Where did you locate your darkroom?

[emollientcolt]

Hi, was wondering for those people who have darkroom in their homes, which area in your house did you guys use to convert it into a darkroom?

care to share your experiences of setting up one?
Thanks

[West_ray]

Bathroom !!!! i guess most of the ppl staying in HBD will turn their bathroom or toilet into a darkroom ...

[pascalc]

Yeps, bathroom and toilets seem the obvious choice...

[e905591s]

I have mine in a small storage room of about 1.5x2.0m. It's pretty cramp and without running water. But it's better than not having a darkroom at all, I guess. My darkroom is not too well ventilated and not totally light tight, so I do printing at night to take advantage of the cooler temperature. The most labourious work during the setting up process was the light proofing as the storage room has a big window and I need to cover it up with black cloth+velcro(so that I can take out the black cloth if needed) to have a non-permanent light seal. I have been having some fun printing sessions since and the magical moment of the image suddenly appearing on the paper in the dev tray never cease to amaze me !


e905591s

[maxby]

I have used a corner of the bedroom. Have found this setup by Ryuji Suzuki sometime back and have modeled my darkroom setup based on this footprint. Have a Nova Quad print processor instead of the trimate....it is very compact and do not need to mix chemicals everytime I print. Attached photos of Mr. Suzuki's setup......did not take my own....will try later if anyone is interested.

[victor]

Originally Posted by maxby I have used a corner of the bedroom. Have found this setup by Ryuji Suzuki sometime back and have modeled my darkroom setup based on this footprint. Have a Nova Quad print processor instead of the trimate....it is very compact and do not need to mix chemicals everytime I print. Attached photos of Mr. Suzuki's setup......did not take my own....will try later if anyone is interested.

hi

interesting ! how did u lightproof the bedroom corner ?

[maxby]

Quote: interesting ! how did u lightproof the bedroom corner ?

Use a piece of linoleum as a the curtain....velcrow the outside frame of the window with self-adhesive male-velcrow. Fix the fussy side of the velcrow onto the specially cut linoleum with staples. Mount this onto the window when you need to use the darkroom....take it off after you finish using the darkroom. For additional safety pull your regular curtain over it. The gaps in the door can be temporary sealed with an old towel. My cost of light proofing the room is about Sgd10.00. BTW, I have mounted the Nova processor on a roller tray...same as those that are used to mount the washing machine or fridge. Push it out for better work flow and back to save space.

FYI, my room is air-cond.....so very comfortable to work in.

Happy printing!!!

[victor]

Originally Posted by maxby Use a piece of linoleum as a the curtain....velcrow the outside frame of the window with self-adhesive male-velcrow. Fix the fussy side of the velcrow onto the specially cut linoleum with staples. Mount this onto the window when you need to use the darkroom....take it off after you finish using the darkroom. For additional safety pull your regular curtain over it. The gaps in the door can be temporary sealed with an old towel. My cost of light proofing the room is about Sgd10.00. BTW, I have mounted the Nova processor on a roller tray...same as those that are used to mount the washing machine or fridge. Push it out for better work flow and back to save space. FYI, my room is air-cond.....so very comfortable to work in. Happy printing!!!

thx for info. can ask where u got ur setup from and how much it cost ? thinking of getting one also since it's so compact

[maxby]

Quote: thx for info. can ask where u got ur setup from and how much it cost ? thinking of getting one also since it's so compact

I bought the used set from a fellow photographer who wants out. Very reasonable price.....that includes the Nova print processor. I think the only thing you need to save space is a Nova print processor alternatively you can use a jobo daylight processor (daylight processing but very much slower workflow)...the cheapest is a monochrome processor ( 3 slots without a heater). You can check their website http://www.novadarkroom.com/novaproducts.htm

The rest of the equipment such as the enlarger,lens, timer, easel etc can be source from the secondhand market......very cheap nowadays.

[maxby]

Attached link of Mr. Suzuki's darkroom setup and website for your further reference. http://silvergrain.org/Photo-Tech/darkroom.html

[emollientcolt]

Hi maxby, thanks for the info.
I felt that Mr Suzuki's darkroom is small only because he had his chemical trays standing vertically. However if i want mine to be those flat type then i would most probably need to have another table.
Thanks for sharing the info.