The Lomographer's Weekend Checklist: Darkroom Sessions

Don't fear the dark, you'll learn a lot from it. It's time to spruce up your analogue skill set and become a more accomplished film photographer by working inside the darkroom. Once you get the hang of it, you'll become more creative than you ever imagined!

Create a darkroom floor plan

To be able to work in the darkroom, first you need to have a darkroom. There are many advantages in having your own analogue workshop -- it's your personal chamber to unleash all your creative urges and cravings. For photographers who don't have one yet, or photographers who have a cluttered workshop we've gathered some of the most common darkroom floor plans for a proper and safe space:

Of course, since not all of us have that extra space, we've also picked some of our favorite tipsters in making your own darkroom with limited space. Here's one from @ilkadj on how to create a portable darkroom and @jesuisz's simple set-up for a darkroom.

Stock up on basics and supplies

You wouldn't want to be interrupted by inconveniences such as lacking stock of film developers and baths. Such distractions ruin the workflow. Our community member @ilkadj made a complete list of darkroom essentials as well as a comprehensive guide to film developing chemicals and some precautionary measures.

Trial and Error with Classic Alternative Printing Processes

Remember that the darkroom is your workshop. It's your personal, free space from everything but analogue photography, and nothing can stop you from trying and failing until you succeed. Make the most out of your darkroom by trying out antique art of alternative photography -- the photographic process that is older than celluloid film. Most art photographers prefer this technique due to the stylistic results.

While not all of these require you to have a darkroom, the room is a perfect space to lay out all these chemicals (especially with silver gelatin prints). You can try out salt printing from @analogue_rogue, or chemigrams, lumen printing by @lomodesbro, or make the beloved and ever popular cyanotype process from @chools.

Experiment on new substances (with caution)

Once you get bored testing out the classic alternative printing processes, why not experient on your own? There are many safe substances to mess with your negatives, and the results can be surprisingly beautiful.

You can try out the Lomographer's favorite, the film soup by @hodachrome, or play around your dishwasher with the dishwasher lab experiment from @hti. For more unique yet safe chemicals to mix with your film, check out Photogenic Alchemy for such controlled chaos.

Have some other plans in mind? What's in store for you this weekend? Share it with us through a comment below!

2017-02-17 #gear #tutorials #darkroom #tipsters #alternative-photography #tutorials #darkroom-tips #the-lomographer-s-weekend-checklist