No darkroom

[ben_hillyer]

I have just been given a Calumet 4x5 camera withe lens. But have no room for a darkroom (given that my 15 month old has taken up

most of the house we rent). Is there a way to do large format photographyn without a darkroom? I shoot for a newspaper but want to do

more landscape, artistic work. I liked the idea of using a camera that is completely different from the one I use at work. any suggestions?

[jim_norman4]

<p>Process the film in tubes. I recommend the Beyond the Zone System tubes from the View Camera store. They also show up on eBay. Then, until you have a darkroom and enlarger, scan the negatives and print digitally. Have fun. Large format is special, as you will see.</p>

[keith selmes]

<p>I use a changing bag and a modified Patterson orbital processor - there other options like combi plan tanks for example, and these below were suggested by Charles Monday in a thread yesterday<br>

A Photoflex changing room <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.photoflex.com/Pro_Products/Accessories/Photographic_Accessories/ChangingRoom/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.photoflex.com/Pro_Products/Accessories/Photographic_Accessories/ChangingRoom/index.html</a><br /> and Jobo 2500 series tank and reel <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.jobo.com/web/System-Tanks-2500.853.0.html" target="_blank">http://www.jobo.com/web/System-Tanks-2500.853.0.html</a> are some of if not the best daylight developing system available.</p>

<p>There is also a recent photo.net discussion about methods for sheet film processing <a href="../film-and-processing-forum/00XGHp">here </a></p>

[darinheinz]

<p>Hi Ben!<br>

If you're talking about printing black and white:<br>

Not sure how much of an option this is, but a few years back I used to keep an enlarger and trays tucked away in a portion of the kitchen. I would then use the kitchen as a darkroom on nights when there wasn't any thunderstorm activity or full moon; naturally, I would spend a few hours in the afternoon prior putting black-out cloth over the windows and black masking tape over the various LED lights on all the kitchen appliances. Two sawhorses suspended a pair of 2x4s on which sat the enlarger and trays. The kitchen sink was used for rinsing. "Go Time" was generally about 10pm, and I worked into the night. It helped having a friend join me for the chit-chat and to advance the prints; that way I could have up to three going through the development simultaneously. As I recall, I had a newborn in the house at the time, and all of the supplies and such were shuttled into a back bedroom on the nights when I was "Going Dark."<br>

Developing the film is a little trickier. I ended up resorting to tray development in a closet for the 4x5 film. Barring that, I would recommend the "tube" type of tank. At one point I acquired a "Yankee" tank, but it proved to have just as much an attitude as its namesake (insert chuckle sound effect here). Touch spots, streaks, and uneven development became its calling card, and the contraption was quickly abandoned.<br>

As an alternative, which I've done with really good results, you might consider shooting with paper negatives. At around ISO 4, you can get some really interesting long exposures, even in daylight, and skip the total-darkness aspect of the film handling. Downsides, of course, are inability to do a traditional enlargement and a moderate loss of detail, which kind of relegates this to a more-or-less close-up application using swing and tilt effects as the cake's icing.<br>

If all else fails, shoot chromes and send them to A&I in Los Angeles. They will develop 4x5s in E-6, C-41, or D-76 process; great service, but at 3 bucks a sheet. Which might be just enough to satisfy your "sweet tooth" until a better arrangement comes along.<br>

Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck!<br>

Darin</p>

[keith selmes]

<p>Printing in daylight, contact printing that is, I've used Printing Out Paper, but thats no longer available.<br>

Now I'm trying Cyanotype. The paper can be bought from craft suppliers, but it probably isn't too difficult to coat your own.<br>

Obviously these are mono processes, just not exactly black and white.</p>

<p>One day perhaps I'll move on to palladium or platinum.</p>

[oistrakh]

<p>Ben,</p>

<p>Do you want to be able to print, or just develop? For developing the film it's fairly easy to do without having a darkroom. You can use tubes as others have mentioned, and Nikkor used to make a stainless steel canister that held twelve sheets of film so you can find one used online. Also, if you want to use trays, you can still do it if your bathroom has no windows or if you can black out the windows in your bathroom.</p>

