So here goes -- DarkroomGuide.com -- I leased the space and am finally moving out of my garage, bathroom, guest bedroom, part of the living room, most of the kitchen and all of the walk-in closet.
I'd appreciate tips and feedback as I tackle this job. The website itself is buggy and incomplete but I'll be posting updates on the construction of the darkroom and studio as I go along.
Wow nice big space, but so much to do. Painting walls is cheap. Paint the floors? Or hard wood for the studio.
Plumbing, sinks, electrical.
Lots of $$$
Originally Posted by cyrus
"Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will
accomplish them."
Warren G. Bennis
www.gbphotoworks.com
Having that much space is great but it sounds like a lot of work and maybe money for a space on which you only have a one-year lease. Good luck, I'd have killed for that much space when I used a darkroom. I had three darkrooms over the course of about 15 years, the biggest was the second one, probably about 6'x10' but that space was shared with a washer and dryer.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
36 X 20 I'm envious !
My observation is that you should divide the space 2/3 and 1/3 with 2/3
being your stage, you'll want the room to swing lights and position your camera.
Congrats & good luck !
Cheers!
Not as grand but I also just bought a studio (70 sq. feet room plus a small kitchen/tiolet, about 40 sq. feet). Could not affect any more fitting works. But I hope that I can get my 4x5 enlarger (which I got it from here from Canada which much hard work of posting of the previous owner). Other than that it would mainly for housing my Jobo gears.
Schedule to use it twice a week as like this, it is off from work and home!
Mike of TOP is also building one. It seemed it is a new world wide "trend" :-) after all those abandonment.
Good luck to you and I am looking forward to see your finished one soon.
You may be right. I could use a giant white drop cloth on the floor when shooting and remove it when I need to make space. Certainly a lot less work invovled.
I built a 10x17 foot darkroom in my basement a couple of years ago. It is large enough for my 4x5 Omega and my floor standing 8x10 Elwood enlargers. It also contains a wet side sink about 8 ft long. It includes storage and work space for filing negs and a large plastic clothes wardrobe for drying them away from dust.
In addition to the large dedicated darkroom sink, I put in a simple inexpensive utility sink which turns out to be the best and worst decision I made. Worst because it is totally inadequate for my needs. It is too small to wash 16x20 trays or a large Jobo drum. It has my single faucet when I wish I had one for a print or film washer, one for washing utensils and perhaps one more always available for rinsing hands. If I had a film processor, I might need yet another faucet. It was the best decision I made because I invested all of about $30 in the sink and the faucet combined. I literally said "Let's get this. It might not be what I need, but I don't really know what I need right now."
After using the darkroom for two years, I am thinking about building a custom sink large and deep enough for washing trays with a shallow section next to it for either a print washer or a holding tray with a tray siphon. It will have three faucets including one with a foot operated valve for rinsing hands.
I also did not think ahead to provide dedicated space for drying prints on screens. I stack up screens on old film developing tanks over my long wet side sink. It is probably not the best solution, I would like to keep more distance between my washed prints and the place where chemicals are spilled, but it is not crying out for an immediate fix.
When I shared a studio, all I could think of was that I needed more space, once I had
light stands etc set up, folding sturdy tables are good too, easy to get out of the way
when you need the space.
The building looks familiar, is in Greenpoint, Brooklyn ?
I updated the site with more details and a video that shows the space
http://www.darkroomguide.com/2010/07...-darkroom.html
A big darkroom speaks to big stuff. I am finding that my market is with big prints. People who buy my kind of photography have lots of money with big houses and big walls that cry out for big prints.
If I had a space like that I would install both a vertical and horizontal 10x10 enlarger. I would also have some kind of big table for cutting big paper sizes from roll paper. Currently, I built such a table in my 11x11 basement that I share with my workbench and the furnace. I can cut up to 20x50 panoramic print sizes and 30x40 rectangular print sizes from 40 inch roll paper. Because I work with color materials, all cuts have to be made in total darkness.
Just some alternative considerations...
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