volume 76, issue 1 the darkroom! ju 2019 by charles taylor ... · oklahoma camera club, inc....
TRANSCRIPT
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1Volume 76, Issue 1
July 2019
Inside this issue:
Cont’d . . .
1-4
5-789Club Information
https://smile.amazon.com/Select "Oklahoma Camera Club Inc"
The Darkroom!by Charles Taylor, APSA
Train Time - Roydon BurkeGelatin Silver Print, 1959
Image Courtesy of PSA Archives
I love the smell of sulfuric acid in the morning. Or maybe not. Let’s just say I accepted it as normal. Just like I accepted smelling of sulfur for hours after leaving my semi-favorite place...
The darkroom!
Photographers my age have many fond(?) memories of the smelly cubbyholes where ideas became images. There was none of this “instant gratification” nonsense of seeing one’s image displayed on the back of the camera as soon as one pushed the button. After a long day of shooting, one had no idea whether he had actually captured any images, let alone any GOOD images, until he spentuntil he spent a few hours in...
The darkroom!
3 Vernon Evans - Arthur RothsteinGelatin Silver Print, 1936
Image Courtesy of PSA Archives
The Darkroom!
Smartphone CompetitionPhotographic Opportunities
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Cont....The Darkroom!
Choptank Oyster Dredgers - A. Aubrey BodineBromide, Circa 1940
Image Courtesy of PSA Archives
Some poor benighted souls preferred to drop their film off at the drugstore and let them worry with it, but serious folks insisted on carefully ruining their days in...
The darkroom!
It was entirely possible to shoot multiple rolls of expensive film on vacation and not realize one had had the lens cap on the whole time, or had been shooting moving objects at a tenth of a second, or was seriously out of focus until he was in...
The darkroom!
Developing one’s own film had the advantage of avoiding the laughter of the drugstore clerk when these sorts of things happened.
They called them “darkrooms” because they were. Film was light-sensitive (still is so far as I know), and even the smallest beam of photons could ruin it completely. It was necessary to learn to do everything by touch, including finding important things one dropped on the floor.
One rarely bought film by the roll. Hundred-foot reels had to be carefully pieced out onto reusable cartridges. This meant finding the end of the reel, taping it to the stem of the cartridge, winding a specified amount onto the stem, cutting the film and placing the resulting product where it could be found and not fall on the floor.
Then one took pictures, but you already know about that part.
Once the film was exposed, it was back to...
The darkroom!
Now it was necessary to move the film in absolute darkness from cartridge to a reel that could be immersed in vile chemicals. First, one had to cut off the “leader” that had made it possible to load the film into a camera in the first place. This wasn’t difficult unless one dropped the scissors on the floor. One learned just how hard to squeeze the film by the edges to insert it onto the reel.
The Darkroom!
The Darkroom! Cont....
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Photo by Clem OnojeghuoCourtesy of Unsplash
Once the loaded reel was incarcerated in a light-tight can, the room could be illuminated.
After an hour or so of pouring chemicals into and out of the can at precisely measured intervals, punctuated by using distilled water instead of more chemicals, one had negatives. Wet negatives. Touching the surface of a wet negative was as bad as exposing it to light prematurely. Hung properly, the film would eventually dry.
(Note: this assumes 35mm film. For larger formats the procedure was infinitely more complicated. You don’t want to know.)
Then, unless one wanted to display to friends and family his beautiful vacation negatives, it was necessary to return to...
The darkroom!
It wasn’t easy to examine a one-by-one-and-a-half inch negative and determine with any surety whether it would make a good print. One couldn’t simply mouse over a selected part. The negative had to be inserted into an enlarger that could project the image onto light-sensitive paper. It was just as necessary to focus the enlarger beam as it had been to focus the camera. A more-or-less precision instrument called a grain focuser let one determine if the image was even remotely worth the trouble of printing it.
If one was printing in black and white, the use of a “safelight” was permitted. The was a yellowish or red light source of poor quality, not visible to printing paper. It was, however, excellent for finding important things one dropped on the floor. Printing in color required absolute darkness again.
Next, it was necessary to determine the length of exposure necessary to produce a print like one desired. The usual procedure was to expose the paper for a short time, cover part of it, expose again, cover some more and so on. The resulting print would have bands of different exposures from which to choose. This test image, although costing as much as a final, was then discarded.
Assuming one was working in black and white, which economics usually required, an exposed piece of photographic paper was immersed in “developer,” an extremely alkaline solution that had to be mixed from scratch for each usage. It was advisable not to dip one’s fingers in this solution any more than absolutely necessary to avoid having the skin flake off, like dandruff.