<p>As for printing, I second the recommendation that you use your kitchen. It is surprising how much light paper will tolerate, given its fairly low ISO. I have heavy curtains hanging over my windows, and at night even with a little bit of city light peaking through as long as the light doesn't fall directly on the paper, I haven't had any issues with fogging.</p>

<p>Give it a try, I think you'll find it's possible to still print even without a dedicated darkroom.</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>You need a Yankee Daylight Developing Tank. A black plastic thing that holds 12 sheets. You load it in a changing bag then process in room light like a regular 35mm tank. Think they still sell them at Porter's (online) or you can get them used. Also made by F&R (Fink and Roselieve). </p>

[Gary Naka]

<p>To develop film try this<br>

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/<br>

All you need is a LARGE changing bag to unload the film holder and put the film into the drum. Once the drum is closed, you can work in room light.<br>

As for printing... Well a 4x5 enlarger takes up a LOT of space, and is not easy to breakdown and put away like a 35mm enlarger is. You might consider scanning the 4x5 film and print in digital. That is what I will likely have to do myself.</p>

[ian_gordon_bilson]

Ben : a couple of suggestions.

If you can get together the bits to process your films : the "Taco method" is worth checking out (sheet film held in a loose U shape with rubber bands,developed in something like a multi-reel film tank,is pretty low-tech and works well.

This gives you the basic quality control,and an image to work with. With the same basic setup,you can contact print your film and have something to show ..Edward Weston did it with an ordinary lightbulb and a printing frame,which is only a glassed picture frame with a removable back,so you can sandwich your neg with printing paper and produce a same-size print.

At this point,check out APUG on the web : all film people,heaps of experience,more than ready to encourage a new user..

And,in a semidark room,you can load/unload film under a heavy,dark overcoat and get your process under way without disrupting the household.

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>I find the Jobo tank and its sheet film adapter are really easy to load in a changing bag. The Jobo tank is quite economical on developer as well, unlike the thirsty Combi tank.</p>

<p>As for printing, really the only non-darkroom option is to scan the film and print via a computer.</p>

<p>A semidark room and an overcoat? - I don't think so! Modern printing papers are a LOT faster these days than when I last tried this; with less-than-acceptable results. It might be possible to load a contact frame in the same changing bag you use for developing the film, but controlling the exposure is going to be problematic. Then you've got to load your tank with bits of floppy paper and slosh the print developer in and out in under two minutes - all for a tiny print you need a magnifying glass to see properly. No, don't do it. Turn the garage or loft into a darkroom or something, because mucking about with half-measures is just going to get you disappointing results and a load of frustration.</p>

[ian_gordon_bilson]

<p>Rodeo Joe : I wasn't clear enough : the overcoat deal was only for loading film into the holders,not the contact printing step - yes,that would be problematic,to put it mildly.<br>

Any room in the house with decently heavy curtains would be ok for contact printing & processing if you waited for nightfall. Or a premade frame to fit a window could do the trick..</p>

[doc_w1]

<p>As others have pointed out, for developing film, you don't need a darkroom. You just need a dark place for enough time to load a daylight processor. A dark bag or an empty closet will work. If you go the closet route, you may have to work at night, or hang a curtain or blanket over the door. Film is very sensitive.</p>

<p>For printing, a closet is not great, even a big one, because of the fumes. The computer is one way to go but I find that very unsatisfying and I prefer contact prints. Until you get a darkroom with an enlarger, contact printing will teach you a lot about exposure and negatives. I did only contact printing for the first year I was in large format and those are still some of my favourite (wee) prints.</p>

<p>Many photographers have simply used any space that is dark enough, such as a basement. You don't need to make a special room in the basement - just cover the window and any other major light source. As others have said, it doesn't need to be absolutely pitch black.</p>

<p>When I was unable to dedicate any space to a formal darkroom and did not have an enlarger, I kept all of my beakers, trays, etc., in a large plastic tub, out of the way. I could set up in about 15 minutes near the sink and when I was done, I just put everything in the tub to dry until the next time. Since you will be sharing space with a curious wee one, put all of your chemistry in a locked cabinet.</p>

<p>I hope this works for you. Don't be discouraged by the lack of space. Be inventive, make it as simple as possible, and go for it.</p>

<p> </p>