I have created this web site to aid amateur photographers who would like to produce their own Black and White photographic prints from film. The addition of darkroom experience to your talents as a photographer should increase your overall photographic enjoyment and aid in the maturity and excellence of your final prints.

I have tried to write a comprehensive account of the home darkroom and I hope that what I have written here will inspire photographers to try their hand at darkroom work.

The home darkroom is more than a place to quickly produce a stack of black and white prints. It is a place where you, as an avid photographer can go, to produce a photographic print that is truly your own - not one knocked off by the local photo lab. What I hope that you will achieve with your home darkroom is the art of custom printing - getting that print exactly the way it should look, not just a quick reproduction. Time that you spend in the darkroom will gradually build your confidence and increase your expertise at printmaking.

Seeing your photographic image slowly appear in a tray of developer for the first time is a wonderful experience. You have captured that image and have composed it in a way that is a delight to your eyes.

A black and white photograph can in many cases show much more emotion and mystery than its color counterpart. Quite often a color print of the same subject can just overpower the viewer with the sheer beauty of its color, while hiding all feeling of the scene. There is indeed a place where color is preferable - examples could be sunsets, or a colorful busy marketplace, etc. But take the example of an elderly fisherman, with deep wrinkled lines from years of exposure to the elements. Now imagine his face captured on a black and white photograph, seen from the many shades of grey through to black - pure magic for the lucky viewer.

The ideal black and white photograph should have a full range of grey tones and at the same time pure black and pure white. If you can achieve these parameters, then very likely you have shown detail and texture in your image, and if your composition and subject matter is interesting, then you probably have conveyed emotion and possibly a sense of awe to that lucky viewer.

Black and white is preferable for the home hobbyist because it is far easier and much less technically demanding than color. The initial setup costs of the color darkroom are also much higher than for black and white. This may be as much as $1000 more for a nice color setup, although once you have set it up, your chemical and paper costs for color or black and white should not be much different.

• Pricing for the Darkroom -
  The cost of a home darkroom and the required equipment will vary greatly depending on which part of the world that you live in. Prices also change, so rather than my trying to estimate a cost for your room, I suggest that you make a list of the required building materials for your project and then price them at your local building center.
  I would recommend the same for the equipment (enlarger, trays, etc.), - make a list and then price it all out before you make the commitment to go ahead with the darkroom.

In addition to the material contained in this site, there are many excellent books available from book stores and public libraries on the subject of darkroom photography, complete with diagrams and pictures.

The information contained in this site, is available for your
Personal Use ONLY!
Copying or reproduction for non-personal use, is not allowed without prior permission!