History of Darkroom

At its simplest, the early photographic darkroom was a darkened room

where silvered copper plates or paper could be sensitized and processed
and, later, where light-sensitive printing processes could be undertaken in
darkness or subdued light.
The term darkroom dates from 1841.
Not all photographic processes required a room; much of the
daguerreotype process
The daguerreotype required a space near the camera where images could
be developed and fixed. Some materials lost sensitivity once the exposure
had been made or chemicals had been allowed to dry, and a darkroom or
temporary dark-tent or developing box allowed processing to be done
immediately after exposure.
The wet-plate process, which dominated photography from the 1850s to
the 1870s, made a darkroom essential for professionals.


History of Darkroom
The spread of commercially produced dry plates from the 1870s obviated
the need for a darkroom near the camera.
The growing practice of enlarging from negatives, and the standardization
of negative processing from the late 1860s, shifted the emphasis in the
darkroom from the making of the negative to the production of finished
prints.
Darkrooms became essential for professional studios, certainly for black-
and-white photography, until the 1980s.
By the end of the 20th century, economic and technical change had
altered this situation, with studios increasingly outsourcing conventional
colour work, or switching to darkroom-free digital imaging.

History of Darkroom
The rise of commercial photofinishing, especially for colour photography
from the 1960s onwards, began to limit the need for amateur darkrooms,
most of which only ever produced black-and-white prints. Digital
photography, however, may be giving a new lease of life to the darkroom,
in the new sense of a space for making images by means of scanners,
computers, and printers.

Early Darkroom Process
Film Developing Tank
and Reel
Thermometer
Film Squeegee
Measuring Graduate
Chemical Stirring Rod
Chemical Bottles


Film Clips
Film Washer
Timer
Funnel
Film Developer
Fixer
The basic equipment and supplies you will need to develop black and white
film are:
Procedure
Developing the film is the first step. With the help of a lightproof
room, the film is removed from the camera and loaded onto a reel. The
reel then goes inside a light proof canister with a special light trap cover
(film tank). This is where your film is processed into negatives.

Procedure
The next step is to add the film developer to the tank. The developer
is the primary processing chemical. It makes the image visible. developing
time for film runs between 6 to 9 minutes. During this time, the canister is
agitated at a rate of 30 seconds of agitation and 30 seconds of rest. At the
end of the developing time, the developer is emptied out of the canister.


Procedure
Following the developer is the stop bath solution. As its name implies,
the stop bath neutralizes the developer. During this stage, the canister is
agitated for 15 to 30 seconds. The chemical is then emptied out of the
canister.
Procedure
A fixing solution follows the stop bath. Fixer protects the negatives
from further development when they are exposed to the light. Most fixers
include a hardening agent which toughens the emulsion on the film and
makes it more scratch resistant. During this stage the canister is agitated
for 2 to 4 minutes, then poured out.

Procedure
The final stage of film development is the washing of the film. It is best
to keep a flow of constantly changing water running into the canister for
10 to 15 minutes.

Procedure
The negatives are now ready to be air dried, preferably in a dust free
environment. Hang film to dry in drying cupboard and put a clothes-peg at
the bottom to make it straight. Once they are dried, they can be cut into
sections of 4 to 5 images and slipped into archival negative sheets, which
protects the negatives from damage such as scratches and dust.

Into the Darkroom
The prints above are from a 35mm camera. Medium and large format
cameras give you bigger negatives which result in clearer pictures.
The process for developing prints is much like that for developing your
negatives. The developer is specific for paper, but the stop bath and the
fixer can be used for both processes.
In the darkroom, the chemicals are set up in trays, developer, stop bath
and fixer. The negatives are laid out onto a sheet of photographic paper
and exposed to the light of the enlarger. Once developed this sheet will
become the contact sheet.
The exposed photo paper is then placed into the tray of developer.
Developing time for RC (resin coated) paper is 1 minute. Fiber based paper
takes 2 minutes in the tray. Next step is to stop the developing process
with the stop bath. The paper stays in this tray for 30 seconds and then
goes into the fixer tray. RC paper stays in the fixer for 2 minutes, 4 minutes
for fiber based paper.
The final step is to wash the print in running water for 5 to 10 minutes.The
contact sheet is now read to be hung to dry.


Darkroom Basics - Trays with Developing
Chemicals, Developer, Stop Bath & Fixer.
Developing the Print
Choose the negative you would like to enlarge and slip it into the negative
carrier. The carrier is then inserted into a slot below the light source on
the enlarger. When the light is turned on, the image is reflected onto a
frame called an easel. The easel will hold your paper once you have
determined the size, right amount of light, and the exposure time.
Once the exposure time is determined, a piece of photo paper is inserted
into the easel. The enlarger light is turned on via a timer, and exposes the
paper. The exposed paper is then developed following the same steps
used to develop the contact sheet.
Enlarger with
negatives in
negative carrier
& timer.
Photographic Effects

Toning

Toner is a solution that can change the tone of the
print. There are many to chose from such as red, blue,
brown and sepia tone.
Color toners are applied in the darkroom after the
final rinse. The toning bath is placed in a separate
tray, and the wet print is submerged into the solution.
Sepia tone is a two-step process. The first step
bleaches out the print making the image almost
invisible. The second step brings the image back in a
sepia tone, giving it the appearance of an old
photograph.
Solarizing or the Sabatier effect is the process of re-
exposing a partially developed print to light. This
leaves the print with silvery image that contain light
lines that separate the shadowed areas.
Summary
Summary of Film Processing Steps:
1. Developer (use film or developer instructions)
2. Stop bath or water rinse (30 seconds)
3. Fixer (2-4 minutes with rapid fixer, 5-10 minutes with regular fixer)
4. Hypo eliminator (optional)
5. Water wash (5 to 30 minutes, depending on equipment)
6. Wetting agent (optional, 30 seconds)
7. Dry
Summary of Print Processing Steps:
1. Developer (60 to 90 seconds)
2. Stop bath (30 seconds)
3. Fixer (2 to 10 minutes, depending on paper and fixer types)
4. Hypo eliminator (optional)
5. Water wash (4 to 20 minutes, depending on paper type)
6. Dry

Using a camera is only half of
photography. If you shoot digital, youll
probably use Photoshop or similar to
edit your photos. Working in a
darkroom is the other half of film
photography, and I find it hugely
satisfying.
-
Jonathan Gazeley