Darkroom Pop-Up Tent Recommendations

[RJ-]

Hi,

I've been approached to run a pop-up darkroom as a part of an arts festival. I've only ever had experience of brick and mortar darkrooms with positive pressure ventilation/air conditioning.

Logistics aside (water, sink, electricals - this part is already taken care of), I wonder if anyone has experience of a pop-up collapsible/portable darkroom tent large enough for a few darkroom workers. Is there any advantage to silver mylar constructed tents or other materials?

Any recommendations or pros and cons of darkroom tents welcome.

Kind regards,

RJ

[John Layton]

Maybe get us up to speed on what you envision as your "program." "A few darkroom workers" implies that you might need quite a bit of space.

I participated in a wet plate workshop last spring - and we used an ice fishing tent...which seemed light tight, featured some ventilation, and three people seemed to fit comfortably. Not sure about using this to demo anything larger than either medium format and/or LF contact prints - something like an Omega
B22 on a sturdy but portable platform, with a collapsable leg table supporting trays.

So, again...share your goals and give us some specifics.

Edit: just noticed a wet plate tent in the FS section...

[Sanford]

Look into Quickfish tents. I use one of their tents for wet plate work, the Quickfish 3, and it would be OK for maybe 2 people, but would get tight with any more. They make larger versions though, and even new they are reasonably priced. You will need to seal the seams with something, I use flex seal. The doorways will need covers because the zippers let in quite a bit of light, and lastly, you will need to cover the windows with gels. I use three layers of #25 red gels. Oh yeah, they don't have floors, so a tarp or something needs to be used to keep light from sneaking in from around the edges. It all sounds far more difficult than it actually is

[Corran]

I have also been in a friend's ice fishing tent for wet plate and it works well, but it does get really hot really fast. But as noted above it really depends on what exactly you are looking to do. I wouldn't want to try to fit an enlarger into one of those things, and multiple people...

[MartinP]

Might it be easier to hire a big delivery van without windows in the back? It will also transport all the gear and be weatherproof. Just an alternative idea.