The Darkroom FAQ

Overview

This document was culled from the PH-PHOTO electronic mailing list archives (which at the time of this writing contained over 50,000 posts since 2000. Please note that this document does not represent the PH-PHOTO mailing list or its members in any way. This FAQ is not officially generated or sanctioned by the group. These are merely the results of my extensive search through the archives for these questions, many of which I do not know the answers myself.

This document is specifically dedicated to darkroom related questions. In particular, questions posed by those who are considering building their own darkroom for the first time.

Once again, your mileage may vary.

Table of Contents

FAQ Proper

I'm thinking of setting up my own darkroom. Where do I begin?
Buy books and learn about the process first. Sadly, good books are tough to come by in the Philippines. Your best bet is to borrow one (another good reason to join a club) or order it from Amazon. Another alternative is to surf for it on Amazon, get the ISBN number and other information and order it from PowerBooks or Ink and Stone (Podium).

Good books:

Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual by Henry Horenstein | Amazon Listing
The Essential Darkroom Book by Tom Grill | Amazon Listing
The New Darkroom Handbook by Joe Demaio, et al | Amazon Listing

What do I need? Where can I get it?
Opinions will vary slightly between any two photographers. However some general recommendations do converge across the experts. Most of these items can be found in Hidalgo. Some you will be able to build or improvise for yourself:

FOR FILM PROCESSING:

1. Film processing tank or drum and a matching reel. While stainless steel reels will last a lifetime, beginners will find the plastic ones easier to load. Jobo and Paterson are good brands.

2. Developing chemical (a.k.a. developer). Lots to choose from. Kodak D76 is an age-old and trusted develper. HC110 was favored by Ansel Adams and is easier to mix in small batches. However for beginner's, ATLAS (a China-made Universal Developer) is another option, being so cheap.

3. Fixer. This is a chemical, not some guy at the LTO or the BIR. :) Kodafix is a staple.

4. A dark room (completely dark, no safelights, no light leaks, no nothing) OR a light proof film changing bag.

5. Other chemicals like the stop bath and clearing agent and photoflo are optional. You can also make your own pinoy-style.

6. Glass graduated cylinders to mix and hold chemicals during processing. One (1) small (with 1 ml graduations) and four (4) big ones (holds up to 300ml, since a single tank requires roughly 250ml of liquid).

7. A sink with a decent flow of water.

8. Some place to hang and dry your film. A makeshift clothesline and clothespins will do the trick.

FOR PRINT PROCESSING:

1. An actual room that can be light-proofed.

2. A safelight. Using most papers, you can just use a normal red bulb that you can find in any Philips Kuryente or corner hardware store. Be sure to test your safelight. There is another section below on this. Read on.

3. Four (4) trays large enough to hold the size of print you are doing. You can use any type of plastic tray capable of holding liquid.

4. Three tongs.

5. Paper developers (different from film developers).

6. Stuff from the film processing side: fixer, stop bath.

7. Enlarger.

8. Enlarger lens. If possible your enlarger lens should be as good as your best camera lens. The stock lenses that normally come packaged with enlargers, while workable, are usually not that good. Depends on your budget.

9. Photographic paper. Of course.

ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT ARE NICE TO HAVE:

1. Drying clips for film - you can use any type of clothespin for now;

2. Grain focusing aid - special type of loupe that lets you see the grain in detail to assist in focusing;

3. Darkroom timer - you can use a wristwatch for film processing, and you can use a clock for print processing;

4. Aircon / ventilation / exhaust system - while many people don't use a full blown ventilation system, it pays to prioritize this in terms of your own personal comfort and safety;

5. Small refrigerator/freezer - to store films and paper and make ice for temperature baths;

6. Easel - you can improvise this yourself until you can get one;

7. Paper cutter (rotary blade type) - this is for trimming / cropping photos and making test strips.

Isn't there a kit for all of this?
Yes. There are processing kits that allow you to have most of the required wet side in a neat package. The Jobo CPE-2 is available in Hidalgo and should cost you slightly less than the equivalent of 650 dollars. However, that still does not include the enlarger and the other (dry) side of things. However, doing it via the traditional inversion tank / hand tap dance / sloshing trays method is quite easy, and cheaper.

Also, as one member of the board was quick to point out: sloshing prints in trays is FUN!

Check out the Jobo at their official website and look for their processors.

A LOT of the darkroom stuff I read about are for b/w; can't I do my own color processing?
Yes, you definitely can. In fact there are quite a few people on the board who do their own color processing work.

There are differences that must be noted about the color process:

1.   It's a bit more complex, involving more steps and a few more chemicals.

2.   Color negative film processing (C-41) is very sensitive to temperature changes, so you'll need special equipment and setups to handle temperature control.

