Beginner Blackroom
August 24, 2013 7:20 PM Subscribe
I just got an older enlarger and want to get back into developing photos. I haven't done this since high school. Please recommend A. Beginners resources for blackroom devloping and B. Internet sites to buy cheap chemicals and paper. Thanks MeFies!
This website has a basic list of the tools and chemicals you will need for a home darkroom: http://www.guidetofilmphotography.com/photo-film-darkroom.html
These people asked your very same question on photography forums, and these were the answers: Photography Forums, Rangefinder Forums (my personal favorite), and APUG.
I found all of these links by searching "beginning darkroom". You will probably be able to find even more information by doing similar searches.
You should also think about whether you want to be developing your own black and white film, or printing your own black and white prints, or possibly both! You will need different types of chemicals to develop film, than to develop paper, but the stop bath, fixer, and hypo-clear are usually the same. I would also figure out if the enlarger is in working condition, and whether or not you have the correct types of lenses for it. Different types of negatives need different types of lenses on the enlarger. It is also really important to understand that none of these tools, supplies, and chemicals are going to be very cheap to find anymore. I mentioned B&H Photo/Video already, but there is also Freestyle Photo (if you are located on the west coast they have very fast shipping times) that usually has somewhat cheap supplies. When I was first starting out as a baby photographer, it was before digital was very prevalent in the art world, so chemicals, paper, and film could be found for extremely cheap. Nowadays very few people are interested in these things, so the price has risen quite a lot. It is sad, but it's how the world works sometimes.
posted by ruhroh at 9:00 PM on August 24, 2013
These people asked your very same question on photography forums, and these were the answers: Photography Forums, Rangefinder Forums (my personal favorite), and APUG.
I found all of these links by searching "beginning darkroom". You will probably be able to find even more information by doing similar searches.
You should also think about whether you want to be developing your own black and white film, or printing your own black and white prints, or possibly both! You will need different types of chemicals to develop film, than to develop paper, but the stop bath, fixer, and hypo-clear are usually the same. I would also figure out if the enlarger is in working condition, and whether or not you have the correct types of lenses for it. Different types of negatives need different types of lenses on the enlarger. It is also really important to understand that none of these tools, supplies, and chemicals are going to be very cheap to find anymore. I mentioned B&H Photo/Video already, but there is also Freestyle Photo (if you are located on the west coast they have very fast shipping times) that usually has somewhat cheap supplies. When I was first starting out as a baby photographer, it was before digital was very prevalent in the art world, so chemicals, paper, and film could be found for extremely cheap. Nowadays very few people are interested in these things, so the price has risen quite a lot. It is sad, but it's how the world works sometimes.
posted by ruhroh at 9:00 PM on August 24, 2013
Seconding Freestyle Photographic. Their house brand comes in various grades, Arista EDU Ultra being the cheapest. A little internet detective work will turn up the true source of their various products, Foma in the case of their cheap paper. Prices compared to Foma branded paper are quite good. Something like this variable contrast Arista EDU paper, for example, would be more than adequate for getting back into things. The Arista Premium stuff is also a good value. If you're adventurous, don't discount ebay. I once bought 500 sheets of 10x10 paper for not much more than shipping costs.
posted by Lorin at 9:05 PM on August 24, 2013
posted by Lorin at 9:05 PM on August 24, 2013
Nthing Freestyle for darkroom supplies, they are great. They are also the only US (if you're in the US) company importing Adox brand papers, which is using the old Agfa emulsion.
Digital Truth is a great resource, especially their Massive Development Chart.
Also decide if you want to print RC or fiber-based papers. Personally, I think if you're going through the effort of setting up a darkroom and printing, fiber is the way to go. However, it's more expensive, and more time-consuming to work with (need more development time, more stop/fix/wash time), but will give you better results. Generally, I use RC for contact sheets only.
You might want to look into paper and film developers that are relatively shelf-stable. Rodinal (now made by Adox and branded Adonal), for example, is a film developer with an extremely long shelf life, so you don't have to worry about it going bad if you don't get time to develop film for a few months. LPD is a paper developer with a long shelf life as well.
The only reason I would not go with paper of questionable origin off of ebay is that when you are learning to print, you might end up spinning your wheels if you're working with paper that's expired or fogged and not giving you consistent results. If you're not familiar with darkroom printing, the chemistry you're using, the film, and the paper, it is going to be much harder to figure out what the problem is if you're not getting the results you are looking for. Adding the potential that the paper is damaged in some way, and you might spend a lot more time in the darkroom spinning your wheels and wasting paper!
One piece of advice I got from a real master printer is that don't go crazy trying every different film/developer/paper combination out there when you are learning. Pick one and stick with it for a while, until you can truly understand how to work with it.
Memail me if you'd like some more info, I have some workbooks I could send you.
posted by inertia at 10:44 AM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Digital Truth is a great resource, especially their Massive Development Chart.
Also decide if you want to print RC or fiber-based papers. Personally, I think if you're going through the effort of setting up a darkroom and printing, fiber is the way to go. However, it's more expensive, and more time-consuming to work with (need more development time, more stop/fix/wash time), but will give you better results. Generally, I use RC for contact sheets only.
You might want to look into paper and film developers that are relatively shelf-stable. Rodinal (now made by Adox and branded Adonal), for example, is a film developer with an extremely long shelf life, so you don't have to worry about it going bad if you don't get time to develop film for a few months. LPD is a paper developer with a long shelf life as well.
The only reason I would not go with paper of questionable origin off of ebay is that when you are learning to print, you might end up spinning your wheels if you're working with paper that's expired or fogged and not giving you consistent results. If you're not familiar with darkroom printing, the chemistry you're using, the film, and the paper, it is going to be much harder to figure out what the problem is if you're not getting the results you are looking for. Adding the potential that the paper is damaged in some way, and you might spend a lot more time in the darkroom spinning your wheels and wasting paper!
One piece of advice I got from a real master printer is that don't go crazy trying every different film/developer/paper combination out there when you are learning. Pick one and stick with it for a while, until you can truly understand how to work with it.
Memail me if you'd like some more info, I have some workbooks I could send you.
posted by inertia at 10:44 AM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by ruhroh at 7:52 PM on August 24, 2013