Didn't have to wait until after sundown.RE: [Leica] Getting into printing.. need advice?

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I never knew there was so much to making prints in wet trays
and a darkroom. And the gazillion opinions of what's required to start with
and all the other stuff! Holy mackerel I don't know how I managed all my
years. :-)

Here's a quick history of how it was done in the days when you bought a
photo magazine, made your own enlarger, simple trays and dumped the
chemicals down the kitchen sink drain each night and washed them before you
went to bed. Oh and the "how the glossy prints were dried glossy?" Now
that's a story in itself, so read on! :-)

First darkroom was in the kitchen after supper, after it got dark enough
after sunset with the window blinds down.

2nd darkroom was the sun porch with the heavy dark wool blankets off our bed
nailed over the windows, still had to wait until after sunset. Nailing the
blankets over the windows nearly caused a divorce before our first wedding
anniversary as SWMBO wasn't a happy photo wife to say the least!  Even
though she started my photo life buying me a camera for my first after
married birthday! 

3rd darkroom was a large stand-up storage room cupboard, stuffy as hell but
it worked for film and print processing. Washed the prints in the bath tub!

4th darkroom was built in the basement of the new house and worked very
nicely as it was big, running water and big sinks, 4 in a row 16X20 trays,
and large print washer drum.

5th darkroom after move to new office quarters was similarly so.

6th darkroom here in Victoria is now my "LIGHTROOM!" :-) But could be a
working darkroom very shortly. Not likely in a million years! :-)

In all my darkroom time I always enjoyed it. AS it was my quiet escape time
and the only sounds were the ticking of the clock, running water or me
bitching about screwing up a print. Nor was any one allowed to be yapping
while I was concentrating on making good prints. Always neat family time
when the children were old enough to buffalo prints through the solution
trays! The worst time? When a commercial client required a 100 8X10's or
more prints over night! You never went to bed! :-(

1st enlarger was made from a diagram in Mechanics Illustrated magazine. "How
to make your own enlarger!"

The  bellows of a folding camera for the lens and focusing, a very large
soup can  for the lamp housing and a piece of copper piping from a hardware
store for the stand. This was all screwed to a big piece of 1" thick board
from the local lumber yard as the easel !

I used my wife Irene's cake baking tins for trays! :-) Yep! Think about that
for a moment and what happens when acetic acid and tin get together. "VERY
RICH BLACK TRAYS !" totally useless for baking. Trust me she wasn't a
happily married new wife! No sense of humour. :-) Eventually had to buy her
new baking tins, as well as me proper plastic photo trays.

My contact "printer?" A large piece of heavy plate glass placed over the
negatives on a piece of 8X10 photo paper. Flash enlarger light on-off for
exposure!

So to whom ever asked the advice question is, KISS! Keep it simple, buy the
most reasonably priced enlarger you can offered, 4 x 11X14 trays, this
allows you to make 5X7 and 8X10's at the beginning, if you find you like it,
you can move up to 11X14 without spending more money other than for paper
size. Then wait until you are very comfortable making 11X14 prints before
moving up to 16X20's. No point in wasting money for 16X20 trays and paper
with the idea "BIG IS BETTER!" If you aren't very good at 11X14 printing.

DRYING GLOSSY PRINTS? :-) Ok most were 5X7 single weight paper in the
beginning so after washing and without chrome drying plates I did this.
Before going to bed, I'd roller squeegee the prints photo side to the shiny
sides of the stove and "ice box!" Then when I'd get up in the morning they
were all dried and fallen on the floor nice and shiny flat prints!

Now see how easy it can be without all the fancy stuff some of these guys
are spouting off about doing your thing in a darkroom? :-)

But dang, it can be great fun, a pain in the butt, the most satisfying
effort you can do. And the most quiet calming location you can be, yet in
your own home. 

I never had music going until about 5 years ago as I loved the quiet
concentration it afforded. Then for whatever reason.. it went to the hardest
thumping rock and roll you can imagine totally opposite to all the years of
peace and quiet !

But it's so very rewarding when you hold up a great big beautiful B&W double
weight print that television can never do. It can make you feel so good
inside you'll love it!! Have fun, because if it isn't fun? Why bother?

ted 

tedgrantphoto.com