Well, I got rid of my enlarger today.... (Page 5): When I was a student, I had a part time designer job at ITT, and we had a complete machine shop which I had access to on the weekend...

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

srt101fan wrote:

Sounds like you got quite a setup! Mine was a lot more modest. I always meant to build a fiberglass darkroom sink but never got past building the supporting base which I then used to hold the trays. I got the electrical work done, including a fan, but never finished the plumbing.

When I was a student, I had a part time designer job at ITT, and we had a complete machine shop which I had access to on the weekend when I was often the only person in the plant except for security. One Saturday, wandering around in the shop, I saw a shiny new large sheet of 316 series SS which was just begging to be sheared and bent into a darkroom sink. I kept the components for at least a decade before I had a place to put it and paid a restaurant supply company to weld it up (fumes from welding SS can be toxic). I hated leaving it behind when we sold the house.

Btw, I have shot hundreds of rolls of Tri-X and Ektachrome in a Minolta SRT101 while in SE Asia - excellent camera and lots of good memories of using it (if not the environment).

Archiefamous Loc: Manhattan

I really don’t know what to do. My darkroom has been in storage for the last 7 years. Enlargers include beseler CB7, 2 MX2, 0mega D5500 Nd Leitz focomat along with a slew of Jobo processors and tanks. Just turned 65 and negotiating with wife re building darkroom in our old nyc townhouse versus getting rid of it. Just way too many memories

suterjo Loc: Delaplane, VA

I shot HS Ektachrome for years and still have most of the slides. I've scanned the slides that I really like so I have them in digital form. I got a Nikon 5000 scanner which created a 64MB file. Since disk space has gotten really cheap, it's not a big deal anymore. Sorting all the files is the biggest problem.

suterjo Loc: Delaplane, VA

Going digital was a right choice I made years ago. When my wife and I built our new house in Northern Va in '91-'92 I had a darkroom put in in the basement. Then never used it as a darkroom--it's now storage. The world went digital!!! and so did I. I was determined not to go digital until the sensors got small enough and with enough pixels to simulate 35mm slides. Well, it happened sooner than I thought. I bought a Nikon scanner, then a digital Pentax so now all is good!!!

aellman Loc: Boston MA

srt101fan wrote:

Mixed feelings... For a number of reasons I hadn't actually used the darkroom in many years... but it still was a sad event....

But I kept my film developing gear. I'm thinking of firing up my trusty ole Minolta SRT-101 every once in a while and go shoot some B&W film and then scan the negatives for digital image processing.

Any of you still do film but scan the negatives instead of creating prints in a darkroom?

I still shoot with film in my Diana Toy Camera and scan them to make digital files.

issa2006.

I met my husband in a college photography class darkroom 40 years ago. Had my own darkroom for years and recently sold the enlarger when I realized I needed to let it go because I was keeping it for the memories. I agree the smell of the processing chemicals is something I loved and seeing the image appear on the paper was magical (or sometimes not so magical).

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

I still have a minolta SRT 101- still works fine, and also an SRT 303b.I reckon Minoltas were as good as anything, and better than most.

srt101fan

jeryh wrote:

I still have a minolta SRT 101- still works fine, and also an SRT 303b.I reckon Minoltas were as good as anything, and better than most.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

When we moved thed new house didn't have a place for a darkroom. So all my gear waas put into the basement for use later. But a flood killed all my gear. Bessler 23C11 does not take well to water, neither do Schnieder EL lenses. That waas the end of my darkroom work

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

srt101fan wrote:

Mixed feelings... For a number of reasons I hadn't actually used the darkroom in many years... but it still was a sad event....

But I kept my film developing gear. I'm thinking of firing up my trusty ole Minolta SRT-101 every once in a while and go shoot some B&W film and then scan the negatives for digital image processing.

Any of you still do film but scan the negatives instead of creating prints in a darkroom?

My Bogen enlarger that I used in the late 1960s in college is still sitting in my garage collecting dust, along with the trays, print dryer, and the rest of it. I don't think I've used it since around 1970.

srt101fan

DJphoto wrote:

My Bogen enlarger that I used in the late 1960s in college is still sitting in my garage collecting dust, along with the trays, print dryer, and the rest of it. I don't think I've used it since around 1970.

Maybe it's time to get rid of it? 😕

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

srt101fan wrote:

Maybe it's time to get rid of it? 😕

Not for me. Never say never. :)

Andy