Setting Up a Darkroom in a Garage
Even in the age of high-quality digital cameras, some photographers – both amateur and professional – still prefer to use old-fashioned film to take pictures. No photographer needs an expensive studio with an expensive professional darkroom to develop film. A few simple measures and equipment can transform a home garage into a darkroom.
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Things You'll Need
- Water
- Barrel or bucket
- Electricity
- Blocking material
- Work surfaces
- Safe lights or LED lights
- Locks
- Extraction fan
Instructions
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Block out any sources of light in your garage; both windows and doors count as sources of light, even when closed. Use black paper, a blackout shade or black masking tape to cover windows and the crevices around and underneath doors. Some photographers find it more effective to use flat white objects to cover these light sources; that way, you can light the room gently if need be.
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Place work surfaces of some kind in your garage. These can be tables or desks, but stay away from expensive stained wood, as you may end up spilling chemicals and ruining the finish.
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Divide these work surfaces into wet areas and dry areas. Your dry area will need supplies such as a paper cutter, an easel, film tanks, an enlarger, a print dryer and a place to hang drying images. Your wet side will need some source of water, a sink, print tongs, film clips, a safelight, gloves and a face mask.
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Run a hose from a water source to your sink if your indoor plumbing is not piped into the garage. Keep a bucket or a barrel in your darkroom to collect the excess chemicals used in developing your photos.
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Ventilate your garage-darkroom well. The chemicals used in developing photos can be hazardous to human health if inhaled in large quantities. A face mask and gloves will give you immediate protection but if your central climate control’s vents do not pipe into the garage, use fans and open – but still blacked-out -- windows when developing film. An extraction fan above the wet area of your work surfaces is also recommended.
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Light your darkroom. Use low lights instead of brighter bulbs like halogen to protect your film when you need light. For a photographer who does not mind working with red lights, use LED safelights.
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Tips & Warnings
Limit your time spent in the darkroom in order to limit your exposure to those chemicals. Even with good ventilation in a darkroom, some level of exposure is inevitable.
Always keep photo developing chemicals away from pets or children. If you have pets or children, install a lock on your darkroom door and store developing chemicals high above reach, with lids screwed on as tightly as possible.
References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
