I’ve wanted to talk about one of my highlights of 2018 (the year I also got married). I bit the bullet and started my own darkroom.
Getting the Equipment
For some time I had wanted to learn how to develop film and make prints and last year I enrolled in a darkroom course. I enjoyed it all thoroughly, the hands-on process, the trial-and-error of exposure and colour and the results at the end. I came away determined to get back into a darkroom, processing my own film and experimenting with prints. But I’ve not had the opportunity since. London seems to have higher demand (and higher prices) for dark room usage than Edinburgh.
On Monday I hired a car at King’s Cross and drove the 2+ hours to Ipswich, where I bought a selection of wet- and dry-side darkroom equipment that had come up from one of my Gumtree saved searches.
Jobo CPE2, for processing film and prints.
I’d been looking for a reasonably priced Jobo unit, like the one above. And when the advert for one of these plus a selection of other great equipment came up, it was too good to resist.
Durst M670 Colour Enlarger.
While the processing of film is my first priority, the ability to make prints at home is an exciting thought. I loved the stories Michel Gondry told about making huge prints when he was young in his childhood house in France in his Director’s Label DVD. For that matter, the scene in Ghostbusters 2 where they make prints of Vigo in the darkroom (before they become engulfed in flames) also fascinated me.
Next steps
There are many interesting items within the collection and I don’t know what they all are. I’m going to take a look at each of them over time as I add them into my process. I’ll likely blog about some in the future too. Fortunately, Michael (the previous owner) kept the majority of manuals and boxes for everything – as well as keeping it all in great condition. Google and YouTube have lots of tutorials, manuals and information available too, but I’m open to any tips or advice.
Michael also gave me lots of magazines (some are above) and books (not pictured) he was no longer using. I think I got a bargain and can’t wait to start using the equipment.
My next step is to get chemicals and shoot at least a couple of rolls of film that I’m okay with not coming out right. This actually doesn’t sound too easy a task!
I’m delighted I started my own darkroom and I’d love to hear about your experiences and if you have any questions!
