Any darkrooms in New England with 8x10 Enlargers?

[Ethan]

Hey everyone,

I've had a lot of fun shooting with my 8x10 camera in the past few months, but my lack of access to an 8x10 enlarger has limited me to contact prints. Do any of you know of darkrooms in the central New England area with an 8x10 enlarger? I live in western Massachusetts, but frequently travel to southern Vermont and semi frequently to Boston, and I'd probably be able to travel up to an hour out of state if it means I can print some of these negatives.

So far the only place I have found is LaPete B&W labs in Boston, but after giving them a call I found out that their 8x10 enlarger is currently in need of repair, with no estimate on when it will be finished. Do any of you know of other darkrooms I should look into?

Thanks,
Ethan

(I'm not sure if this is the proper place for this thread, but I couldn't think of a better place)

[Greg]

There was a New England Large Format Collective around a few years ago. Haven't heard anything about them recently though. If they're still around, they would be a good place to start with.

[NHE]

The Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro has a 4x5 enlarger, not what you want but might be useful in the future. There is also this darkroom https://www.cameracommons.com/index.html. I have no first hand experience but it looks promising.

[Ethan]

The Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro has a 4x5 enlarger, not what you want but might be useful in the future. There is also this darkroom https://www.cameracommons.com/index.html. I have no first hand experience but it looks promising.

Thanks! VCP is actually where I do most of my printing. Thanks for the lead on that other darkroom though!

[Steve Sherman]

I was involved with NELFPC over the years. There are no rental dark rooms within the membership. There is a rental / membership facility in East Hartford. Call this phone # 860 263 8330. Ask for Chris, he is the owner Good luck.
Keep your eyes and ears open for the PhotoArtsXchange.com In Connecticut next May 15-17th.

[jnantz]

LaPete's is the only one i know of, and you have already been in touch with them ... :(

[FrancisF]

Check https://www.cameracommons.com/index.html

[Ethan]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I emailed cameracommons, and in case anyone else was interested in going there, it turns out that they do have an 8x10 enlarger, but it is currently dismantled because no one was using it.

[EdSawyer]

Camera Commons is a great place, I have been there many times (also was in a group show at one point). The darkrooms and facility quality are quite high. Hopefully they set up the 8x10 enlarger again.

[John Layton]

I'll second Ed's comments about Camera Commons. David Speltz, et al, have assembled a facility which perfectly combines "state of the art" analog technology with a design layout which addresses the practical needs of working photographic artists/practitioners.

[Ethan]

Hey people, I took a break from my 8x10, and was mostly doing medium format until recently. However, with more free time on my hands now, I've pulled out the 8x10 again, and have been having fun with it. That being said, I'm still lacking the ability to enlarge from these negatives, and I'd really like to do that. Does anyone have any new leads on where I might be able to find an 8x10 enlarger?

[HMG]

It's a longshot, but you could try: https://www.localdarkroom.com/ to see if anyone in the area is offering up their darkroom with an 8x10 enlarger.

[John Jarosz]

You might try the Vermont Center for Photography
https://vcphoto.org/services/public-darkroom/

2 issues:
They've suspended operations temporarily because of the Coronavirus.
I don't see an 8x10 enlarger on their list, but when I was there in September they had a lot of enlargers sitting and waiting to be sold or given away. If they have one it wouldn't be difficult to set it up.
Give them a call, they were pretty chill.

[Ethan]

You might try the Vermont Center for Photography
https://vcphoto.org/services/public-darkroom/

2 issues:
They've suspended operations temporarily because of the Coronavirus.
I don't see an 8x10 enlarger on their list, but when I was there in September they had a lot of enlargers sitting and waiting to be sold or given away. If they have one it wouldn't be difficult to set it up.
Give them a call, they were pretty chill.

Glad you liked it there! I'm actually a member of VCP, and do most of my work in their darkroom. Sadly, though they do have a back room crammed full of enlargers, none of them are 8x10 :(.

[Dan6077]

Ethan
Have a look at that pile of enlargers that was mentioned to you
If there is a Beseler 45MX you are in luck
I just had one converted to 8x10
Meet Frankie
202596
Very reasonably priced

[Ethan]

Ethan
Have a look at that pile of enlargers that was mentioned to you
If there is a Beseler 45MX you are in luck
I just had one converted to 8x10
Meet Frankie
202596
Very reasonably priced

How much did the conversion cost?
Edit: also, did you build the light source yourself, or find one somewhere?

[Chester McCheeserton]

http://palmpress.squarespace.com/services

been years since I've been in touch with them, but they used to have numerous enlargers that could handle 8x10 negatives

they were more of a commercial lab - not a rental place...

[Dan6077]

Ethan
The conversion consists of an LED light source, a body extension that lifts the light source away from the bellows, a universal glass negative carrier along with the hardware to attach this to a 4x5 enlarger body.
The negative carrier is designed to slide in between the LED light source and the body extension.
The person who built the kit lives in Denmark, Europe, and did an excellent job, and shipping to Canada was no problem
The kit can be built for a Beseler, which I have, and an Omega, (not sure which models)
I am not sure if there is a price difference between the two.
And since this is a person and not a company, I cannot give you a price that he can be held to.
I am sending him an email letting him know of our conversation, so he can give you a price himself.
But trust me this conversion costs way less than a new 4x5 enlarger
And if you can pick up an enlarger body inexpensively this is fantastic
You will need to get a lens, but they can be picked up on the auction site easily

Dan

[Chester McCheeserton]

I set up a Besser 8x10 conversion kit years ago...it worked but I found I had to burn in all 4 corners consistently to get evenness

[Dan6077]

Chester
What size lens were you using, if you can remember

Dan

[Chester McCheeserton]

Chester
What size lens were you using, if you can remember

Dan

It's been a really long time but I think it was a 240...

pretty sure that was not the case of my troubles though as whatever focal length it was I had borrowed it from a lab that had used it without a problem on 8x10 negatives

[Dan Dozer]

I use my old Kodak 2D 8 x 10 as a horizontal enlarger off the edge of the counter and project onto the wall. I found a cold light head to use as the light source and the rest was easy.