Re: [Leica] Would you start a wet darkroom today?

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

I hate to disagree with Tina - but I will. I'd certainly suggest helping your
son master film developing, but if he has a serious interest in photography, I'd
nudge him toward the future, rather than the past, and work with him to master
scanning and digital printing. Yes, I know, wet darkrooms will be around for at
least decades to come. But I firmly believe that they will more and more be the
homes of dedicated older hobbyists and a handful of fine art photographers.

B. D.

John Gong wrote:

> Photography is becoming a mutual interest for my 10 year old son and I. He's
> using my Nikon gear while I hoard the Leicas :-).  At the moment, we're
> still exploring picture taking technique, but I am starting to think of what
> I want to do next with improving the final result.
>
> As a child, I was lucky enough to walk over to a public darkroom at the
> Police Athletic League in Chinatown. I had a wonderful coach in a volunteer
> professional photographer. Nowadays, darkroom facilities are an endangered
> species, especially out in suburbia land.
>
> We have the space for a wet darkroom now. I've been thinking of acquiring a
> V.35 and building a complete setup.  On the other hand, we also have at our
> disposal no shortage of Macs and PCs with Photoshop or Photodeluxe and a
> good photo printer. I'm a total novice at this software programs, and
> haven't invested the time to get the results I truly want yet. As a result,
> I am more comfortable being a coach in a wet darkroom than a modern digital
> one.
>
> What would you do ?
>
> John Gong