Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/13

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Subject: [Leica] Who Still Has a Darkroom?
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Thu May 13 17:42:01 2004

I still have my darkroom with my Omega D2 with the Aristo 4500 VC cold light
perched on top of it and Nikkor lenses underneath it the one I use for 35mm
being the 63mm 2.8! Underneath that lenes I usually have my Saunders master
easel UA1124, the one with the knobs only it's small, 11x14. Kind of usual
in that size. I also have been using for quite awhile a Saunders Master
easel in 20x24 . Last year found I really could use one in 16x20! So it
looks like I've got a complete set of those babies. I'd not go into my
darkroom without one.
All timed with a Beseler Audible repeating timer which set me back 80 bucks
and was about the only one out there which would not blow my earlier cold
lights. On the floor there is  its footswitch another thing I hate to print
without. I know that because I sometimes print in a rental color darkroom
which does not have footswitches on their timers.
And it's all kept in alignment with a kit from Zig-Align. I am a
parallelist. Our sets of beliefs are too complex for the scale of this
forum. We do not use pagan laser beams.

I have an electric Acculab Darkroom Scale by the way. And a single balance
Ohaus I got from a LUGger for bigger things which I never use.

On the ceiling there is a Thomas low pressure sodium safelight which is the
standard of the industry for good reason.
My darkroom is 8 by 18 feet.

I have a 4 foot by 2 foot light table in there which I'd hate to be without.
It's got special florescent lamps in it full spectrum but I'm going to put
in some safe lights.
My loupe is a new Pentax (go figure!) I like it.

I have about a dozen papersafes for the different papers I use in the sizes
I use and an empty one always next to my enlarger for that "extra" print.

About 3 dozen trays from 5x7 to 20x24 and the same amount of reels and
hangers mainly Hewes, 35mm, 120, 220 and 4x5.

At all seems and is grandiose but I've paid my dues doing years of all
nighters working in closets, laundry rooms and shared ridiculous school
darkrooms.

But having finally attained the darkroom of my dreams I've found myself in
the past year barely ever in it. I've got some film to run. But mainly I'm
not shooting silver black and white film anymore.


Mark Rabiner
Photography
Portland Oregon



New-improved
http://rabinergroup.com/




In reply to: Message from jorg at mindspring.com (Jorg Willems) ([Leica] Who Still Has a Darkroom?)