khoa_nguyen3 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 since alot people move to digital , i'm try to build the darkroom in my basement ( B&W) . Am i crazy ??? anybody else out here try to do the same thing like me ???? . Happy new year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark f Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Not crazy at all......well maybe it is since I am in the middle of doing exactly the same thing (upgrading from a converted closet). It ends up that building a room costs quite a bit more than the all the stuff (enlarger, mounting press, etc) that goes into it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_starr3 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I built a dedicated darkroom in the basement 3 years ago. The only regret I have is that I didn't do it a lot sooner. This is an excellent time to build a darkroom, since enlargers and other equipment are really low priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randall ellis Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I wish I had a basement! I use a bathroom as a darkroom, with the window blocked out with curtain backing material. You really don't need anything fancy to do darkroom work, just some place that you can make dark. - Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_limiti Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Some people will say you are crazy.... Oh well. I built one almost three years ago. No regrets. If you are comfortable working with chemicals and not concerned about having the most up to date technology (digital), then go for it. Prices on darkroom stuff couldn't be cheaper because of the mass conversion to digital. Do understand that the choices in film are trending down, and chemicals and paper are going to be harder to find locally, though I feel comfortable someone will always carry these materials. Understand there will be zero resale value on anything you buy darkroom related, so it pays to shop around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranong Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 you may not be crazy, but i am! har har har! i have a DR in my basement. it is great. i am very sad that i will be moving in about 2 weeks so i am printing like crazy now. having a DR is great and i will continue to print in my darkroom(s) for as long as i can. i really love shooting, processing and printing my own stuff. enjoy and post us a few pics when you get her running! eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Yes, you are crazy. As in Jack Nicholson's character in <I>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</I>: "bull goose loony."<P> I lost my darkroom when I bought this house, and the critical condition for me to take the leap to LF was the availability of an affordable scanner for 4x5 transparencies.<P> Well, I've been here for a few years now, and lately I've been thinking about how to rearrange the freezer and a few other things in the basement so I can put up a couple of walls, bring in hot and cold water....<P> You're in good company here, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_hardy1 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I have a small dedicated darkroom, but no basement. My humble suggestions...Make yours large with room to expand and move around. Give yourself a lot of room for big sinks with big trays to make BIG prints. Get a large format enlarger at least 4x5 since they are cheap. They are really sturdy and last a long time. I've had a Durst 6cmx7cm for 3 years and recently got a 4x5 enlarger (haven't used it yet) and I'm running out of room. Check on the web for darkroom design before you start building and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_hardy1 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Of course you'll get a large format enlarger....duh this is the LF forum...oops, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_yee Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I use a small bathroom for a darkroom since I don't have a basement. I shoot with a 8x10 camera so I only make contact prints. That eliminates the need for an enlarger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragc Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Go for it! I have one in mine. Home-built 5x7 enlarger plus an Omega B, space heater and dry counter. I pail my water from the service sink elsewhere in the basement. It is my favorite place in the house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnanian Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 not crazy ---->> smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antjam65 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I love having a basement darkroom, but you should be careful that your basement doesn't have any old asbestos-covered pipes, furnace, etc. If you're house is older, like mine, it very well may have some potentially hazardous asbestos. Also, if your basement is damp a dehumidifier is essential. Oh, yeah, and watch out for mold spores... But, despite these issues, I do LOVE having a basement darkroom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unixadmin Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I vote "Not Crazy". Currently, I use a (very) small bathroom that has no windows and cannot wait to build an actual darkroom when I own an actual home. Digital Schmigital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff bishop Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I don't think you're crazy. I had a darkroom in my basement and have been upgrading it over the last year. Now it can enlarge 4x5 and anything smaller negatives. Still stumbling with color... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_limiti Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Apparently there are a lot of crazies on this site.... a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix_ackermann Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 for quite some time I'm making projects for a new, large darkroom in the basement. And a few days ago at a dinner my table neighbor, a professional photographer, tried to convince me that this is a completely crazy idea nowadays... But I'm still sticking to it... Many years ago I built a rather small darkroom around a 6x6 cm enlarger together with my brother. During the years I earned part of my living with photography I made many hundreds of enlargments in this tiny space... It is kind of weird that in the last years, finally having a fine and rich LF equipment, I didn't photograph a lot, and the "products" were always scans from 6x9 Ektas or b/w negatives... And I have to say that the results from my film scanner (Nikon 9000ED) and from the format 6x9 are terrific. But I'm still dreaming of enlarging 8x10 inch b/w-negatives, just for pleasure. I hat the luck to get a mint Durst laborator 184, that - disassembled and invading half the house with its rich accessories - is haunting me now: I have to dig out the floor of the basement room at least for half a meter, hoping the house is not collapsing... But I thing I'm raving mad enough to do it eventually ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradley_artigue2 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I had one for the last two years (we've since sold the house) - it was great since the basement was useless otherwise. I bought a couple of bathroom vents and ducted them to the basement louvers. I also ran ducting from the hvac into the darkroom, not so much for climate control but to circulate air on a routine basis. One thing I can say, it was really, really dark. This was no partial basement, it was a hole dug under the house with stairs leading to it and a slab floor. It had vents but little light came in. Easy access to plumbing and hvac. Perfect for photography darkroom. And the only place i could possibly set up the 4x5 enlarger in that house. Now I live in a house with no basement...and am building a house with a small purpose-built darkroom. So you're not nuts, if you like working with film, chemicals, and paper, you need a place to do the work. My wife wouldn't go for working in the bathroom or having the chemicals in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 The bad news is that all those who are claiming they aren't crazy, are obviously crazy. The good news is, I think I've figured out where to move the freezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leison Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 i dont think it is crazy~ cuz i dont think i am crzay as well~ i wish to build my own darkroom, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spodzone Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Got bathroom. Do my own development with a <a href="http://pig.sty.nu/Pictures/composition/paterson_orbital">paterson orbital processor</a>; recently I worked out <a href="http://pig.sty.nu/Pictures/composition/large-format-enlargement">how to use a Shen Hao to make print enlargements</a>, reducing/postponing the need for a proper enlarger, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_dimarzio Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 No, but this is crazy. I am turning my bedroom into a darkroom. I have to build a second floor to make a new bedroom. Plus, I have to wire my house for 110 as it's all 220 now, and add a hot water heater, water filters, a pump as the water sits on the roof tank and is gravity fed, then run plumbing. Chemicals and paper will have ot be imported. Why go digital? I just listed 10 reasons, but I just don't find computers all that fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb380 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Well, If you're crazy, send the straight jacket boys out for me. I live in a one bedroom apartment and after almost 50 years of film and 3 years of digital ( my ex sold all my cameras and equipment :( I am building a DR in one corner of my bedroom. Ideal? of course not, but it beats nothing. I am putting a plastic sink in the bathroom as I can stand it up in the shower. My shower is a large one so you can enter it in a wheel chair. No tub. Hey, we do what we have to do. My mouth drools when I think about film. I'm looking for LF also but right now have a MF Kiev88 which is back in Russia for repairs. As soon as I can make the bedroom dark, I'll start. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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