Finally back in the darkroom!

[ann]

ah, that is good news,

and just remember learning to be a master printer takes time and lots of practice (keep filling the learning bin ) otherwise know on some planets as the trash can.

 

[Compaq]

It's super rewarding. Digital is losing its appeal more and more.

 

[RichardH]

I have had a darkroom for years and years and just recently bought a scanner and epson r3000 printer. I don't think I'll get rid of the darkroom anytime soon. I enjoy it too much. I can turn the safelight on, put a good cd in the radio and just stand there with all the problems of life gone. There is nothing like watching the image come up in the developer.
I have been playing with the Caffenol chemistry and am just amazed at the chemicals you can buy at the grocery store for developing. Fixer is a chemical used in swimming pools. Stop bath is vinegar diluted with water.
So far I like the epson printer but there is a big difference between the 2 procedures of creating a photo.

Stay with it Compaq and just enjoy the experience of it.


Richard

 

[Compaq]

I get you, even if I haven't been at it too long.

I don't worry about school and the upcoming exams in the darkroom. Not even about how my girlfriend is taking a semester in the states after Christmas. It's just me, my girlfriend and the print.

 

[terri]

I'm so happy for you, Anders! :cheer: Sounds like you've had an "ah-ha" moment. It's been hard reading about your struggles here. It's not an easy thing to learn on your own, let along struggling with old paper and possibly exhausted chemistry. Now you've learned the difference and you are rewarded with better images. You'll never burden yourself again with sub-par materials.

Congrats!

 

[Compaq]

Now I start honing my technique, instead of trying out poor paper. It feels good knowing that the only thing stopping me from good prints, is me!

One thing I'm a little befuddled about, is this: When doing a test strip of a neg, I ended up with 12 seconds @f/5.6 or f/8. Then, at another print that looked pretty similar, five seconds was appropriate. That's more than a stop difference. Maybe I'm just bad at judging my negatives.

 

[ann]

probably a lack of experience; however, 5 secs is much too short for a variety of reasons, including the time necessary for burning and dodging.

stick with one fstop, the difference between 5.6 and 8 is a huge difference. that is twice as much light.

i teach a whole different method, Min time for max black which means the start times are always the same, which elements making a test strip for every print. That does not mean the finishing times are the same, THEY AREN"T.

 

[Compaq]

I have a lot to learn when it comes to baic stuff like that.

I'm sniffing at Grant Haist's book "Modern Photographic Processing" as some bed time reading. I think that book is exactly what I want regarding the chemical processes and the theory of it all.