaps no longer necessary, but perhaps the shower could share space with a darkroom - just add provision for a temporary workbench. It might be simply hinged down from a wall or slotted across the shower area.
-adrian
On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 8:01 PM, Dirk-WIllem van Gulik <di...@webweaving.org>wrote:
> > Data point WRT popularity, Noisebridge has a darkroom that apparently > gets quite a lot of use.
> Aye - though their community currently has a different markup; and I could > imagine there to be different drivers/money considerations involved here too > - a larger class of people has little access/suitable space and little > storage - while some money & used-to-travel - while in the UK it is perhaps > slightly the other way round.
I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing some :-) I'll pledge some money if need be!
On 9 January 2011 19:39, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote:
> Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. > Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our > sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them > into a photographic darkroom.
> Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. > Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a > bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members > experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium > or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or > mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would > also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and > photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space > too.
> I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and > printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting > out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also > be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested > members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
> However, I have two reservations: > 1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering > generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for > it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space > that could be used for other things). > 2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
> Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for £50, > get quite a nice one for £100, and £250 would allow us to do negatives and > prints in a space that's fun to use.
> So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good > fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not > worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a > general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
I have some equipment I can donate, including at least an enlarging lens and a grain magnifier, quite possibly rather a lot more (it is all in boxes), certainly some paper, maybe even a basic enlarger...
On 9 Jan 2011 22:07, "Gilda Maurice" <gmaur...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing > rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing some > :-) > I'll pledge some money if need be!
> On 9 January 2011 19:39, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. >> Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our >> sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them >> into a photographic darkroom.
>> Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. >> Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a >> bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members >> experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium >> or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or >> mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would >> also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and >> photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space >> too.
>> I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and >> printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting >> out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also >> be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested >> members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
>> However, I have two reservations: >> 1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering >> generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for >> it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space >> that could be used for other things). >> 2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
>> Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for £50, >> get quite a nice one for £100, and £250 would allow us to do negatives and >> prints in a space that's fun to use.
>> So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good >> fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not >> worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a >> general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
On Sun, Jan 09, 2011 at 10:06:41PM +0000, Gilda Maurice wrote: > I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing > rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing some > :-) > I'll pledge some money if need be!
I'm glad to know people are interested. :) One thing I forgot to mention: if you *are* interested, it'd help to know what kind of thing you're interested in. Darkrooms are pretty generic, but knowing where the membership's interest lies is always useful during planning.
For my own part, I'm interested in developing black and white film, producing contact prints from them, and doing larger art prints from the negatives.
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 22:36:09 +0000, you wrote: >On Sun, Jan 09, 2011 at 10:06:41PM +0000, Gilda Maurice wrote: >> I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing >> rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing some >> :-) >> I'll pledge some money if need be!
>I'm glad to know people are interested. :) One thing I forgot to mention: >if you *are* interested, it'd help to know what kind of thing you're >interested in. Darkrooms are pretty generic, but knowing where the >membership's interest lies is always useful during planning.
>For my own part, I'm interested in developing black and white film, >producing contact prints from them, and doing larger art prints from the >negatives.
Considering how little film processing is going on these days, I'd surprised if this couldn't be entirely fitted out with free donations - there must be a ton of this stuff sitting in lofts & storage awaiting the skip.
Been lurking on this list since roundabout day 1, too shy to join in or appear at the space. But now you've gone and mention darkrooms...
So, I have studio space in Clapton that I've made into a photography darkroom after I got fed up with digital photography, stock photography and Photoshop in general. Return to old school making of prints.
