Thursday, December 1, 2016

How Darkroom Equipment And Film Photography Works

By Amy Davis


Photography is an art that has been around for so many years. For top quality results the artist, in this case the photographer needs to have the right equipment. Anyone who has embarked on an artistic effort would know that it equipment are expensive. But these people could not care less, after all it is an investment for the betterment of their craft.

Photography with film are probably the most difficult to do, considering the process for developing the photos are quite tasking. Darkroom equipment are quite pricey if you want the best quality. But even for amateurs it can still cost. The best part is the novelty of the whole process and, of course, the experience.

So many technicalities are involved with this. As in all fine art, being delicate and meticulous can pave the way to greatness. A good number of iconic images were produced this way, especially by publications like LIFE magazine. Knowing the whole development process, makes digital photographer appreciate the difficulty, technique and skill required in film photography.

Looking at the matter as an art, knowing how to develop these pictures without the help of a software takes a lot of skill and discipline. In hindsight, it makes you appreciate the presence of these digital solutions while learning a thing or two about the roots of photography. There are a good number of things that you would need to assemble your own darkroom.

Making your own darkroom can be quite the investment. But think about it, the room can be rented out for other enthusiasts too. Being able to successfully develop film negatives in such conditions should bear that satisfaction only artists who have made their Obra Maestra can have. If you are considering making one, be prepared to shell out some cash.

Firstly, the place is called darkroom because there has to be no light, to get in the room when working with the film. Even the smallest sliver and exposure to it can ruin the negative. Just as it would happen, if there are no crevices for the light to come in, good ventilation may then be an issue. There is a work around for this and it works a lot like a chimney.

Four kinds of lighting is needed to setup the perfect darkroom. These would include the safelights, enlarger, white and no lights at all. When you start working with with minimal vision, that is when you would start to appreciate programs such as lightroom. The attention t detail and meticulousness needed for the process can be daunting.

While it may be called a darkroom, you would still need ordinary white florescent lighting because who can clean up any mess when you can't see anything, right. This is needed for choosing which negatives you would want to develop, inspecting finished print and basically seeing what is going on around you once you are done with staying in perpetual darkness.

It has already been established that zero lightning makes sure that development comes out perfectly, as you would have pictured it while taking the shot. Enlarger lights are there to make sure that you see every detail in your print. Note that during the whole process, temperature inside should be between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, else it may also ruin the photo.




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