I have been using digital for last four years .Sitting in front of a computer and creating photos still does not come close to the joy i had watching a black and white photo appear before my eyes in the dark room.I know i am not alone thinking this.I only did black and white in my dark room .I really miss those days of developing my film and seeing what was there in black and white .Maybe it is time to take that old eos out of my old bag and relive the good old days again .
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How many here miss working in your dark room.
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Alan K. Thompson
Well-known member
Yea, I miss seeing the image appear as I aggitated the D76. I spent many hours in the darkroom. I miss the latitude of the Pan-x film printing with the poltcontrast filters. Now I have simply moved what I learned in the darkroom to digital. Sometimes I think the young upcoming photographers need to spend some time in the traditonial darkroom just to learn how it was done. Alan
M
Michael Thomas Mitchell
Guest
I agree with Alan that chemical processing is an important introduction to digital photography.
Do I miss the darkroom? Well, I guess you could say that I'm nostalgic about it sometimes, having spent countless hours peering through grain enlargers, burning and dodging with cardboard and paper clips, and running test strips with contrast filters. But then again, I still wane nostalgic about shooting with an old speed graphic camera.
Like many things in life, the good ol' days seem simpler and better. But if we had to go back, if we had to work and work to make a single print (better take good notes if you want more than one!), mix chemicals, calculate development times, regulate tempertures and so forth, we'd probably go mad having already experienced the ease of functionality in the digital darkroom.
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Michael Thomas Mitchell
http://michaelphoto.net
Do I miss the darkroom? Well, I guess you could say that I'm nostalgic about it sometimes, having spent countless hours peering through grain enlargers, burning and dodging with cardboard and paper clips, and running test strips with contrast filters. But then again, I still wane nostalgic about shooting with an old speed graphic camera.
Like many things in life, the good ol' days seem simpler and better. But if we had to go back, if we had to work and work to make a single print (better take good notes if you want more than one!), mix chemicals, calculate development times, regulate tempertures and so forth, we'd probably go mad having already experienced the ease of functionality in the digital darkroom.
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Michael Thomas Mitchell
http://michaelphoto.net
bikinchris
Forum Pro
I enjoyed the darkroom while it was there, It was fun the first few thousand times the image appeared in the tray, but I don't wax nostalgic about it. Black and white chemicals were bad enough, but I did E-6 and Cibachrome as well as printed color negatives. Those were some bad chemicals.
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Chris, Broussard, LA
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Chris, Broussard, LA
Fred Phillips
Senior Member
I couldn't agree more about the toxicity of those colour chemicals. I would would cough for days afterwards following a day in the darkroom doing colour developing and printing. And hours and hours to get one good print compared to minutes in the digital darkroom to get dozens of acceptable images ready for printing. No I kind of appreciated working with all that nice darkroom equipment but the aftermath was not too healthy or productive.
Fred
Fred
William Faulkner
Senior Member
I miss printing that 16X20 with Portrega (SP?) Rapid paper from an Ilford FP4 4X5 neg of some beautiful vista you spent 2 hours hiking to.
I don't miss printing 500 8X10s of the same image for some product intro press kit.
Had to do some color work for a while. Blix is bad news. That stuff altered your DNA.
All in all, I don't think I could go back to a darkroom to process film. Can't wait that long anymore to see what I've shot.
Bill F
http://picasaweb.google.com/faulknerstudios
I don't miss printing 500 8X10s of the same image for some product intro press kit.
Had to do some color work for a while. Blix is bad news. That stuff altered your DNA.
All in all, I don't think I could go back to a darkroom to process film. Can't wait that long anymore to see what I've shot.
Bill F
http://picasaweb.google.com/faulknerstudios
Jim Salvas
Veteran Member
For me, the joy of creating and seeing finished photos come up from the chemicals was overbalanced by the tedium of mixing, processing and clean-up. I never was happy with any height of enlarger/processing table and my back often ached the next day after a night in the darkroom.
Color processing was the nail in the coffin. It was just way too much work for the output. Once I started to shoot mostly in color, I turned to a pro lab to do the grunt work.
All that pain did have the benefit of making you appreciate the prints when you were done. On the other hand, you can get a rush of endorphins if you hit yourself over the head with a hammer for a while. It feels so good when you finally stop.