Few thoughts
1. You don't need a darkroom for negs, just changing bags and containers etc. 2. Temporary workbench is not great for enlargers (and really that's the point of a darkroom); once you get them levelled and set up, you don't want to be moving them. Actually, I couldn't move my enlarger on my own. 3. I'd be surprised if you could get all you needed from free donations. And you might be surprised at how much printing is going on these days. Not on a commercial scale maybe, but lots all the same 4. I know a bloke who runs a darkroom and does kitting out for brilliant prices. He sorted my enlarger (which does negs up to 5x4) and various other bits of kit. Can pass details on if wanted 5. I can teach some of the basics if anyone's interested. Also lith printing, which is fun. And I'd maybe like to experiment with some more esoteric techniques with other people. I work alone WAY too much. Or actually this winter, don't work enough :/. Might be good to bounce ideas around with other people...
Gah, few glasses of wine and the mention of darkrooms and I'm out of my lurkzone
Laura
On 09/01/2011, Mike Harrison <m...@whitewing.co.uk> wrote:
>>On Sun, Jan 09, 2011 at 10:06:41PM +0000, Gilda Maurice wrote: >>> I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing >>> rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing >>> some >>> :-) >>> I'll pledge some money if need be!
>>I'm glad to know people are interested. :) One thing I forgot to mention: >>if you *are* interested, it'd help to know what kind of thing you're >>interested in. Darkrooms are pretty generic, but knowing where the >>membership's interest lies is always useful during planning.
>>For my own part, I'm interested in developing black and white film, >>producing contact prints from them, and doing larger art prints from the >>negatives.
> Considering how little film processing is going on these days, I'd surprised > if this couldn't be > entirely fitted out with free donations - there must be a ton of this stuff > sitting in lofts & > storage awaiting the skip.
Also, I can think of a few uses for a dark room that are non-
photography based. Including impregnating your own photo-etch PCBs
(OK, so you don't *need* a dark room, but it certainly doesn't do any
harm). Also, potentially useful for calibrating light/colour sensors,
that sort of thing. Would be a good place to store light sensitive
materials. You could do other opticsy type things in there, too
(spectrometer, anyone?).
If you're really hardcore, you could even try doing a bit of silicon
etching. Pretty noxious chemicals involved, which would be a new
concern, but having a dark room could help?
http://vimeo.com/channels/26257
On Jan 9, 11:32 pm, Laura <shoo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Been lurking on this list since roundabout day 1, too shy to join in
> or appear at the space. But now you've gone and mention darkrooms...
> So, I have studio space in Clapton that I've made into a photography
> darkroom after I got fed up with digital photography, stock
> photography and Photoshop in general. Return to old school making of
> prints.
> Few thoughts
> 1. You don't need a darkroom for negs, just changing bags and containers etc.
> 2. Temporary workbench is not great for enlargers (and really that's
> the point of a darkroom); once you get them levelled and set up, you
> don't want to be moving them. Actually, I couldn't move my enlarger
> on my own.
> 3. I'd be surprised if you could get all you needed from free
> donations. And you might be surprised at how much printing is going
> on these days. Not on a commercial scale maybe, but lots all the same
> 4. I know a bloke who runs a darkroom and does kitting out for
> brilliant prices. He sorted my enlarger (which does negs up to 5x4)
> and various other bits of kit. Can pass details on if wanted
> 5. I can teach some of the basics if anyone's interested. Also lith
> printing, which is fun. And I'd maybe like to experiment with some
> more esoteric techniques with other people. I work alone WAY too
> much. Or actually this winter, don't work enough :/. Might be good to
> bounce ideas around with other people...
> Gah, few glasses of wine and the mention of darkrooms and I'm out of my lurkzone
> Laura
> On 09/01/2011, Mike Harrison <m...@whitewing.co.uk> wrote:
> > On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 22:36:09 +0000, you wrote:
> >>On Sun, Jan 09, 2011 at 10:06:41PM +0000, Gilda Maurice wrote:
> >>> I would love a darkroom - I haven't used one since uni, but I loved doing
> >>> rayograms (http://bit.ly/hzuysA) and I was hoping to get back to doing
> >>> some
> >>> :-)
> >>> I'll pledge some money if need be!
> >>I'm glad to know people are interested. :) One thing I forgot to mention:
> >>if you *are* interested, it'd help to know what kind of thing you're
> >>interested in. Darkrooms are pretty generic, but knowing where the
> >>membership's interest lies is always useful during planning.
