Portable Dark Room

[Two23]

I'm still thinking of tackling wet plate next spring when the weather gets warmer. All of my shooting will be done on location so I need a portable set up. My thinking was to build something that fit in the back of my Subeeboo Forester. I could just stand behind the rear hatch of the car and work in a small dark tent. How about something like this link? I could put a big plastic tray in the bottom and do all the work while looking through the red window? It would have an added benefit of keeping me away from fumes. Any thoughts of how this would work for on location wet plate? Price looks OK.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Da...4AAOSwBZxb2ZGR


Kent in SD

[robertraymer]

There are many on here who can probably tell you more, since I just started with wet plate myself, but that looks like it would be a huge pain to work out of. Probably good for changing film, but not nearly enough space for sensitizing and developing plates, even small ones. Not to mention the hassle of getting the plates in/out repeatedly.

Have you considered a dark box? I have only very basic woodworking skills and managed to build myself a light tight dark box to shoot up to 8x10 (maybe larger?). Only took a few days and probably around $200 in materials. Fairly light and fits in the back of my jeep (24"x31"x16"). I won't be hiking with it or anything, but it is easy enough to shoot with on location if im not walking too far from my vehicle.

[Two23]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm still in the "research" phase and need ideas. I know that something that allows me to work out of the back of my Forester would be the starting point.


Kent in SD

[Jwheeler331]

When I first started doing Wet Plate I built a dark box. It served me good and then I converted an enclosed trailer into a mobile dark room. It was great to have the extra space and be able to go in and out freely through the side door. Then I sold my truck and ended up getting a Jeep Wrangler so the mobile dark room was too much for the Jeep to comfortably haul around. I am now back in my dark box until I can find me a smaller trailer to convert.

Here is my dark box in the Jeep out in the field.

My dark box is pretty heavy and especially with the dark shroud attached. I have been contemplating on if I want to make another one using lighter materials but so far I haven't.

[robertraymer]

Im not sure how much space there is in the back of a Forester, but much like the above post mine fits easily in the back of my Wrangler. Here was my process in going about deciding what to do.

First, I knew that I did not have room for a full darkroom in the house, otherwise I would have done that and had space for all my film/plate needs. I also considered buying and converting a trailer, but I couldn't justify the expense, didn't want it being an eyesore in the driveway when not in use, and it wouldn't be easily towed along by my jeep. I also considered an old food/ice cream truck to make a full size dark room for film and plates, and may revisit the idea at some point in the future, but for right now has the same expense/eyesore issues as the trailer, but with the upside of driving itself.

Getting away from full darkrooms and into more portable solutions I considered a number of "tent" solutions. There is a company in the UK that makes light proof darkroom that seemed decent and not terribly expensive (under 1K US), but I don't shoot enough to want the hassle of setting it up and breaking it down every time I shoot. I thought about a pop up changing tent, but quickly decided that the hassle of making them light tight was not worth it. I then considered an ice fishing tent or a blackout camping tent, since I know that many people have had success with them, but decided that both would be too much hassle to make perfectly light tight and to set up/break down as well. That got me thinking about dark boxes.

Originally I was just going to purchase one, but I realized that they are both expensive (which I don't mind given the hand crafted nature) and take a long time to be done, so I started thinking about DIYing one and that ended up being my best option. Once I decided to do it I had to figure out my needs, which in my case were room to develop plates up to 8x10 (meaning all necessary equipment that would need to be in the box), not too heavy, easy to build, and able to fit in the back of my jeep. So I measured my jeep, then measured the space I would need to be able to work in the box, which required both laying out all the equipment to see the footprint size I would need, as well as mimicking the process and making sure I had enough height and depth as well. This gave me my measurements.

The final step was to buy the materials and make it. As I said, I have little woodworking experience so it is very simple. I did not have the tools for box joints, so I just joined everything together on end with glue and a nail gun and made a simple box with an opening that was hinged on the top and bottom. I used a light 1 inch finished plywood (I think birch) for the sides and front, and a 1/2" plywood for the back to keep weight down. For the shroud I just used a length of blackout fabric from the local fabric store, cut it to size, and stapled/glued it to the inside edges so it falls down over me when the box is open and folds up inside the box when not in use.

I know I typed a lot, but hopefully reading my process will help you approach working out what it is you need.

[Two23]

Here is my dark box in the Jeep out in the field.

My dark box is pretty heavy and especially with the dark shroud attached. I have been contemplating on if I want to make another one using lighter materials but so far I haven't.

This is exactly what I have in mind. Does daylight reflect back up from the ground and screw things up? I met a guy in Pipestone, MN (Dave Rambow, runs the Bennett Museum in Wisconsin) that had a similar set up to yours. His was on a stand. I'm afraid with the wind here that wouldn't be very practical for me. Plenty of room in the back of a Forester for this.


Kent in SD

[Two23]

The final step was to buy the materials and make it. As I said, I have little woodworking experience so it is very simple. I did not have the tools for box joints, so I just joined everything together on end with glue and a nail gun and made a simple box with an opening that was hinged on the top and bottom. I used a light 1 inch finished plywood (I think birch) for the sides and front, and a 1/2" plywood for the back to keep weight down. For the shroud I just used a length of blackout fabric from the local fabric store, cut it to size, and stapled/glued it to the inside edges so it falls down over me when the box is open and folds up inside the box when not in use.

I'm thinking of using my Chamonix and buying a Chamonix 4x5 holder. As a beginner I don't want to mess with 5x7 yet. For a frame I'm thinking PVC pipe. That would allow me to pull it apart and store it more compactly. I could simply cover the whole thing with black out curtains from Walmart, maybe attaching them with velcro? Maybe use a solid masonite type panel for the base? Put a big plastic tray (storage box lid?) in the bottom and add a red window, maybe a small set of shelves. I think it might work.


Kent in SD

[robertraymer]

I thought about a covered PVC type contraption like that but ultimately decided that the relatively little space savings I would get with that compared to the box I made was not worth all the extra effort I would have had to put in the design and build plus constant assembly and disassembly. Really all that matters is that it works for you.

As for light coming up from the bottom, I just made sure that I cut the fabric long so that when at normal working height there was extra at the bottom to bunch up on the ground and act as a light trap. I know some people leave them short so they can simply pull them over their head then have something they can cinch around their waist to keep out light.

[Erik Larsen]

Here's what I cobbled together. Set it on a portable picnic table as shown. It's 2 feet deep by 4 feet wide. I use a red led flashlight for illumination. The fabric is blackout cloth from Joann fabrics. It all folds into a small 2x4 suitcase. It works fine but I still would like more space....

[Two23]

Very minimalist. I like it! I also like the white outside, to reflect heat.


Kent in SD