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Jim
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My eBay Photography Guide: http://camerajim.com
Color processing was the nail in the coffin. It was just way too much work for the output. Once I started to shoot mostly in color, I turned to a pro lab to do the grunt work.
All that pain did have the benefit of making you appreciate the prints when you were done. On the other hand, you can get a rush of endorphins if you hit yourself over the head with a hammer for a while. It feels so good when you finally stop.
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Jim
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My eBay Photography Guide: http://camerajim.com
mark dimo
Senior Member
i miss the skill involved in loading your tanks, regulating chemical temps, developing and drying, filing my negs in sleeves, making a contact sheet. viewing with a loupe, printing my best negs, watching the image appear while swrling the developing tray...
but i absolutely hated the smell, and the hungry, crampy stomach sensation i got while being in the darkroom for hours. i dont miss that at all. i always wondered if all those years in the darkroom absorbing all those chemicals one way or another might have detrimental effects down the road???
miss it, but i can do so much more with my 'digital' darkroom.
hapy shooting!
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life is too short, surf waves, own a convertible, and marry for love!
but i absolutely hated the smell, and the hungry, crampy stomach sensation i got while being in the darkroom for hours. i dont miss that at all. i always wondered if all those years in the darkroom absorbing all those chemicals one way or another might have detrimental effects down the road???
miss it, but i can do so much more with my 'digital' darkroom.
hapy shooting!
--
life is too short, surf waves, own a convertible, and marry for love!
Gunnar Eriksson
Leading Member
Not a Chance !
Im so happy that evolution took this course and landed the digital world.
It WAS exciting and fine to see that copy appear in the fluids, sure.
BUt old-time-religion dont play any strings on me - The blessing of the new as far as quality, speed and innumerable variables of developing the final image just appeals to my creativity such as old-time-photogrpahy never could.
Good, chemical darkrooms did their job, but they belongs in respected museums.
--
Online Gallery: http://www.gephoto.se
Holy Cows makes the Best Hamburgers.
Im so happy that evolution took this course and landed the digital world.
It WAS exciting and fine to see that copy appear in the fluids, sure.
BUt old-time-religion dont play any strings on me - The blessing of the new as far as quality, speed and innumerable variables of developing the final image just appeals to my creativity such as old-time-photogrpahy never could.
Good, chemical darkrooms did their job, but they belongs in respected museums.
--
Online Gallery: http://www.gephoto.se
Holy Cows makes the Best Hamburgers.
CharlieDIY
Veteran Member
Not to mention the lack of stink, the lack of need for a ventilating fan, the lack of a need for special disposal of dangerous chemicals, the care needed personally in handling those chemicals, the soreness of the legs and knees after a day-long session, and so on.
I miss my darkroom almost as much as I miss my M-1 rifle. No. Actually, I'd have some interest in buying an M-1 or even a Springfield '03, though I'm not about to do much banging away with a .30 caliber weapon these days. Too costly. Too much kick for the elderly. Nostalgia, though, doesn't really see that. But my tour with a darkroom only ended about 2000, so I don't suffer from nostalgia for that.
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Charlie Self
http://www.charlieselfonline.com
PixelMover
Leading Member
A few years ago I realised I missed the whole darkroom B&W thing so much, I decided to treat myself. I made the decision no to 'upgrade' my car but instead bought a mint Nikon S3 2000 and a complete B&W Darkroom set. Haven't regretted a penny or minute spent on itsince.
Strolling around London on a weekday morning, taking a few very carefully considered shots, walking back, developing, printing (aaah, the smell of fixer!!), it is almost therapeutic, really
. It is so far removed from a 'working' darkroom, it has no resemblance to work for me. There is still something magical about seeing your images come to life in the developer, rows of wet prints hanging on the line... I just love it.
Strolling around London on a weekday morning, taking a few very carefully considered shots, walking back, developing, printing (aaah, the smell of fixer!!), it is almost therapeutic, really
. It is so far removed from a 'working' darkroom, it has no resemblance to work for me. There is still something magical about seeing your images come to life in the developer, rows of wet prints hanging on the line... I just love it.Zone8
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... predominantly B+W high quality printing in a conventional darkroom, with of course associated quality exposing/processsing of films from 35mm to 5x4 and who taught these techniques to keen photographers, both amateur and professional - of course I miss the darkroom.
