Today, I dropped a black and white enlarger, a rather nice multi-format easel and three developing trays (develop, stop & fix, remember) at the Goodwill in the probably vain hope that someone will use them. My real interest in photography began in a high school B&W photography lab. Thirty (!) years ago I had a dream to have a home darkroom. I never got further than buying an introductory level enlarger and the associated accessories. Color slide photography distracted me from that trajectory like digital photography distracted me from slides. I suppose this is just donater's remorse, but I have to wonder if I wouldn't have had just as much fun puddling around in fixer.
Pete D.
Posted by Bill Chambers on September 4, 2007 at 11:19 PM
A B&W darkroom is a magical place, no doubt. Ahh, nothing like the smell of chemicals in the morning! I still have a 40 year old film projector that I can't find a bulb for that I refuse to throw away. I feel your pain, Pete.
Posted by Ed Cordes on September 4, 2007 at 11:28 PM
I know how you feel. Several years ago I sold my Durst color enlarger and all the timers and stuff that went with it. I did feel a certain nostalgia and it is a recognition of a passing of an era. However the benefits and rewards of digital outweigh the attraction to things past.
Our extensive two-station darkroom built around 4x5 and 5x7 cold light enlargers sits in boxes in our barn along with all the accessories. Meanwhile the darkroom itself has served for five years now as a spare bedroom for visting granddaughter and assorted friends. The final blow was the removal of the sink a couple of years ago, along with the punching of a new window into the exterior wall. I keep saying "someday" and refusing to part with any of the gear, but.....
Posted by Jim Erhardt on September 5, 2007 at 7:34 AM
On a somewhat related note, I have a Canon EOS 1n that I bought new for $1669, with very "low miles" and in absolute "showroom condition" and perfect working order. Like the dark room gear you describe, it's now worth next-to-nothing and I suspect that it will end up in the garbage some day too...
At least it doesn not take up much space, which may be its saving grace.
Posted by Jim Sabiston on September 5, 2007 at 2:29 PM
This dinosaur never got really started until digital came along. I have always had an interest in photography, but my nomadic and generally unstable 'travel light' personal history prevented me from being able to aquire the knowledge or facilities necessary to grow into the medium. The advent of digital changed all that for me, coupled with a real life with a wife/kids/house/mortgage/tax bill.
I started with a Canon G4 about 4-5 years ago and realized I had something here. I then switched to a Canon Powershot Pro1 about 3 years ago as a logical next step to see if I had any potential (without throwing myself off a financial cliff in the process!). I finally made the jump to my first SLR about a year ago in the form of the Canon 5D and a 24-105mm lens. I have expanded the equipment to two more lenses to extend the short and long ranges of the first lens - a macro and a telephoto - along with a real tripod, flash and remote shutter release. This is my complete 'starter kit', aquired over the last year.
I had my first show (street fair) this summer and sold almost about a 1/4 of my prints (!) and have an article and photos published in the upcoming Fall issue of Nature Photographer magazine.
I never messed around in a darkroom, but Photoshop is far more accessible to me and I'm having a ball with it. Digital has thrown a door wide open for me! I hit the ground running and plan on exploring the medium for quite some time to come.
Posted by Steve Foss on September 5, 2007 at 2:53 PM
I learned my B&W darkroom techniques 15 years ago at a newspaper, and had an absolute blast being able to buy bulk film and use that darkroom very inexpensively to develop my love of photography.
It wasn't until digital SLR bodies became high quality and affordable, however, that I decided I could make the turn 3-4 years ago into a professional photography lifestyle. I had a pretty steep learning curve for photography in general at the time, and using digital allowed me to climb that curve steeply without stalling out.
I've had darkroom equipment sitting in my basement and finally gave it to my step-daughter last year. She is a portrait photographer who has been using B&W film for her work. A month after I gave her the setup, she went digital, and so now it's still sitting in someone's basement. But at least not in mine.
I do sometimes miss the days of the darkroom, but the memories fade and I fall more in love with digital with each passing month. I've always been a bit more of a look-ahead kind of guy than a look-behind one.
Posted by Alex Lofquist on September 5, 2007 at 3:49 PM
I gave away my Focomat and all the other goodies to go with it. I was sorry to see it go but realized that there was no way I would ever use it again. I still keep my Leica projector for the occasional slide show. Much better than looking at prints or a CRT screen!
