Getting the Image onto Paper

As so often the case in any hobby, it isn’t always as easy as it seems. On the surface, it’s a walk in the park, but as you fall deeper and deeper into “the hole”, the ease you once saw slowly slips away. With most hobbies, if not all of them, the further down the hole you go, the lighter your wallet becomes.

    A while ago I wrote a couple pieces on shooting and developing film. It is a trip back into the past, before our cameras became miniature computers or just another accessory on our phones.

    I find it fun to rely on myself to get a sharp negative that has been properly exposed. The more I do it, the better I feel I've become. This motivates me even more. There are film cameras which have automatic focusing and aperture and shutter functions that can help improve my shots. A few of them are in my back room but so far, I’ve managed to avoid using them. I’ve stuck with the manual cameras.

    After developing a roll of film, I had been scanning them onto my computer. By using Photoshop I was able to adjust the pictures, correcting the brightness or contrast along with cropping them to provide an image that was similar to the one I had envisioned when I depressed the shutter. It was simple and didn’t take much time and I could accomplish it while sitting at my desk next to the window, with my coffee close at hand.  I was pleased with the results and they were easily shared with others.

    While talking with one of my friends, she told me that her husband had an enlarger and if I wanted it I could have it. We got together and I was given 4 or 5 boxes of gear! Inside there were 3 different enlargers, timers, lenses, red lights, film reels, tanks and a whole bunch of other gear. WOW, where do I start?

    I didn’t have a place I could put an enlarger. It would need to be DARK, a darkroom, light will ruin photographic paper! Darkness is a prerequisite. Many years ago, I should say, decades ago, I had made a darkroom in the back of my garage using black plastic. Later I made one out of a coal cellar. 

    While running my options around in my head, I decided to put the enlargers together. There were three of them, a larger unit and two smaller duplicates. The bigger enlarger excited me more but I decided to tackle ones that I was more familiar with, I had used enlargers like these in the past. They were Omega C700’s, a fairly simple design.

    Using an on-line manual they were quickly assembled. I put a negative in the holder and turned off my lights and turned it on and an image showed up on the baseboard! I adjusted the focus and it looked good! The image was square and everything seemed in focus. 

     The bigger enlarger, a Beseler 45MXT came next. Thankfully there was a manual included with it. I have to say it was like putting a 3-d jig saw puzzle together. Included was an exploded view with all the parts listed, complete with the size and length of the bolts. This was important since a few were missing, and I needed to visit the local hardware store to get replacements.

    The light source is a cold light, bought after the enlarger was purchased. It worked but the diffuser lens was missing. It is a piece of glass about 7 ¼ inches in diameter. I found ONE on line, in Canada but I was too cheap to pay the same amount for shipping as I did for the lens. I started looking around to see if I could find another one or to “Mickey Mouse” something together. I finally found some plastic sheeting at a hobby store that would work, or at least I hoped.

    Now, the next problem, where do I set these up? They did look kinda cool sitting in my living room, but I couldn’t use them there. I have a nice spot in my basement, unfortunately it leaks when it rains. I don’t want any water falling on this equipment!

    I cleared off some of my workbench. It is far from ideal but for testing purposes, it would work fine. There are open floor joists above it with water pipes and drains going through them. Shelves sit behind it with jars of screws, bolts, nuts and nails in them. Dust and cobwebs are everywhere.

    A wall of dark plastic helped shield the little light leaks coming from the kitchen. I did a few tests to see if I could see any others. I went in and turned all the lights off and stood there, searching for any light. I found a few small leaks and they were quickly covered over.

    Next, I brought in one of the smaller enlargers and set it up, hung a safe light near-by and set up a table to hold my trays. It was time for the first attempt!

    I bought a pack of 8x10 glossy paper, 25 sheets for my first try. The developer and the other chemicals were all new. I mixed them, filled my trays, selected a negative and did a test strip. Then…the big moment, I put a piece of paper into the easel and hit the button. A minute later, an image was looking up at me in the developer tray. Next it went into the stop bath, then the fixer and then off to the stationary tub where I wash the prints. Turning the lights on, I was pleased. It could use a bit of dodging, but for my first picture in decades, I was happy!

   I started cutting the paper into smaller pieces. A single sheet of paper is too expensive to waste on making test prints. This is a wonderful example of what I was talking about earlier. None of the essentials are cheap; chemicals, the paper and of course, same with the film!

    A couple days of making prints with the small enlarger got me excited about what the bigger machine could do. I didn't have enough room so I turned my toolbox 90 degrees to free up a little more space.  I re-dusted and removed the new cobwebs and then Ann Marie helped me get it into the basement. It just fit through the door; it was NOT a one person move.

    Finally the day came, everything was hooked up, all my essential supplies were at hand. It was time to try it out. Everything seemed to be working fine. This enlarger can handle up to a 4x5 negative but I don’t have a lens capable of handling one that large. I can envision my hole getting deeper... I was happy to see that I can make prints with my medium format negatives.

    I jumped a bit deeper into the hole and ordered another box of paper. This one was a smaller size but a larger quantity. 100 sheets of pearl finish 5X7 paper, more money falling around me in the hole. Another thing I am spending more of, is time, but after seeing the prints developing in my trays, it is all worthwhile.

    There are a few things which need fixed in the near future but for the time being, I’m able to print pictures onto paper!

    Looking at my prints, once again I realize that to make a good picture, it takes more than just good equipment; you need good subject matter, a good negative and we can’t forget, a bit of skill. (I’ll always be working on that!) It is exciting when all of these prerequisites come together. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying to do my best, trying to get everything aligned, doing it the old-fashioned way, using a good old shovel to dig my hole by hand!