After rinsing in a “stop bath,” a solution that literally stopped the first from working, it was time for the “fixer.” This is where the sulfuric acid came in. Without going into the chemical reactions of photography, it is enough to know that good old H2SO4 was the preferred agent here. This was why darkrooms and their denizens stank.
The Darkroom!
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Cont....
There were multiple means of adjusting the image, including the venerable dodge-and-burn. Holding an opaque object in the light path would alter the amount of light reaching the paper. A small object would impede the beam to make a part of the image lighter, a large object with a hole in it would add light to a part to make it darker.
Assorted filters were inserted into the light beam of the enlarger. Negative colors cyan, magenta and yellow if one was working in color. (A yellow filter would make the print more blue. Go figure).
Various concentrations of purple filters would adjust contrast if working in black and white.
Adjusting the time in the developer could also adjust contrast.
The problem was, these could only be evaluated for effectiveness by making a completed print. Discarded, unacceptable prints cost as much as the final versions.
It was common to spend half a day producing a single, final, acceptable print. For a serious competition or art print, make that a whole day. For Ansel Adams, make that a week. It was considered a good day if one final print resulted from a dozen sheets of paper. However, assuming one kept notes, the final print could then be reproduced endlessly and easily.
It was not an inexpensive hobby. This was why competition photographers were willing to pay serious money to have prints returned from exhibitions.
If you want to know whether a photographer uses the old-fashioned darkroom any more, first check his ID. If he is under 50, he thinks the word “darkroom” means a place for sleeping, or other behaviors we won’t go into here.
If he is over 50, look at his fingers.
The Oklahoma Camera Club is part of Red River’s affiliate program. The club receives a 5%
commission on orders placed with Red River via the URL located on the Club’s website, www.oklahomacameraclub.com.
Many of us make a large number of prints using a significant amount of photographic paper, please do
not forget to place your orders through this URL.
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Smartphone Photography Competition Highlights
Tulsa Reflecting After RainJan Lee, FPSA, EPSA1st Place
Tree Frog on Metal BarnJ. D. McClung
2nd Place
TrailersIsabella BrakebillHonorable Mention
GreenLyuda Cameron
3rd Place
Glowing BallsJaci Finch, APSA
3rd Place
TulipsJaci Finch, APSAHonorable Mention
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Smartphone Photography Competition HighlightsCont....
Why LieDeb Bozarth
Beer QuoteWard Conaway, EPSA
Island SunriseEugene Vautrin
In the SpotlightInge Vautrin
Flowing SilkJohn Key
Cypress LakeBryan Hapke
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Cont....Smartphone Photography Competition Highlights
Street RodWally Lee, FPSA, PPSA
Spring Morning on the StreetBrandon Bowman
Key Largo ResortBob Bozarth
Hatching SoonSandy Carr
Twisted FreedomRandy Carr, APSA, MPSA2
Winter's Last SculptureJessica Rice
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Upcoming Photographic Opportunities
These and many more events can be found in the Oklahoma Dept. of Tourism Events Calendar, located at
www.travelok.com/festivals_and_events
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50th and N. May Ave. Central Presbyterian Church
Oklahoma City, OK Meetings: 7:30 pm
OCC Board of Directors President: Bernard Fern 1st Vice President: Jennifer D'Agostino - Programs2nd Vice President: Mary Horn - Judges Treasurer: Ward Conaway, EPSASecretary: Wally Lee, FPSA, PPSA Directors:
1 yr: Brad Sliger - Membership1 yr: Brian Hapke - Field Trip2 yr: Jessica Rice - Membership2 yr: Brandon Bowman - Field TripsClub Photographer: Jackie Mesarick
2nd and 4th Tuesdays
For club information, contact [email protected]
For more information:
We are on the web
Oklahomacameraclub.com Visit us on Facebook
Club Meetings and Workshops
Meetings: 7:30 pm 2nd & 4th Tuesdays
Workshops:
50th and N. May Ave. Central Presbyterian
Church
For Club Dues Contact [email protected]
The Club Board meets on Wednesday, 6:00 pm, between the club meetings at Bernard and Terri's home, all are welcome. Please contact Bernard Fern for further information.
Oklahoma Camera Club, Inc.
www.PSA-photo.org www.gulfstatesccc.org
HypoCheck EditorBrandon Bowman
Jaci Finch, APSA [email protected]
Monthly Meetings:NO WORKSHOPS IN JULY !
July 9th: Competition night, print and digital, all categories.
Judges: TBA
Refreshments: courtesy of Bedford Camera and Video
July 23rd: Program Night, Travel Photography by Matt Payne (writer and PhotoCon Alumni).
Refreshments: TBA