Darkroom Basics
The darkroom is located upstairs in photography, it houses working enlargers and chemicals for developing black and white prints. There are a few simple rules before you can start to work in here, the room must remain light tight, the only light should be from the safelight, even the light from mobile phone screens can spoil any undeveloped prints. The chemicals are irritants so should you get any on your skin be sure to wash it off, to prevent this always use the tongues. If you spill anything it must be mopped up immediately with paper towel so it is not a hazard. Lastly the photographic paper is still sensitive to the safelight, if left out for longer then a minute or so it will fog and become unusable. Always place the paper back as you found it after taking a sheet, back in the bag and in the closed box. This page is a beginners guide to the darkroom and the processes needed for making basic prints, if you want to know more or would like to learn how to make prints from film negatives please come and find a technician who will be more than happy to show you how or to give you information.
How To Use An Enlarger
The enlarger is your light source when exposing an image onto a piece of photographic paper. The timer controls the time which the light stays on for during exposure, this is on a small box separate to the actual enlarger head. On this box you can also turn on the light so that you can adjust the area and focus of the light. You only need to focus the enlarger when printing from a negative but you may need to adjust the area of the light for a photogram so that it is larger than the size of your paper. The enlarger head can be raised or lowered to change the area of light projected down onto the table. All of the enlargers are slightly different from one another, with a little experimentation you'll likely find one you prefer.
Exposing An Image
The photographic paper used in the darkroom is light sensitive, when exposed to light the paper will not change visibly until developed. Any areas of the paper which are touched by light will become dark in the developer, any which are not touched by light will remain white. The effects of light on photo paper can be seen in a test strip made by exposing the paper a second at a time whilst moving a strip of black card across each time so that the exposure times build up across the paper. the parts with a longer exposure will be darker.
To expose the paper using an enlarger means that you have control over the amount of time that the light runs for. This is a controlled method and allows for precision when printing. When ready to expose an image, take one sheet of paper and make sure the rest is put away properly. Place this under the head of the enlarger and expose it for the desired amount of time. Your image is now ready to develop.
To develop black and white images there are three chemicals, plus water. You place your exposed paper in them in this order, first is the developer, then the stop, fix and finally the water to rinse the paper of any remaining chemicals. Once you have exposed your paper to light you will not see any change until you place it in the developer, once it is in the dev the image will start to appear, you must agitate it in here for two minutes before moving to the stop bath. If an image remains in here too long it may become too dark.
Agitation is needed periodically during every stage of developing, do this by gently moving the tray, which ensures fresh chemicals are moving over the paper.
Your paper only needs to be in the stop bath for thirty seconds, this stops the developer from working on your paper further. After this move it to the fixative, this fixes your image, and allows it to be exposed to light without altering it. It needs to remain in the fix for as long as possible (5-20mins) the longer it is left in the longer it will last without fading.
Lastly place your paper in running water to wash off all the chemicals it should remain here for about five minutes before being removed to dry. Use a squeegee to wick away any remaining water and run it through the drier 2-3 times. Please turn off the drier immediately after you have finished drying you print.
Photograms
Photograms are a great way to start creating something in the darkroom, they are pretty simple to make and can produce interesting results. A photogram is an image made without using a camera but instead placing objects onto photo paper and then exposing the paper to light. You can use an array of objects and compositions to create many different effects. Think about using semi-transparent or opaque objects or trying to create a scene such as a landscape for example. You should do a test strip to gauge the exposure times but it your image comes out too dark try exposing it for less time, if it is too pale or grey try a little more time.
Once exposed you can develop your image as normal. You can also try experimenting with painting on developer and stop with brushes in areas of your print to create different effects. If you have done this leave your photo in the dev for 60-90 seconds instead of two minutes. You can always pull it out sooner and place it into the stop if you think it is developed enough and you like the image.