I finally finished the darkroom and am astounded at the difference a printed image makes over a scanned negative; there really is no comparison. It's not just the depth and tones in the picture, but the feel of the glossy paper makes the viewing of the photograph a much more sensory experience, not just a quick and dirty glimpse of life on a computer screen or even an ink jet reproduction of a scan. It brings me back to childhood too, when you'd be handed a photograph and you'd really look at it, instead of a second later hitting the right cursor to the next image.

Of course techniques of passing information such as this blog will always be relevant, it's just a pity that you can't feel what you're seeing on here in it's full glory! (I have been scheming though, perhaps I could receive money in exchange for my manual labour and some Ilford Multigrade paper...........).

So here it is in it's full glory, the result of two garage sale purchases; lots of kit from a couple of people who no longer needed it. Well over a thousand dollars worth of equipment for $120!

In simple terms, what you can see is my second bathroom completely sealed from outside light, lit by a safe light (brown) with chemicals in the bath and an enlarger projecting an image (controlled by a relatively sophisticated timer). The images created with this equipment are washed and dried before they look like this.

I've been printing to roughly 10" x 7" dimensions and the photographs are looking fantastic, showing detail I never even knew was held in the negative and detail I certainly didn't see on the digital screen.

For instance, one of my favourite photos of a couple sharing Japanese food on Swan Street, below. I have spent much time enjoying this image but never once noticed the ghost of a cyclist streaking across the middle of the image, not even with it at full size on my 21" LCD monitor; not until I was shaking the last drops of water from the paper before letting it dry.

And so I venture further into the past.....