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From: ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>)
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Re: Darkroom neophyte knows nothing
Message-ID: <9667@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 1-Apr-85 15:49:08 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.9667
Posted: Mon Apr  1 15:49:08 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Apr-85 10:37:08 EST
References: <2720013@acf4.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 37

> I am interested in learning how to do my own darkroom work.  Can anyone
> recommend a good source of literature to begin this long (and probably very
> expensive undertaking?).
> 
> (I realize that it's probably psycho to even THINK about doing your own
> development to "save money").
> 
I don't think your psycho.  I got into photography through the back
door.  My first equipment was a home darkroom kit.  I got an instamatic
just so I'd have some pictures to develop.  My favorite reference is
some book with a name like the "Photographers Handbook".  I'll dig up
the authors name later.  I have a very fond image of that book, blue
and smelling of fixer.

If you want to do B&W work, doing your own darkroom work is the only
way to go.  One, it is easy and relatively inexpensive.  Two, no lab
around here takes black and white seriously.  You can set your self up
with a real nice black and white setup for under $300.

Color used to be real messy and long.  Without fancy equipment you'd
spned hours developing test swatches and fiddling filters.  Things
have been neatened up a bit, both with the processes and the advent
of resin coated paper.   I would recommend doing type R work.  This is
print from slide work without an intervening negative.  First, I shoot
some film.  Only a subset do I want to print.  I take my slides (which
I still send to Kodak for convenience reason) and load them into a tray
and view them (oh, If I could only get a stackloader).  Then decide which
ones I want to print.  With the slides, you spend a lot less time fiddling
with the color correction.  The processes for this have really improved.
I've used Unicolor and some older one (I've been out of it for a while)
and there are all kinds of newer ones in the last few years such as
Cibachrome.  You can even do it in the dark, it's only four chemicals
and about 15 minutes, although a drum probably would be handy.  Kodak
even marketed a slide print developer about a year ago, but I've never
investigated it.

-Ron