In the epistle "Diy" scribed 03-14-98 10:33,
Karen Wattie did thus proclaim to Larry Bolch:
Karen 
KW>  LB> It is entirely possible to develop the colour negatives as
KW>  LB> well, but it can be a bit boring - let the one-hour lab do
KW>  LB> that part.
KW>  So if you think color photos are just as well handled by one hour labs
NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! 
LET THEM DEVELOP THE FILM - THE NEGATIVES - NOT THE PRINTS!! 
If you develop your own NEGATIVES you are just emulating a
precise machine that can do it every bit as well and probably
cheaper. It is in the interest of the lab to maintain the
consistency of the film processing. If they do not - they will
lose money having to constantly do re-prints. It is possible
that your local lab does not exercise quality control, but if
they don't they pay the price. Only if you know they are poor,
does it make much sense to spend time emulating a dumb machine.
The art and pleasure is in making the PRINT! I never lost the
thrill of pulling an 11 x 14 colour print out of the drum and
seeing an image that I pre-visualized, photographed and made
into a print that matched what I had initially visualized.
Since being without access to my own darkroom, I have dropped
my personal shooting to a minute fraction off what it was in
the past. I just can't get behind a picture of mine that was
printed by someone else.
KW>  LB> Canadian houses have basements so there is rarely a need
KW>  LB> to actually enclose a darkroom - the whole basement works
KW>  Ummmm.....I don't know what kind of basements you are used to,
KW>  but all the ones I've ever seen have windows  :)
Been there - bought a pack of black plastic bags and a roll
of duct tape - 10 minutes later - a very spacious darkroom that
could be used in daytime. Aluminum foil also works, and even
may give a little insulation. Of course, if you do your work
at night, there may be no need to cover all the windows - just
any windows where light from neighbors or streetlamps would be
shining in the vicinity of the enlarger. The darker the better,
but I have worked in labs that were much less than pitch dark,
and had no noticeable fogging of prints. Starlight from a 
window across the basement would take days to fog a sheet of
paper - it takes considerable light from the enlarger to make
an exposure.
Film is much more sensitive, but that is not a consideration
if you let a local processor do it for you. Even if you like
emulating precise machines and develop your films at home, a
dark closet will be sufficient for loading it onto reels and
putting them into the tank. From there processing takes place
in the light.
Paper too is processed in light tight drums for the most part.
Expose the paper under the enlarger, slide it into the drum,
put on the lid and turn on the lights. There is a light trap
in the lid that allows you to dump the solutions into and out
of the drum. As the process takes place the drum is put on a
motor base that rotates it and keeps fresh solution in contact
with the developing print. Time and temperature are important
for consistent results, but not critical like with film.
My set-up was pretty simple. A Unicolor motor base, and a
few different sizes of drums. Unicolor also made an insulated
drum for film processing - insulated so that the temperature
would remain constant for the duration of processing. Very
slick rig that worked equally well with colour or black and
white. I don't see it listed in the current B&H ad, but there
are a number of other brands.
KW>  However enclosing my laundry room would not be a problem.
Sounds like a logical place to share with a darkroom. Been there
as well. A washer or dryer makes a pretty solid base for an
enlarger - as long as it is not running!
larry!
... Cat bathing is a lively martial art.
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