This summer, my sister Annie and I had a goal to make a wet darkroom in the older side of our basement...It was sort of a distant thought until I came across a Beseler enlarger at a local goodwill. I didn't know much about film photographer so I got my Annie to look at it. She said that it was the same brand as the enlargers they use at her school.
So we got the Enlarger after testing it out for $15
Over the next couple weeks, we kept our eyes out ( what a funny expression...if thats even it "kept our eyes out") anyway, while digging through trash piles we got a couple trays. But the jackpot came when Adam stumbled across a large pile outside someones house that contained the makings of a very advanced darkroom. I think he said he spent around 3 hours digging in that trash pile.
Anyway, the list of things we added was extensive and all of it was FREE.
We then began clearing out a corner and light proofing the basement. It took some black trash bags and some old thick blankets we had around the house.
Our father helped us fashion a safe light out of some sheet metal and red plastic we found.
We borrowed a lens from our Grandmother, who has a darkroom.
Annie's photo teacher was ecstatic about our project and donated a timer and several bottles of new developing chemicals.
We made our first prints using Annie's negatives from the past school year. she taught me how the workings went and I did my first composite. Definitely a fun time...and more to come.
Total costs
Enlarger - $15
low wattage light bulb - $2.39
Everything else - FREE
No comments:
Post a Comment