Posted by John Klotz on September 5, 2007 at 11:34 PM
It is truly hard to cross over from the dark side. I quess I miss the smell of fixer in the morning and the look of selenium toned Oriental Seagull. My homemade darkroom sink is all I had left and it sat in the side yard rotting. I took it to the dump last spring. I had three Beslers, 35mm, medium format and a 4x5 with a cold light. Hauled it all the way from CA in '91 and never got my darkroom rebulit. Sold it all in 97. I always regretted that.
John
Posted by Bill Stice on September 6, 2007 at 8:31 AM
Pete, I understand how you feel. I started working in photography in a darkroom back in 1963. The darkroom was above a drug store the photographer's father owned. The photographer did all the film development (didn't trust me with the film) and I did most of the printing. All black and white then. His wife did some watercolor painting of the images but most of our stuff was black and white school pictures and senior pictures. Like you the color slide bug bit me and I didn't do much dark room stuff after that. I do still miss seeing the image come up under the safe lights. Guess that makes me a dinosaur as well. Great thread!
Posted by Mary Dennis on September 6, 2007 at 8:54 AM
Pete,
I remember the deep seller's remorse I felt when I sold all my darkroom equipment in late 1998. I felt like I was a quitter, a sell-out, a traitor...all for the love of a floppy disk Sony digital camera ( Mavica?) that held maybe a dozen really bad images on one disk!!! Boy, those were the early days of digital. I must say though, I haven't looked back since.
Posted by Andy Richards on September 11, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Pete: Kind of like you, I started serious photography about 31 years ago. While in college in 1979 and 80, I shot for the school newspaper and yearbook and had free access to the school's darkroom facility. After that, I always dreamed of the day I would have the money, time and space for a color darkroom. By the time the money and the space (don't know if I'll ever have enough time until I retire <g>) was a reality, digital was here. I was one of the early hobbyist adopters, shooting P&S and jumping on the D100 when it first came out (prior to that, DSLR's were not affordable for me). I traded in a mint condition F100 (with lots of remorse) for it, knowing that someday, it would likely have more value on the market as a doorstop than the beautiful mechanical wonder it really was. For me, the "digital darkroom" has been my saviour as I have "graduated" to the D200 body and as my PS skills continue to improve.
Discussion
11 repliesPete D.
At least it doesn not take up much space, which may be its saving grace.
I started with a Canon G4 about 4-5 years ago and realized I had something here. I then switched to a Canon Powershot Pro1 about 3 years ago as a logical next step to see if I had any potential (without throwing myself off a financial cliff in the process!). I finally made the jump to my first SLR about a year ago in the form of the Canon 5D and a 24-105mm lens. I have expanded the equipment to two more lenses to extend the short and long ranges of the first lens - a macro and a telephoto - along with a real tripod, flash and remote shutter release. This is my complete 'starter kit', aquired over the last year.
I had my first show (street fair) this summer and sold almost about a 1/4 of my prints (!) and have an article and photos published in the upcoming Fall issue of Nature Photographer magazine.
I never messed around in a darkroom, but Photoshop is far more accessible to me and I'm having a ball with it. Digital has thrown a door wide open for me! I hit the ground running and plan on exploring the medium for quite some time to come.
It wasn't until digital SLR bodies became high quality and affordable, however, that I decided I could make the turn 3-4 years ago into a professional photography lifestyle. I had a pretty steep learning curve for photography in general at the time, and using digital allowed me to climb that curve steeply without stalling out.
I've had darkroom equipment sitting in my basement and finally gave it to my step-daughter last year. She is a portrait photographer who has been using B&W film for her work. A month after I gave her the setup, she went digital, and so now it's still sitting in someone's basement. But at least not in mine.
I do sometimes miss the days of the darkroom, but the memories fade and I fall more in love with digital with each passing month. I've always been a bit more of a look-ahead kind of guy than a look-behind one.
John
I remember the deep seller's remorse I felt when I sold all my darkroom equipment in late 1998. I felt like I was a quitter, a sell-out, a traitor...all for the love of a floppy disk Sony digital camera ( Mavica?) that held maybe a dozen really bad images on one disk!!! Boy, those were the early days of digital. I must say though, I haven't looked back since.