To be honest, the only reason I changed, eventually, was an ever increasing back problem, plus I moved to digital when the Foveon sensor appeared, as that, to me, was then the only sensor to offer film-like quality. I had been scanning negs - and still using the darkroom - for several years, so I had sussed out the right techniques for digital image files and printing to achieve equally high quality - had I not, I would still have been presevering in the conventional darkroom.
However, one comment I would make is that in my experience, those with conventional darkroom experience and techniques easily adapt to digital workflow - why? - because when they work, they simply adapt what they had in terms of technique in the darkroom to the digital darkroom.
That, in essence, means they only use in PhotoShop what they would have used previously - and in all honesty, that's all that is needed for anyone with experience to achieve quality prints that can match what a good practitioner produced in the chemical darkroom.
My eldest son, working in London for many years as a Pro, still works with film for all his own (exhibition) work and prints (B+W) in his darkroom and will not have it any other way. He also still uses film for his Pro wrk, although in the main, the prints (mostly colour) are via conventional means in a Pro Lab, negs being laser scanned and printed on to conventional colour materials.
He uses Apple Mac computers and prints some but all for pre-production via method mentioned, so he is well aware of digital methods to high standards but as said, sticks to conventional - totally for his B+W and I fully respect that.
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Zone8
The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
To be honest, the only reason I changed, eventually, was an ever increasing back problem, plus I moved to digital when the Foveon sensor appeared, as that, to me, was then the only sensor to offer film-like quality. I had been scanning negs - and still using the darkroom - for several years, so I had sussed out the right techniques for digital image files and printing to achieve equally high quality - had I not, I would still have been presevering in the conventional darkroom.
However, one comment I would make is that in my experience, those with conventional darkroom experience and techniques easily adapt to digital workflow - why? - because when they work, they simply adapt what they had in terms of technique in the darkroom to the digital darkroom.
That, in essence, means they only use in PhotoShop what they would have used previously - and in all honesty, that's all that is needed for anyone with experience to achieve quality prints that can match what a good practitioner produced in the chemical darkroom.
My eldest son, working in London for many years as a Pro, still works with film for all his own (exhibition) work and prints (B+W) in his darkroom and will not have it any other way. He also still uses film for his Pro wrk, although in the main, the prints (mostly colour) are via conventional means in a Pro Lab, negs being laser scanned and printed on to conventional colour materials.
He uses Apple Mac computers and prints some but all for pre-production via method mentioned, so he is well aware of digital methods to high standards but as said, sticks to conventional - totally for his B+W and I fully respect that.
--
Zone8
The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
The exact opposite.
Although I loved all the wet chemistry I hated the fact that when I left the darkroom it was always gone midnight. It just sucked up so much time.
Now I'd rather achieve things quickly and on the move, without the physical requirement to be in a darkroom.
Although I loved all the wet chemistry I hated the fact that when I left the darkroom it was always gone midnight. It just sucked up so much time.
Now I'd rather achieve things quickly and on the move, without the physical requirement to be in a darkroom.
Zone8
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AND - it's easier to have a wine glass in hand when seated at the computer.
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Zone8
The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
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Zone8
The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process. -Edward Weston
bikinchris
Forum Pro
I used a bar stool and sat when I could. Some of the chemicals when mixed would supposedly make the mixture safe to dispose of, but I didn't really beleive it.
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Chris, Broussard, LA
bikinchris
Forum Pro
I blame darkroom work for my poor typing skills.
BTW, I love your signature shot below
--life is too short, surf waves, own a convertible, and marry for love!
Chris, Broussard, LA
I've come the other way, sorta. Did B&W darkroom stuff in high school. Shot film most of my life, mainly color print film that I had a lab finish. Dabbled in slide film and home processing before I immersed myself in digital.
Now I've "discovered" Fuji Neopan and am loving the results. My darkroom is small, but I've gotten prints that I trully enjoyed making. And that's what it comes down to, doing something that you enjoy. My professional work is all digital.
My private work, well, it's a mix of film and digital. And will be for as long as I want.
--
'Nothing worth doing is ever easy.'
Now I've "discovered" Fuji Neopan and am loving the results. My darkroom is small, but I've gotten prints that I trully enjoyed making. And that's what it comes down to, doing something that you enjoy. My professional work is all digital.
My private work, well, it's a mix of film and digital. And will be for as long as I want.
--
'Nothing worth doing is ever easy.'
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