33. Traditional B&W Photography: Developing 35mm Photo Prints in a Dark Room
NOTE: Absolutely no phones allowed in the darkroom! It's not because you're a student, not even your teacher should be using a phone in the darkroom! It's because of light pollution - any light could ruin the extremely expensive light-sensitive paper that we use to make art. Ruin the paper, and you ruin everyone's art! So, no phones, no smart watches, no flash lights, lighters - no vaping in there ever! You don't need your phone as a timer, we have a timer in the room. It's easy to operate.
NOTE: The darkroom has a wet area and a dry area. You must never get the dry area wet! If you do, you will ruin the very expensive light-sensitive paper that we all use to make art. We have paper towels in the darkroom. Keep your hands dry! Keep the dry area dry! Always!
NOTE: The dark room is a professional working space, and it's tense! Many students don't want to ruin their work, it's easy to bump into each other. It's easy to ruin things. This is not the place to act silly. No running around or throwing things in the darkroom! Ever!!!
The following video from ILFORD shows how to create black and white photo prints in a dark room:
Step 1 - The Enlarger
A photo enlarger is a complicated, delicate, and expensive piece of equipment. So, let's talk about it. There are different kinds of enlargers, with different optional features. At its core, every enlarger is basically a projector. You fit it with a film negative, and it projects an enlargement of the image, so that you can expose it on light-sensitive paper. For smaller paper, you project the light onto a table, but you can turn the enlarger to project onto a wall, or suspend it from the ceiling to project onto the floor, depending on what you want to make, and how big. So what are the different parts, and what do they do?
In order of importance...
The Timer: Your enlarger must be plugged into a timer, which is plugged into an outlet. Without the timer plugged in, you can't use an enlarger. When you turn on your timer, you're also turning on your enlarger. Most timers beep when turned on, and will continue beeping until you set it to a specific exposure time, in seconds.
Every timer has a FOCUS button. Pressing this button turns on the light, allowing you to plan your print - you can decide how big or small to enlarge the image, and then focus it. Make sure you keep your Ilford paper hidden when you use this! Don't expose it by accident!
The Lamp House: This is where the enlarger's light bulb is held. The Lamp House also contains either a condenser or a diffuser (depending on the type) that helps spread the light evenly, and also contains a heat plate that shields your negatives from overheating. NOTE: heat kills negatives - they are flammable!
Some enlargers have a separate condenser compartment where you can change the condenser, depending on the film format you're using, and the size of your lens.
The Negative Carrier Tray: This circular device with a handle (resembling a skillet) opens up like a sandwich, with 4 silver knobs for you to hold your negative in place. Put in your negative, and be sure to tape it down carefully, so that none of the tape covers the actual image. - this holds the negative steady, and pulls it flat. Negatives like to curl, which can cause parts of the image to blur, out of focus. Taping it flat keeps the entire image sharp in focus.
The Negative Stage Lever: You turn this to lift and lower the upper bellows, so that you can insert or remove the carrier tray.
NOTE: Be sure to turn off the FOCUS light, before lifting the lever! If the light is on, lifting the lever shoots light out across the dark room, which can hurt others' artwork!
ALSO NOTE: Always use the lever to lift and lower the upper bellows! Don't just lift it by hand, or you can break it! And then light will always pour through, around the dark room!
FURTHER NOTE: On OMEGA enlargers, pull the stage lever toward you, not away from you, or you can break it!
The Easel: This is where you will eventually hold your Ilford paper to take a print. It opens like a book, and you put the paper inside it, to hold it flat. Your easel should have a blank piece of focusing paper (not light-sensitive) that you should keep there while setting up your shot. When you are ready to expose the image, switch the focusing paper with the Ilford paper. Glass Easels are for making contact sheets and for sandwiching paper to make negative images.
The Elevation Handle/Knob: You crank this to raise and lower the enlarger. Raising it creates a larger area of light, and a larger image. Lowering it makes the image smaller. You can raise it to expose larger pieces of paper, or "zoom in" so that you can expose and print just one detail of the negative on a smaller piece of paper. Use the FOCUS button on the timer to choose the right height for you. With Beseler enlargers you can lock the elevation with the Elevation Lock, but you don't need to. It should stay in place without the lock. OMEGA enlargers require you to use the lock.
NOTE: every time you change the height, you need to refocus the image.
NOTE: Never, ever push the enlarger up or down with your hands!!! use the Elevation Handle!!!