3.   Because of the temperature sensitivity, a few hobbyists (who don't have their own processors with built-in temperature control) opt to have their film processed by a lab (Php50.00 per roll of 36), and do only the color printing in the darkroom.

4.   You might need to upgrade your enlarger to allow for color printing. This may mean a set of filters, or (for those with the bucks) a new head with built in color correction. If you don't have an enlarger yet, make sure the one your are considering is capable of color printing (normally equiped with dichroic heads).

Any tips about safelights?
Safelights are available across a range of prices at Hidalgo or Binondo (check the main FAQ). Or if you're cashstrapped, you can use a standard red bulb that you can get from any mall hardware store or Philips Kuryente. The important thing is to test it to make sure that it doesn't fog the paper that you intend to use. There have already been cases of people fogging up their paper despite using a light that was supposedly safe for the type of paper they were using.

An answer direct from the board:

To test your safelight:

Is there any cheaper alternate to all these chemicals?
If you're on a budget, or just want to make things interesting, you can try using these pinoy-style solutions.

1. Stop bath option 1: You can use distilled vinegar. Heinz vinegar seems to be a favorite. You'll need anywhere from a 1% to 2% solution, so check your vinegar label for its acetic acid content and compute the appropriate dilution with water.

2. Stop bath option 2: You can also used Glacial Acetic Acid. You can buy this from Mercury drug for less than Php200 per liter. It is 99.8 percent pure acetic acid (or stronger) and is quite caustic in terms of skin contact and vapor inhalation so please BE CAREFUL when you use it. You can mix a stock solution of 3 parts acid to 8 parts water. This makes a 27% - 28% solution... which is safe enough to work with using bare hands. For a working solution dilute until you have 1-2 percent acetic acid.

3. Stop bath option 3: You can use water. Just use lots of it. Works quite well and has its own advantages.

4. Photoflo: You can use Joy Ultra! Five drops in half a liter of water will work just as well. Won't harm your plastic tanks, and smells like lemon, too! Mmmmmm!

5. Hypo eliminator option 1: Use water. Lots of it. Hence this chemical is really optional. However eliminating hypo (residual fixer) is critical for stable prints so don't skimp on the water.

6. Hypo eliminator option 2: UPDATED! Previously, I mentioned the use of a peroxide and ammonia solution. Jay Javier informed me that it was bad news, so I have removed this formula here. He recommends the next one.

7. Hype clearing agent: 750ml of water, 20 grams of Sodium Sulfite, and 10 grams of Sodium Metabisulfite, and additional water to make 1 liter. After an initial 1 minute rinse in water, soak the film in this solution for two to three minutes. Because it's so cheap, you can discard after every use. After the soak, go through the usual 10-15 minute washing. These chemicals, as well as many others can be bought cheaply by the kilo at Alyson's (along G. Araneta Ave.). Check your local directory.

On safety:

Can't find dedicated containers for my chems, what else can I use?
The important thing is to keep air away from your chemicals since oxidization will deplete them. Since it's tough to find "ideal" containers which can compress (accordion style, to expunge air) or have floating lids, you can try any of the following alternatives:

1. Break down a batch into small one-shot bottles. Depending on your dilution, store them into the brown glass bottles that they use for medicines like cough syrup and antipyretics. That way you only expose a small amount at a time, as you need it. Of course, you should still fill these bottles to the very top to exclude all air. If your darkroom is dedicated (which means it's dark MOST of the time), you can use clear bottles, which give you an advantage of seeing what the stuff looks like inside the bottle.

2. Use marbles (jolen). Like the proverbial crow and the pitcher, just drop glass marbles into your bottle as you deplete it in order to expunge all excess air from the bottle. Make sure your marbles are chemically inert. Drop them in vinegar to see if bubbles form, if they do, look for different marbles.

3. Use an inert gas wine preserver. These things allow you to fill the airspace of the bottle with an inert gas like nitrogen. However, it seems it's not that easy to find this product in our shores. Well known brand is PrivatePreserve. Their website is here.

How do you manage chemistry temperatures?
For black and white processing, you can opt to do everything at ambient temperature. You just need to make sure you know what your developer temp is and adjust development times accordingly.

If you want to control temperature, that means mostly a cooling function (in Manila, at least) since our tap water averages anywhere from 28-30 degrees centigrade. You can use a water bath (read: palanggana filled with water enough to immerse your chemical containers to slightly below the level of the chemicals) to stabilize the temperature of your chemicals. Drop ice cubes into the water to cool it down. Better still, half-fill a dozen empty 35mm film canisters with water and freeze them. Drop them into your bath water and retreive them / return them to control the water temperature.

This document last updated on 3 June 2003.