> >>For my own part, I'm interested in developing black and white film,
> >>producing contact prints from them, and doing larger art prints from the
> >>negatives.
> > Considering how little film processing is going on these days, I'd surprised
> > if this couldn't be
> > entirely fitted out with free donations - there must be a ton of this stuff
> > sitting in lofts &
> > storage awaiting the skip.
hello, please count me in, just recently i joined and was wondering
what would be possible if someone would want to do some photographic
project? please keep me posted... ;)
Back when I had access to a black and white darkroom, I used it moderately regularly, and enjoyed using it. Count me interested - I can also go over the basics of processing film/making prints. I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price differential...
We also did regular bulk purchases of stuff like photopaper and black and white film from 7dayshop, and then sold on at cost price. This reduced the cost fairly significantly, so it might be worth doing bulk orders and having stock members can purchase. Although this is, of course, a suggestion for after we have a darkroom.
I'd also be interested with having a play with more exotic processes, but really more out of curiosity than anything else...
--George
On 10 January 2011 03:50, layer1gfx <layer1...@graffiti.net> wrote:
> hello, please count me in, just recently i joined and was wondering > what would be possible if someone would want to do some photographic > project? please keep me posted... ;)
On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 09:05:24AM +0000, George Buckenham wrote: > I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I > think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can > be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price > differential...
Colour processing is a real swine, though; personally, I think it's more trouble than it's worth. It requires much tighter time and temperature control than black and white, involves more (and more noxious) chemicals, and both developing and printing have to be done in complete darkness (no safelights when printing). In summary: tricky. But yes, a colour enlarger would be nice and means members can mess with colour if they're so inclined.
As for kitting out the room, I expect we can get most of what we need second-hand (an enlarger and Paterson tanks, for instance), while more utilitarian things (trays, tongs, blackout material) will end up being bought new. If we can get a light-tight vent put in the window or wall (eg. http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/642/ventaxia-solo-pl...) then that gives us more options; most stuff is fine to breathe in, but if you're doing (say) selenium toning you'll want the ventilation...
On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 9:21 AM, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote: > On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 09:05:24AM +0000, George Buckenham wrote: > > I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I > > think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can > > be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price > > differential...
> Colour processing is a real swine, though; personally, I think it's more > trouble than it's worth. It requires much tighter time and temperature > control than black and white, involves more (and more noxious) chemicals, > and both developing and printing have to be done in complete darkness (no > safelights when printing). In summary: tricky. But yes, a colour enlarger > would be nice and means members can mess with colour if they're so > inclined.
> As for kitting out the room, I expect we can get most of what we need > second-hand (an enlarger and Paterson tanks, for instance), while more > utilitarian things (trays, tongs, blackout material) will end up being > bought new. If we can get a light-tight vent put in the window or wall > (eg.
I second "colour is more trouble than it's worth" but have in the past really enjoyed having access to a colour-head enlarger for black and white work on multigrade paper.
The enlarger is the only part that needs to stay permanently set up. The trays, drying space etc can stack quite small if the table space needs to be reclaimed. In my last darkroom I had an enlarger on an old computer desk, and absolutely everything else had to pack away underneath it after every session, and it worked fine.
Unfortunately there's no single "right" enlarger. A 35mm one is cheap, light and compact but it's pretty easy to get cheap and lovely medium format cameras nowadays so it would be a shame to exclude MF work. A 6x6 or 6x7 enlarger is a good size. Above that they get incredibly heavy, need more expensive lenses, and start to be too big to comfortably work with 35mm... then there's the choice of condenser versus colour. Super high contrast (but sensitive to dust and grain) versus flexibility of contrast control. Can't really have both.
Here we get to the fun part: I have two enlargers and we only need one.
