How to Make a Darkroom in Your Bathroom

by Jason Row over at Lightstalking

Despite the current renaissance of film photography, one of the biggest issues facing celluloid fans is getting it processed and printed. Long gone are the days of mini-labs in every small town, today you are more likely to have to send it off to another location to get the processing done. Even more tricky is to find places that will process and print black and white film, so, with that in mind,  why not have a go yourself. Back in the analogue days, one of the most popular ways of doing this was to have a bathroom darkroom. This simple set up negated the need for a dedicated room and permanent set up, and allowed for the photographer to develop as and when he needed to.

So How Do We Set Up a Bathroom Darkroom?

Well, first and most importantly, we need to black out the bathroom. There are several ways of doing this, but one of the best ways is to make wooden frame covered in blackout cloth or plastic that fits snugly into the window’s alcove. To seal any further light leakage use a roll of duct tape to seal around the window and the doors. The advantages of using duct tape is that it is easily removed when finished and cheap. Once sealed, stand in the bathroom for ten minutes (and let your eyes adjust) to see where, if at all, light is leaking.

A simple solution to creating a darkroom – by Matus Kalisky, on Flickr

More here  How to Make a Darkroom in Your Bathroom

An Introduction to Lomography

Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, “happy accidents,” and alternative film processing.  Born out of a love for the Russian based LC-A camera manufactured by state run LOMO, the Austrian based, Lomographische AG is the company that produces a handful of cameras now that live by their funky effects and designs.

In a hobby that’s almost all digital, Lomography is all film based and has a huge following, one that seems to continue to grow.  While iPhone apps like Hipstamatic are extremely popular they simply don’t have the romance that film cameras can. Loading film, choosing which shots you will take, having the film processed and waiting for prints to be made is extremely

One of the main purposes of Lomography is to encourage snapshot photography.  While most people work on becoming more professional with their photography, the goal of Lomography is to have fun shooting, then enjoy whatever comes out…...more