The Week of 5 Random Things: #4 Thursday

Printing Colour Photographs in the Darkroom



Occasionally I spend some days in the darkroom making prints. I have to say that its rather a boring process, that roughly can be described as the following:

1. Expose photographic paper with an enlarged negative.
2. Put this paper in a machine (That does the rest for you)

Not really exciting huh? Thats why the days in the colour darkrooms are very very boring and depressing . A great selfportrait underlines this statement. Its just exhausting to be in the dark all day, waiting for this fucking machine to develop your picture!!!



SO Today, I decided that it was time for CHANGE.....I made somemall modifications in my workprocess, to make it all a bit more enjoyable and less boring.



This is todays selfportrait, after 8 hours of printing Look how full of energy I still am! What a difference with the other portrait!

Here is what i did ( i got one of those special nightvision cameras to document the first part of my trick)





I dont know, but everytime im in the dark - I just feel like sleeping. And if you dont, well ..that just fucks you up. So Thats why i hung a hammock in the darkroom, so I can sleep and PRINT at the same time.

The trick is to hang it in between your enlarger and the machine.



If you swing one way, you can just reach out your arm and expose the paper (like you see here)
And then swing back....


To the machine, where you put your paper in! How easy is that!
You can sleep for a couple of more minutes, before heading out to chek your print.
Getting out of the dark always makes me feel like I want a coffee though.....



The coffee machine however, is on the other end of the school. Wich makes getting coffee into an exhausting trip . So I build a little thing that gives me unlimited acces to discusting (but Cafeine containing) cappuchinpos - without leaving the print area!



The solution was rather simpel. I just got one of those el Cheapo garden hoses, and attatched it to the nearsest coffee machine. I just jammed the "cappuchino" buttow with a toothpick, so the espresso with milk flows endlessly.









And well, as you can see, it was long enough! This is me waiting in front of the machine that develops my picture. Normally it takes ages, but this time....well ... before I knew it



MY PRINT WAS DONE!!




And this way, ladys and gentelman, I made over 10 prints today, without getting tired and bored!
Isnt that great?