The Focusing Knob: This allows you to focus your image, for sharper detail. Use this in conjunction with the Fine Grain Focuser. Place the Focuser on the focusing paper in your easel, and look closely at it. Turn the Focusing Knob as you look through the Focuser.
The Lens: You can control the strength of the light be twisting the lens - it has a diaphragm, just like a camera lens. As you change the aperture settings, more or less light comes through. Depending on the make and model of your enlarger, you may be able to fit different size lenses on it.
The Filter Drawer/Compartment: This empty drawer allows you to insert or take out a variety of filters. Enlarger filters are intended to change the contrast of your image - they can increase or decrease contrast. Filters are optional; you don't need to use them. NOTE: Be sure to use the correct brand of filters, the same as the enlarger itself!
The Upper & Lower Bellows: These stretchable bits allow you to change the focus and elevation of the enlarger (which also changes the distance between the lamp and the lens) without letting light leak out the sides. Don't hurt the bellows!!
The Accessory Filter Holder: This is the least important item in our studio, we don't use it. This is originally to hold a red filter that acts like a safelight, so that your Ilford paper would be safe underneath while you focus your image. The thing is, it's not 100% safe depending on the kinds of paper you use, and if you bump it by accident, you have full light ruining your paper. Our dark room has safe lights on the ceiling, so we never, ever use these. There are also "below the lens" contrast filters, that work the same way as "above the lens" filters that fit in the drawer. We use "above the lens" so there's less plastic film between the negative and the paper - the fear is too many barriers can reduce the quality of the image.
Using An Enlarger
So, first put the negative into a negative carrier – if necessary, use tape to make sure the negative lies perfectly flat (some negatives like to curl). Use a puffer brush to remove any dust. Slide the carrier into the enlarger. Switch on the safe lights and turn off the regular room lights. Turn on the enlarger and focus the image on the easel below, using the Fine Grain Focuser for maximum sharpness. This video from ILFORD shows how to use an enlarger:
This next video shows how to use a Beseler 23C enlarger:
Once your image is sharp, you can turn off the FOCUS light. Now, take out the focusing paper, and put in your Ilford paper - shiny side up. That's the light sensitive side. Choose the exposure time that works best for that print (considering the lens aperture, the thickness of the negative, etc.). If you don't know the right exposure time, make a Test Strip first (see below). Press the exposure button. And then take the paper to the chemical baths for developing.
Making a Test Strip
Test strips are meant to save expensive Ilford paper. Take out one strip of photographic paper (being sure to seal the rest). Slide it under the enlarger, and expose sections of it at a time, in 5 second increments – try to get 4-5 sections for the whole piece. Develop the test piece and determine which increment looks best. Remember, the piece goes into the developer bath for 60 seconds, 60 seconds in the stop bath, and 5 minutes in the fixer. Then rinse it under running water, or in a water bath for 5 minutes. The whole time you do this, be sure not to touch the chemicals, or to contaminate them with the tongs.
Once you’ve decided which exposure time looks best, take out another piece of paper and try it, developing the whole image in the manner above. If you're happy with it, then that's your print!
To make a print from one of your negatives, you need to prepare four baths for your paper. It’s a good idea to label each bath, and even choose trays that are different colors:
1. developer (red) 90 seconds
2. stop bath (white) 60 seconds
3. fixer (dark gray) 5 minutes
4. water rinse 5 minutes
NOTE: these solutions aren’t light sensitive themselves – normal light doesn’t ruin them, it only affects your photo-sensitive paper.
Put your photo into the Developer to see the image appear. You want a good range from white to black (if you don't get that, try another paper and changing the exposure time). Agitate the liquid gently, like rocking a baby's cradle. After about 90 seconds, lift it out with the tongs, shake it off till it stops dripping, and put it in the Stop Bath.
Leave it in the Stop Bath for 60 seconds, with constant agitation, then drain it and put it in the Fixer. Agitate the first 30 seconds, and leave it in there a good 5 minutes. After, put it in the Water Rinse, and leave it another five minutes.
You need to make sure your photo gets the complete treatment in each chemical bath. Don't let one paper stick to another, or it won't get the chemistry it needs. The following images demonstrate what happens when a photo doesn't get the full chemistry:
Making a Contact Sheet
A contact sheet is an easy reference for your photos, to see how they look as positives, to help you decide which of your images is best for printing full size. This video shows you how to make one.
Enlarger Filters
As stated earlier, these alter the level of contrast. Ilford has a set of twelve filters, ranging from 00 to 5, with 00 creating the lowest contrast, and 5 creating the strongest, highest contrast. This video shows more:
Dodging and Burning
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