Article Directory :: Arts & Entertainment Articles

Dark Room Photography Guide to Getting Started

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 09Apr2010 Word count: 722 Viewed: 590 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

These days, developing film and making prints in a darkroom seems a little outdated. Why would we want to spend hours in a dark, smelly room, sweating over our images and struggling for the perfect print when we can just upload them to our computers, fire up Photoshop, and have a hot chocolate? There is no doubt that digital is more convenient and flexible than film, but sometimes it's fun to spend a little time working in the dark. If you've never ventured into the darkroom before, this is your guide to getting started.

We'll skip developing your film and getting supplies for now and just talk about the actual process.

Making Prints with an Enlarger

An enlarger is a machine that turns your film into large printed photos. It does this by projecting light through your film and onto the surface of your photo paper, exposing the light sensitive chemicals buried inside.

In order to create a print, you will have to line up the frame with your enlarger's light source, then project it onto a blank mat and make sure it's properly focused by adjusting the knob on the side. Make sure you can clearly see the grain of your image otherwise get a magnifying glass to check. You'll need to mess with the exposure timing to ensure the image comes out right, then you should be good to go.

The Chemicals

Once you've decided on the correct timing and exposed a full photograph, it's time to get your hands dirty. Darkroom chemicals have a distinct odor and will ruin any article of clothing they touch, so make sure to wear an apron to keep yourself relatively clean. The chemical process can be broken down into four steps:

1. Developer

Soak your paper, which will still be completely white, in the developer. This chemical will activate the photo paper and over the course of a few minutes you'll start to see your image come through. If you don't like the contrast or exposure, just head back to the enlarger and get another piece of photo paper and adjust your timing. Once you have a print you like and it's done developing, move it to the stop bath for a soak.

2. Stop Bath

The stop bath will prevent your image from developing any further by neutralizing the chemicals found in the developer. If you've ever been in a darkroom, the smell you remember is the stop bath. Feel your image to see if you can move on; paper that has been properly stopped will squeak when you rub your fingers on it. This should only take a few minutes.

3. Fixer

While the stop bath will stop the effects of the developer chemicals, your paper will still be sensitive to light exposure. Fixer is the final chemical in the process and once your photograph has been soaked with this chemical the paper can be exposed to light without ruining the image. You don't need to soak your prints in fixer for very long- usually about 5-10 minutes depending upon the paper and chemicals.

4. Rinse

Naturally you'll want to rinse your photos of all the harsh chemicals you've soaked in them. Most dark rooms have a sink and a rinsing tub with a continuous flow of water so you can leave your print there as long as it takes to remove all of the chemicals. This is a good time to print some other shots from your roll!

Once you have enlarged, developed, stopped, fixed and rinsed your prints, place them out to dry in a safe place or use a photo dryer. Don't forget to rinse your prints well because if you don't, your photographs will turn brown over time from the chemical residue left on the print. Pick up your dry images and put them in a heavy book to straighten them out (a little curling isn't unusual), then frame and hang them.

The darkroom can seem intimidating, but once you have a bearing on the process you will enjoy printing your own images. It's a wonderful creative outlet and gives you a lot more control over your final images then having someone else print them. Just remember to check before turning on the lights or you may just ruin someone's photograph!

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Autumn Lockwood

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details