The Smell of a Well-Equipped Darkroom - alluring, or no?
Mar 2, 2019 20:50:24 #
Mar 2, 2019 21:01:07 #
Chris T wrote:
What's IKEA got to do with it, James?
OKay...
I was making a "silly" reference to the so-called "Instructions" that come with items to assemble from IKEA. That was all...
Sorry for being unclear.
Mar 2, 2019 22:04:44 #
Jim70
Loc: Delaware
rcolmansr60 wrote:
Brings back memories of being in the dark room with my Dad in the early 50's. The developer, the hypo, the red light. Damn I miss those days
I remember being in the darkroom with my son, making prints. Now, he sits at one computer and I sit at another - in different houses at different times. Something got lost along the way......
Mar 2, 2019 22:16:55 #
When I was a lad growling up on a farm I hated it, all the manual labor, some at night and smells, I couldn't wait till I was older and move to the city where all the action was, now I miss that smell of the barn and new mown hay and I am old enough to remember what food is supposed to taste like. We lived a few miles out of town but the little village of Canby, Oregon in the 40's and 50's was like a Norman Rockwell painting, no drugs, no gangs, no traffic jams, the cars back then were made of steel And had personality, today they are made of plastic and look pretty much all the same. I use digital because that is the way it is, but I still have my Pentax MX, and K1000, in fact this weekend I think I will grab up the MX and go out and shoot some barns,cows, pigs, horses, tractors, I would like to say kids out playing softball or swimming in the creek but they will be inside tapping on their phones or other digital devices. Sorry to carry on but mankind has lost something that is precious, not a perfect way of life but the best so far.
Mar 2, 2019 23:14:00 #
I really dislike the smell of fixer. Good riddance. On the other hand I miss the black blacks of Kodabromide.
Mar 3, 2019 01:46:40 #
James R wrote:
OKay...
I was making a "silly" reference to the so-called "Instructions" that come with items to assemble from IKEA. That was all...
Sorry for being unclear.
I was making a "silly" reference to the so-called "Instructions" that come with items to assemble from IKEA. That was all...
Sorry for being unclear.
Oh, I see … how's that 5x7 B&J you restored, working out? … Getting some good pics?
Mar 3, 2019 01:48:57 #
Jack 13088 wrote:
I really dislike the smell of fixer. Good riddance. On the other hand I miss the black blacks of Kodabromide.
Did you ever use the Dupont Varigram papers, Jack? … they had pretty decent blacks, too …
Mar 3, 2019 06:47:18 #
Chris T wrote:
Did you ever use the Dupont Varigram papers, Jack? … they had pretty decent blacks, too …
I think so. Red box? You’re right. So how do we get the same look today without wet darkroom?
Mar 3, 2019 10:51:17 #
The darkroom smells were alluring at one time. I had a really great darkroom and really enjoyed using it. But as I delved further and further into the digital realm, I've pretty much been in it from the beginning, the less and less my DR was utilized until it became a general storage room. Finally sold everything off, except my cameras. I was skeptical of digital at first, then we got into Photoshop and in spite of it's steep learning curve, I found I could do all the the things that I could do in the darkroom, its been a forward trip and I never looked back. We also sold our home, bought an RV and travelled for almost nine years, no place for a darkroom in a 38' fifth week!! Keep smiling and shooting!!
Mar 3, 2019 15:02:33 #
I miss my first B&W darkroom. Even the smell of the chemicals.
I will never miss my color darkroom however. It just never had the same Feel to it.
I much prefer digital today though.
I will never miss my color darkroom however. It just never had the same Feel to it.
I much prefer digital today though.
Mar 3, 2019 18:01:54 #
Jim70 wrote:
I remember being in the darkroom with my son, making prints. Now, he sits at one computer and I sit at another - in different houses at different times. Something got lost along the way......
Talk to him, Jim … get him to remember those times. Perhaps, then, he might want to do it with you, again!
Mar 3, 2019 18:20:01 #
The magic of seeing a picture appear on what was seemingly otherwise a plain piece of paper is what I remember...
Mar 3, 2019 18:34:24 #
Jack 13088 wrote:
I think so. Red box? You’re right. So how do we get the same look today without wet darkroom?
Don't remember a red box, Jack. My Dupont was always in a green and white (and black) box. But, it's possible they had a variation in a red box. Not sure if you can get that same look today w/o a wet darkroom - but, I guess a lot of it depends on the printer, now, and the paper you use in it. Perhaps - call Epson?
Mar 3, 2019 18:38:46 #
GreenReaper wrote:
The darkroom smells were alluring at one time. I h... (show quote)
Oh, I think you could set up a B/W darkroom anywhere you want to, Reaper. All you need is to put aside a little space, find room for the enlarger, trays and wash, and you're all set. In fact, I was planning on getting a camper a long time, ago - doing JUST that, and touring America - making prints as I went along. You too - keep smiling and shooting!!!
Mar 3, 2019 20:00:35 #
Chris T wrote:
Oh, I think you could set up a B/W darkroom anywhere you want to, Reaper. All you need is to put aside a little space, find room for the enlarger, trays and wash, and you're all set. In fact, I was planning on getting a camper a long time, ago - doing JUST that, and touring America - making prints as I went along. You too - keep smiling and shooting!!!
Going digital and using a laptop, with possibly a good external monitor and a printer, would make it a lot easier nowdays.
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