Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> The chemical darkroom has become so familiar to many of us that it's easy to > forget what can go wrong ... chemical contamination, aged chemicals, fogged > paper, bad enlarger alignment, dust storms, a train rolling past outside the > building vibrating the *&@% out of everything, sneezing in the wrong > direction, losing count when the timer quits... Not to mention hives from metol sensitivity, suffocation, the place burning down because the plumbing interacted with the wiring, selenium poisoning, newton rings, and ABOVE ALL the fact that you finally managed to get all the burning dodging and bleaching right on one print doesn't guarantee for a moment you'll get it right on the next... and even when you meticulously annotate all your moves, you still can't replicate the damn thing. - - -- ............................................................................ ......................................................... I work in my home darkroom at least ten hours per week. I have been doing that for the better part of 45 years. I did stints in commercial labs when I was young and foolish. I have had a bulb burn out a few times, and dust can be a problem with my condenser Valoy enlarger (but, it never needs alignment). I print color RA-4 and b&w. The biggest problem is being artistically challenged, but, Photoshop won't change that. Am I being told that these years have been ones of pain, suffering, angst, and toxic modification of my DNA? I 'm still pretty sure I love it! Bill Lawlor