My TOP 10 Darkroom Tips...So Far.

In this video I share my top ten tips that I have learned in the darkroom (so far). Hopefully some of the things that have stumped me will now be a breeze for you!
SHOW LINKS:
Darkroom Cheat Sheet: bit.ly/2xXWewD
Darkroom Printing Log: bit.ly/2vRCLgf
Find Me Online:
Website :: www.chrisswartwood.com
Instagram :: @chrisswartwood
Email :: [e-mail]
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Camera: Sony A6000 :: amzn.to/2mdXm9L
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Ring Light: Newer Ring Light :: amzn.to/2mUP6iu
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Audio Recorder: Zoom H4n :: amzn.to/2mUMFN4
Video Monitor: Aputure VS2 :: amzn.to/2mNCCIZ
The gear links above and any Amazon links I post are Amazon affiliate links and it helps with the time and costs associated with producing this show. Any views or opinions are my own and come from a place of honesty and sincerity. I hope you enjoy the videos and my channel and leave me your notes or feedback in a comment below. Thanks for watching!
-chris

[@marcthomt1]

I have watched this ever couple of months for the last few years. It is a master piece. I could listen to this for hours

[@DeputatKaktus]

Holy moly. I just got into making my own prints. So incredibly rewarding. I needed a grinectomy when I took my first print out into the light. I framed it, even though in retrospect it wasn't that good. But hey, I made it! I made it all the way from walking to get the shot to developing the film to setting up the enlarger and cutting the paper to holding the finished print in my hands. This is an experience worth having. :-)

[@markharris5771]

Tim Berghoff To me this is something digital doesn’t offer the same, I’m not anti digital but darkroom v Lightroom the darkroom wins every time.

[@arenalmeida2097]

Dark room stuffs cool

[@velocyclistweb]

Thanks for the cheat sheet and print log docs! Happy Holidays. Hoping to see more vids in the New Year!

[@GRAINTV]

Thanks Marcus! Excited to get things rolling with the new year!

[@GONZOFAM7]

Good tips. I'm starting to print and these will be good habits to learn now.

So true! I currently just need to stop doing things instinctively. I love in the printing process the trial and error that is, as with when you develop film. I also want to do this outdoors. Just because I think it would be more fun (provided a dark night and some protection.) .Thanks for the tips and the log and safelight tests are definitely the most useful for me!

[@julienlanoo6823]

1- Only use distilled watter for your chemical mixing, like one did at school in chemistry class, - > chemicals stay good longer, yr PH stays low... ( 5 liters of distilled watter is 87eurocent - for normal house hold, push really it by installing a distilled water generator, 250euros) 2- store them cold, in fridge, then warm up before use. 3- use revealing stop, turns purple when silver content is too high... 4- use fixer tester strips, it's 5 euro for 100 ... It also tests yr PH... 5- keep yr chemicals in airtight bottles. (squeechy bottles, or if you re a geek, vacuum pump) Done, yr chemicals keep good long, long, and fresh fresh... I do not bother with making chemicals younger, with the above techniques, they keep good for long, so doesn't matter if I have to make fresh ones complete...

[@joelsittler6997]

Best tip I have is read Ansel's book "The Print". It will blow your mind.

[@jhogan54321]

From the heart..... Thanks

[@lichtmaler]

good tips. Two comments. Dry down: use a wiper to view your wet print so the wet layer is removed which will give you better judgment on the print. Safe light: Kienzle offers LED lights which are tested for very narrow bandwidth so you get a brighter light which does not fog the paper. Keep up the good work.

[@jonjanson8021]

It can be a good idea to turn the safe light off during the enlarger exposure. Worth testing to see if it makes a difference with your set up. When I start to get tired I walk away from it, because being tired causes mistakes which means wasted paper. As you say don't rush. I adopt the attitude that I'm gonna have a great time doing tests, and then if I really feel like it, I may make a print as an added bonus.

[@GRAINTV]

Hey Jon! I have the light wired into the timer now too so the ONLY light in the room during exposure is on the paper.

[@jonjanson8021]

That's good. Mine's the same, when I hit 'expose' the safe light goes off for the duration of the exposure. The safe light can very slightly add to the exposure inertia. For testing fixer, I keep a few feet of exposed 35mm film. Cut an inch or so off and toss it into the fixer, if the fixer is good, it should clear in a minute or so.

