[Leica] Who Still Has a Darkroom?

[rhc3vt at hotmail.com (Richard Coutant)]

If I move a few piles of boxes out of the way - bicycle parts, books,old 
papers - I can just see the old Omega DII in the back of the closet here.  
I've lived on the second floor of this leaning Victorian in Brattleboro 
since 2001 - my divorce from EW3 was final on 9/11 - and I've finally 
admitted that I'll probably never have a place to set it all up again, at 
least not anytime soon.  So I'm shopping for a new computer that will run a 
scanner/printer outfit.  But it's still a bit sad.  I share your feelings,  
but I'm also intrigued by the new possibilities.  We march onward.

Richard


>From: Marc James Small <msmall@infionline.net>
>Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
>To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
>Subject: [Leica] Who Still Has a Darkroom?
>Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 17:41:18 -0400
>
>I moved into my present house almost two years ago, and dedicated a room in
>the attic for use as a darkroom (it had originally been the  Servants
>Quarters' when this house was built in 1897).  I have never completed
>fixing it up as such, as I now scan my negatives and slides and, now that I
>am getting a bit familiar with this, I have no strong desire to go back to
>chemical work.  I can load film into tanks in a changing bag and processing
>is no big thing.
>
>But I am unwilling to give up, quite yet, on the ability to produce
>chemical prints as they still are better in quality than are scans, at
>least with my current gear and at my current level of expertise.   I
>suspect I will never finish making the putative darkroom completely
>light-tight and air-conditioned but, still, I cannot quite give up on it.
>I have a grand set of gear (a Leica V35 and a Beseler 23CX-II with
>Rodenstock APO enlarging lenses, all sorts of trays, tongs, timers, lights,
>&c &c) -- Hell, I not only have 16mm and 127 reels but I have not one but
>TWO print driers.  And finishing the darkroom would be a matter of five or
>six hours or less.
>
>Dreams die hard.  I spent a magnificent number of hours over forty years in
>a darkroom and I guess it is time to admit that I'll probably never enlarge
>another negative.  But I'm not willing, yet, to come to terms with this
>reality.
>
>So, like Tina, I can and do process film but scanning is becoming just so
>damned EASY!
>
>Marc
>
>msmall@infionline.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
>Cha robh bàs fir gun ghràs fir!
>
>
>
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