So if people are serious about this darkroom business I am prepared to EITHER (a) GIVE the Hackspace a small, basic, lightly built Durst 35mm enlarger with a colour head (it may be only a colour-for-B&W head, IE missing a cyan filter, not sure - I can check at the weekend). May need adjustment. This would be Hackspace's to keep for all time, give away if there's a massive burst of enthusiasm and we buy a 4x5, borrow parts for something involving frikkin' laser beams... and if it wears out I'll shed no tears, just be happy it's being used.
OR (b) LEND the Hackspace a decent, heavily built 6x7 Meopta with a condenser head. I would want it to be looked after, kept in good nick, and returned to me if unwanted. Worked superbly last time I used it.
Thoughts?
Lester.
PS I also have some chemicals for "alternative process" photography - coat your own paper with 19th or early 20th century formulae and then contact print large negs (or make photograms) using sunlight/a UV box. Certainly including the stuff needed for the very easy Cyanotype (blueprint) and lovely but hazardous Gum Dichromate (printing with watercolour pigment!) processes. The potassium ferricyanide for the blueprint process is also a great bleach for b&w silver gelatin. These are all FREE TO GOOD HOME, defined as a home that promises not to tip potassium dichromate down the sink. That would be bad.
On 10 January 2011 09:21, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 09:05:24AM +0000, George Buckenham wrote: >> I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I >> think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can >> be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price >> differential...
> Colour processing is a real swine, though; personally, I think it's more > trouble than it's worth. It requires much tighter time and temperature > control than black and white, involves more (and more noxious) chemicals, > and both developing and printing have to be done in complete darkness (no > safelights when printing). In summary: tricky. But yes, a colour enlarger > would be nice and means members can mess with colour if they're so > inclined.
> As for kitting out the room, I expect we can get most of what we need > second-hand (an enlarger and Paterson tanks, for instance), while more > utilitarian things (trays, tongs, blackout material) will end up being > bought new. If we can get a light-tight vent put in the window or wall > (eg. > http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/642/ventaxia-solo-pl...) > then that gives us more options; most stuff is fine to breathe in, but if > you're doing (say) selenium toning you'll want the ventilation...
> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 9:21 AM, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 09:05:24AM +0000, George Buckenham wrote: >> > I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I >> > think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can >> > be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price >> > differential...
>> Colour processing is a real swine, though; personally, I think it's more >> trouble than it's worth. It requires much tighter time and temperature >> control than black and white, involves more (and more noxious) chemicals, >> and both developing and printing have to be done in complete darkness (no >> safelights when printing). In summary: tricky. But yes, a colour enlarger >> would be nice and means members can mess with colour if they're so >> inclined.
>> As for kitting out the room, I expect we can get most of what we need >> second-hand (an enlarger and Paterson tanks, for instance), while more >> utilitarian things (trays, tongs, blackout material) will end up being >> bought new. If we can get a light-tight vent put in the window or wall >> (eg.
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I currently use a darkroom at the London Camera Club. I shoot 35mm,
120 and 5x4, black and white and colour. I dev my own black and
white, and send my colour away. Unless we do huge amounts of colour
development in house it won't be worth keeping the chemistry fresh -
we'd be better off sending it away individually or pooling film
together for a monthly bulk discount devfest. I'm happy to organise
that, I'm sending off monthly anyway.
I can teach B&W development and B&W and ilfochrome printing. Colour
printing is expensive, fiddly and tedious but the results are
magnificent. The major difficulty with colour printing is temperature
control. A temperature stabilised water bath would make a fantastic
hackspace project.
I've helped set up darkrooms before so I have some experience in
lightproofing, organising a dry side and a wet side, that sort of
thing. Ventilation is important too, doubly so with colour printing.
The suggestion of bulk-buying and selling film and paper is a great
one. We could do with a fridge at some point if we want to store
colour film. I'd suggest keeping chemistry around as well. London
Camera Club currently mix up paper dev, stop and fix in one-shot
bottles and sell those for 50p each. It seems we've got enough
competency on this list to run that system too. We could probably
keep a few big bottles of film chemistry around and ask for donations
to use those.
