Rental/Private Darkrooms in Kauai, Hawaii?

[bmikiten]

I'm headed to Kauai for about a week in the early part of May and bringing my 4x5. I'd like to process the (B/W) film while I'm there. Does anyone here either have a darkroom they'd rent or know of one available? I'm working on chemical shipments and other logistics now.

Brian

[HMG]

I'm headed to Kauai for about a week in the early part of May and bringing my 4x5. I'd like to process the (B/W) film while I'm there. Does anyone here either have a darkroom they'd rent or know of one available? I'm working on chemical shipments and other logistics now.

Brian

www.localdarkroom.com

[bmikiten]

Thanks. I had already checked that and there are none on the island of Kauai.

Brian

[HMG]

Thanks. I had already checked that and there are none on the island of Kauai.

Brian

I should have paid more attention to your post title. My bad.

[domaz]

That's probably going to be a difficult ask, Kauai is a pretty small sleepy island compared to the other Hawaiian islands. If you just need to develop that can probably be done pretty easily in just about any bathroom though if you do tank development. One thing that might help is weighing out and mixing your own powdered developer (D-72 maybe) in a small quantity and shipping it to yourself. Same for fixer- just use Thiosulfate crystals and make a basic fixer. Use vinegar or water for stop bath.

[bmikiten]

I'm hoping to order developer and fixer and ship it to our friend in advance. I can use BTZS tubes to develop but was hoping to have a true darkroom. The house we are renting has (of course) a ton of windows.

Brian

[domaz]

I'm hoping to order developer and fixer and ship it to our friend in advance. I can use BTZS tubes to develop but was hoping to have a true darkroom. The house we are renting has (of course) a ton of windows.

Brian

If you are in a rural area Hawaiian nights are very dark. I stayed on a remote AirBnb on the big island and the amount of stars you can see there is nothing short of staggering.

[mike rosenlof]

yes nights can be dark, but the moon or neighbors can be bright. I think the OP needs to have an option for processing in daylight (at least not total darkness) to be successful. BTZS tubes can probably do the job, but open trays probably not if there's no windowless room.

I took 4x5 to Hawaii Island last month. No problems with TSA inspections, 2 factory sealed film boxes on the way there, 3 unsealed boxes of unexp, normal, and -1 dev film on the way home. They swabbed the boxes and I was done. This was the pre-check line. Your experience may vary, but it went fine for me.

[bmikiten]

I would agree about the TSA. I took about 20 rolls of 120 to Yosemite (shooting 617) two weeks ago and had no issues at all. I'm thinking that I'll just bring boxes of 4x5, a changing tent and load on-site. I just would prefer to process there if at all possible.

Brian

[Two23]

If all you're wanting to do is process film my strategy has been to use a stearman SP445. I load it at night in either a windowless bathroom with lights off in adjoining room, or in a closet with lights off in adjoining room. I once loaded the SP-445 in the walk-in freezer at a local restaurant! Totally dark in there. Once you have the SP-445 loaded you're good. It's very compact and a great travel solution.


Kent in SD

[mike rosenlof]

I agree that the Stearman tank could be a good choice. I don't have one, but have heard mostly good reports. The steel tank that takes 4x5 sheets should work well too.

I realize the OP may be headed out soon, too late to go shopping now, probably. Have a good trip! Please let us know what you chose and how it worked out.

[Drew Wiley]

Unlikely there. And the property owner might not be terribly happy about unfamiliar chem going down the drain. Kauai is understandably somewhat strict in certain areas. You better ask about that in advance. We haven't flown to the Islands during the pandemic, but numerous times before with both sheet and roll film up to 400 speed TMY. Never a problem even with the multiple X-rays, even densitometer fbf tested afterwards. Simply changing out holders is no big deal; I've done that atop kitchen counters with a little Harrison film tent. But I would far rather have my own full temp control and other darkroom amenities here when doing the actual dev, rather than risking streaks or so-so results in some improvised setup.

[r.e.]

I'd get on the phone to people in Hawaii who are likely to know the film photography scene there.

[CantikFotos]

Contact Treehouse Photo Lab in Honolulu. A buddy of mine in Saipan (shoots 4x5) has dealt with them before and they seem to be good people. They would probably know. https://treehouse-shop.com/

[Drew Wiley]

Kauai is quite a ways from Honolulu or the Big Island. Not much shows up per Lihue near the Kauai airport. Depending on where one is staying, it can even take quite awhile to drive between towns there. It's interesting to see that there is an outlet selling 120 and 4x5 film there; but even their processing service doesn't seem to handle sheet film.

[bmikiten]

Thanks. That was my first step. I spoke to all the local professional photographers and came up empty.

Brian

[bmikiten]

That is what I usually do but am staying in a house this time.

Brian

[Two23]

That is what I usually do but am staying in a house this time.

Brian


Really, there are two reasons you might want to develop film while on a trip. The first is to make sure you're getting the shots and there isn't a light leak or something. The second is to prevent someone during airport check-in from zapping the box of exposed photos. A compromise might be to use a SP445 and process a few sheets every now & then to check them, and to ship the rest back home using Fed-X or something.


Kent in SD

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks. That was my first step. I spoke to all the local professional photographers and came up empty.

Brian

Contact Kiamuki Camera on Oahu and ask where you could find this on Kuai.