[@facundomercy8585]

I enjoy a lot the calm and quietness with which you explain your videos. I have a question, why the darkroom can get hot and sweaty? Is that for the temperature request in some chemicals? I got lost on that part. Hope you're doing well and i wait for new videos. Greetings

[@slippingjimmys]

Loving your videos. Appreciate the information. But has anyone ever told you, one of your eyes blinks slower than the other. Either way! Bless you! Haha keep it up 💖

[@petizo8]

Just what I wanted to know!!! Awesome Chanel! How do you do to have good ventilation

[@marcisaacs9407]

Thank you for the tips, I will look up dry down. Meanwhile how about investing in a tiny air circulation fan or make one with a filter and light baffle. My first darkroom teacher insisted on it the first time he visited. Breath is life.

[@Kref3]

Nice mustache. And thanks for the insights. My opinions regarding them: 1: Totally agree. Chemicals are not that expensive, paper is, do not try to safe 50 ct per darkroom session for chemicals and ruin 30 USD/EUR of paper. 2: Maybe I should extend my fixing time, I usually do 3 minutes at a rather thick 1+5 I also have never had any problems with putting the light on after 10 - 20 s in the fixing bath. This is how it was taught to me by a master printer some years ago. The reactive part of the remaining silver will be gone after a few seconds. So I do much of the fixing in light. 3: Yes, I need new tongs :( 4: I have a Heiland LED red light on the ceiling replacing my old Kaiser lamps and was shocked by how bright it was. so I tested it immediately. I made a test strip test, moving the paper every 2 minutes 2 cm further, 15 steps. So in total a 30 minute test. no stain at all. 5. I use a Heiland Splitgrade Controller and I use a paper calibrated to the machine. So I can measure the exposure and gradient before I even start. My first image usually comes out perfectly and all I have to do is check, if there are places to dodge and burn. So as long as I do the rather cheap 8x10, I go for it at once. I did some prints on 60x40 cm paper. Now that I checked thoroughly by first making a good 8x10 print to figure out how to dodge and burn and then used test strips on the large image to determine that it really works as intended. 6 and 7: Obviously 8: Still battling with that. 9: As I described above, I will make one print directly with my Splitgrade Controller setup. I use this print later as my documentation. I note everything regarding the 8x10 exposure on the backside, mark the dodging and burning areas with a sharpie on the actual image, noting the gradient and time (in percentage of base time), etc. This is my most important reason to make one base print. 10: again obviously

[@heresmyurl]

I've listened to audiobooks for years and year and Treasure Island is one of my fallbacks. Such a good book to have on. I would also suggest old time radio shows, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, and so forth. All public domain. They are fun.

[@GRAINTV]

Awesome! I'll check it out!

[@minndxbmih]

great tips :-) do you have a link for your designed negative note sheets too ? would like to use something like that too after im into 4x5 now :-) thank you

[@suecrewstudio8994]

Nice tips thanks a lot 👍

[@shovax]

what kind of light do you use? led? lightbulb? with what filters?

[@grussem]

"I've been watching a lot of Narcos lately..." Bwaaa hah hah! Great video! Just subscribed!

[@PhilE-fb7jb]

Thanks

[@sergeydorovskikh3977]

Thank you for Darkroom Printing Log and Cheet Sheet, bro ;)

[@GRAINTV]

You got it! Glad it’s useful to you! Cheers!

[@jochend.8590]

Hey Chris, thanks for your video. But I'm wondering if your calculations on the chemical mixtures are correct. The developer seems right, but I think you made some mistakes on the rest. Hypo Cleaner: 1:4 mixture, 100ml Hypo and 300ml water makes a 1:3 mixture. But you wrote 1:4. The same for number 2, 3, 4 and 5.

[@JOHNNYVIPHOTO]

Chris ,Any corrections?

[@neilpiper9889]

My advice would be. Get a condenser enlarger and a Schneider Componon S lens.

[@chuck4x5]

Great video!

[@GRAINTV]

Thank you!