I can lend some dev tanks, measuring jugs, thermometer, squeegee
thingy and other bits and bobs I've got hanging around. I also have 2
5x4 cameras and plenty of sheet holders so if anybody wants to sample
the joys of large format we can give that a go. Could make some
spiffy hackspace darkcloths :D
On Jan 10, 10:20 am, Colin Wright <colinwrigh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 9:21 AM, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 09:05:24AM +0000, George Buckenham wrote:
> > > I would be interested in maybe doing some stuff in colour - certainly I
> > > think it's worth keeping an eye out for a colour enlarger, as they can
> > > be used for black and white stuff also. It really depends on the price
> > > differential...
> > Colour processing is a real swine, though; personally, I think it's more
> > trouble than it's worth. It requires much tighter time and temperature
> > control than black and white, involves more (and more noxious) chemicals,
> > and both developing and printing have to be done in complete darkness (no
> > safelights when printing). In summary: tricky. But yes, a colour enlarger
> > would be nice and means members can mess with colour if they're so
> > inclined.
> > As for kitting out the room, I expect we can get most of what we need
> > second-hand (an enlarger and Paterson tanks, for instance), while more
> > utilitarian things (trays, tongs, blackout material) will end up being
> > bought new. If we can get a light-tight vent put in the window or wall
> > (eg.
On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 7:39 PM, Alex Pounds <a...@alexpounds.com> wrote: > Hello,
> Now we have Laboratory 23, we have three bathrooms in the space. > Presumably we don't need that many - I think two would be enough for our > sanitary needs - so I wanted to make a proposal: let's turn one of them > into a photographic darkroom.
> Black and white development is really easy, and doesn't need much space. > Access to running water is strongly recommended (not a problem in a > bathroom). As well as 35mm photography a darkroom would let members > experiment with other formats (whether commercially produced, like medium > or large format cameras, or home-grown - either from paint-on emulsions or > mixing your own, if you're really hardcore). The rightmost bathroom would > also have space for an enlarger or two, allowing us to make prints and > photograms. I guess other people may have uses for a light-tight space > too.
> I've spent a reasonable amount of time doing my own developing and > printing, so I'm happy to co-ordinate/take the lead on designing & kitting > out the space. I think the right bathroom would be best for it. I'd also > be pleased to share what I know, whether one-on-one with interested > members or by running shooting/developing/printing workshops.
> However, I have two reservations: > 1. Photography might be a bit too far removed from the engineering > generally done in the Hackspace, and thus having a dedicated space for > it would be wasteful (ie. not used enough by members, takes up space > that could be used for other things). > 2. I don't know if anyone else is interested.
> Off the top of my head, we could bodge a negatives-only darkroom for £50, > get quite a nice one for £100, and £250 would allow us to do negatives and > prints in a space that's fun to use.
> So, if this is something you'd be interested in, or think would be a good > fit for the Hackspace, then please say so. Equally, if you think it's not > worth spending the time/money/space on, please say so too. If there's a > general consensus of "Let's do it," we can start more definite planning.
On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 6:18 PM, Fuzzy Dunlop <cbf5...@googlemail.com>wrote:
> I would certainly use a darkroom.
> I also have some gear, including a b/w enlarger with a good lens (although > it hasn't been used for 20yrs).
> There are only three darkrooms for hire in London, so you may find it a > popular decision.
> Happy to get involved.
> Kevan.
I found an enlarger and a few accessories at Haggerston market the other day. It doesn't have a lens but maybe that can be obtained. And the accessories (trays, print washer, clamps) might be useful.
On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 03:34:39PM +0000, Adrian Godwin wrote: > I found an enlarger and a few accessories at Haggerston market the other > day. It doesn't have a lens but maybe that can be obtained. And the > accessories (trays, print washer, clamps) might be useful.
That's awesome, thanks. I'd spotted it had appeared but didn't know who to thank. :)
I've taken some measurements of the bathrooms, which I'll draw up in QCad over the weekend and produce some proposals.
