Using a RV as a traveling darkroom

[Kirk Gittings]

So now we know what goes on out there in the desert ....

while waiting for the "good light" you might as well do something constructive

[Richard Johnson]

[Jac@stafford.net]

My approach is to ignore the super high overhead of a dedicated mobile darkroom and instead employ a development kit I can use in a motel. Of course my life-mate Molly agrees. She has said, "We evolved for 250,000 years so why should sleep on the ground". Just to give a flavor to the issue.

[Nodda Duma]

I was thinking the same thing

[Drew Wiley]

pyro addiction?

[Drew Wiley]

... and you know the pyro is good if it's blue.

[John Layton]

...and if your fingernails are black.

[AuditorOne]

I have not printed yet but I develop 4x5 and 8x10 in my small pickup truck camper all the time.

I use Jobo daylight tanks with the 2509n reels for 4x5 and the Catlabs CL81 reel for 8x10.

The tanks are rolled on the Jobo rollers by hand.

I use small clips to hang the film from the curtain track that blocks off my over the cab bunk from the rest of the camper.

I lay a couple of beach towels along the edge to absorb the drips from the drying film. I have an overhead cooler/heater that can be run if needed.

I develop and dry film overnight to avoid dust from traveling.

I use my Patterson changing bag to load the reels (as well as my film holders.)

I use one-time shots of D76 and fixer for developing so I don't try to save any of the fluids.

All the fluids including wash water are dumped into a large plastic mixing bowl which is then dumped into an old 5 gallon water jug. This is all dumped when I get back home.

I use 8x10 archival tissue paper to interleave the negatives which are stored in film boxes.

Everything, including my Deardorff and associated equipment, stores in plastic tubs that are in turned stored in the small cabinet at the back of the camper.

It works great and does not require a lot of room. I have a very small counter area where I set my jugs of water, developer, etc. The small kitchen table is used to roll the Jobo tanks. I do use a slightly modified Ilford wash cycle which works quite well.

EDIT - I gave up sleeping on the ground shortly after I quite Boy Scouts.

[Two23]

As a bonus, maybe you could make the RV light tight and turn it into a big pin hole camera?


Kent in SD

[HMG]

As a bonus, maybe you could make the RV light tight and turn it into a big pin hole camera?


Kent in SD

I once visited a photographer's studio where he had a large barrel lens mounted on the darkroom wall facing out to his studio. The darkroom was, in effect, the camera body.