1. What are some of the safety concerns in a darkroom? What are some ways that you can reduce these risks? There is a safety concern because of hazardous chemicals that can cause burns and illnesses.
2. Why do some photographers choose to develop their own prints? One reason is that the photographer has control over the actual outcome of the print. They are able to take the final decisions which is way better than leaving someone else take over that task for you.
3. What are the steps in developing a roll of film in the darkroom? To start the developing process you will take the canister into the darkroom. Place the developing chemicals into the developing tank. Then you will take the film out of the canister and wind it onto a reel making sure that there is no dust on the film.Then the end of the film will be inserted into the center of the reel.Now its ready to e placed into the developing tank. (The time and the temperature that you use is very important in the process, usually the temp of the developer should be 68 degrees F.You can keep this temperature by having the developing tank in a water bath with the desired temp.) Now that the film is inserted you will need to presoak the film with water. Then you are ready to add the developer and close the lid of the tank. The time has to be very precise. You will want to shack or agitate the tank so that the chemicals can evenly coat the film. Keeping an eye on the temperature of the water that is under the developing tank to keep the right temp. When the right time has passed you will open the container and pour out the developer. The next step is to pour in the Acid stop bath and then close the lid once more leaving the tank in the water bath. Agitate the tank again. After that process time is done you will pour out the stop bath and then pour in the fixer to the film this will be the last chemical that we will be pouring in. After the time is up you will take off the lid and wash the film by adding water to the developing tank and leaving it stand for a specific amount of time. Empty the tank with water and add the wetting agent leaving it in for 30 seconds and then removing. Once that is done you will take the film of the reel and will hang them on a cord for drying. (You can add a clip to the bottom so that the film wont curl up) They will be hanging there for three to four hours to dry.
4. What are the steps in creating a print from a negative in the darkroom? Now that you have the developed film all ready and dry you will need together the materials that you will need for creating the print. The first part of the process will be to adjust the enlarger so that your photo will have the size that you desire. You will now place the negative in the negative carrier and place a used piece of paper in the paper spot on the enlarger. You will turn on the lamp on and make sure you have the correct size and focus.Then take off the lamp and take the paper off the enlarger. The next step is to make a test print so that you can know exactly how much exposure you will need. To do so you need to turn all the lights in the darkroom and load the paper onto to enlarger.Use the recommended time of exposure.( If you like the outcome than you will take down the details so that you can keep using that amount of time on that specific type of paper.) Even after this you will still not be able to see the photograph therefore you will need to take that paper that you just exposed to the light and then develop it. You will need four trays with the chemicals in this order from left to right... Developer tray, a Stop bath tray,one tray with Fixer and one tray of wash.( The order is extremely important to follow.) You will put the print paper in each tray for a specific time and you will need to use tongs to grab and move the print paper from one to another.You will see that the photograph will gradually show as it develops. After that the print is ready to dry and it will be done by