[@rlfsoso]

Hi, some comment on your fixing process with regards to chemistry use, residual fixer and washing times… if you use a two bath fixing method with film fix concentration - 1:4 - this is good practice, and would enable you to get shortish washing times for baryta paper (see Ilford on that or Beyond Monochrome), one critical thing is a) use neutral fixer and b) use the shortest, necessary fixing time. Two bath fixing will get you this, but… tadaaah: 30 seconds in first fix and 30 seconds in second fix… discard fix 1 when it approaches 1g Silver (this can be checked with test strips, Tetenal makes them) ands replace it with Fix 2 and mix a new batch of Fix two. Proper safe washing can be tested as well, I use test strips which have been processed exactly like the final print, so I don't have to stain a fine print for this. This should keep down your chemistry use (this after all is chemistry which needs to be properly treated) and enables to get the silver back too. Mixing fresh developer every time is good practice, but keeping it in brown glass bottles with the air pumped out is another viable option.

[@Georgescjh]

6:25 "Are you printing, honey ?" :) :) So funny, so true. :)

[@Soju_enjoyer]

Hey man, this doesn’t have to anything with photography, but you’re the first person that doesn’t look creepy with a mustache.

[@aantonic]

Once I even forget to add fixer to the water in th tray. It only took 10 sec to see a mistake, hehe

[@kiliandahlem7044]

There are safe lights (Red light) which does not affect your paper. Even if its bright or very close to the enlarger. You can do a bit of research but red light bulb doesn't mean red light bulb. There is really a difference in the red-coating and what light is really absorbed. BUT - yes safe light test. Happened to me too. Additionally: Phone going off (even in the pocket) or the tiniest light leaks from anywhere. I can add: Sit in the room for 15minutes straight, eyes closed. No - NO lights on, no safe light or anything. And look around if you see anything. If you can see your hand waving a bit in front of your face - there is somewhere light leaking through. Maybe the light from the door (the key hole ?) or underneath the door. I even got light from a tiny crack in the wall...

[@Dale_Willetts]

Damn, i'm super observant today. Watching and thinking "Whats different? does he normaly wear glasses?" ...... DOH!Just spent an hour stripping and cleaning the smaller of the 2 enlargers that i was given a while ago, hoping to get them working and fix up a small darkroom in a new shed in the garden.

[@randallstewart175]

My experience is that the print capacity stated by manufacturer for a given amount of fixer is reliable, actually conservative. My immediate reaction to your print staining problem was to go to a 2 bath fixer process. But then you revealed that you are using a two bath fixer. If your fixing proves insufficient, then consider (1) inadequate agitation of the print while in fixer. Rocking the tray a little doesn't do it; pull the print from the fixer bath and then reinsert, perhaps once every 30 seconds. or (2), old fixer. There is a definite shelf life for a working fixer dilution, whether partly used or not. Consider the Ilford's rapid fix & wash process using rapid fixer with very short fix and wash times. It looks dangerous, but it actually works quite well. It saves a lot of time but requires your continuous attention during the procedure.

[@maxipfeil9590]

"Everytime I print, I pop one out..." 11:18

[@Igaluit]

Never worth reusing chemicals. A lot of trouble and also not reliable. A paper safe is a worthwhile investment. I mean a paper safe, not a paper safe.

[@Igaluit]

Dry down is a bitch. What looks great at night can look terrible next morning.

[@GRAINTV]

I recently got a RH Designs F-Stop timer that has dry down compensation. That has been awesome for me. The only problem is that that I constantly forget to hit the button to use it when making my final prints! AH!

[@Igaluit]

I saw the video by the famous darkroom printer who invented f-stop printing. I still don't quite fathom the difference with regular printing. I imagine the dry down button still won't give you a real visual picture of the end result. All I can say, is that when you happen to do a lot of darkroom printing on a sprint, you can sometimes estimate just on instinct. Of course, the hair dryer or microwave helps too.

[@Igaluit]

Ah, Gene Nocon was the name for inventor of f.stop printing. He has a fascinating video here on KZbin.

[@Igaluit]

I saw the video by the world famous darkroom printer who invented f.stop printing, but I still can't wrap my head around the idea or fathom the difference between it and regular printing. All I can say is that when you have these darkroom printing sprints, sometimes you can estimate the dry down just from instinct. of course, the hair dryer or microwave helps.

[@user-kcrpine]

That entrance was seriously lame, brother. No offense but damn.

[@mc-ec3bu]

10x8 not 8x10 , 5x4 NOT 4x5 .

[@danem2215]

Ilford and everyone else labels them 8x10 and 4x5. Sounds like you're the one in the wrong.

[@gonzoexpress9885]

​@@danem2215 You're correct.