Oxford Darkrooms
I began my photographic journey in 1974 when my Dad bought a Pentax ESII, the first SLR to offer automatic exposure! A fascination with the machinery quickly led to a fascination with the processes of taking pictures and making prints. When we moved to the UK in ’76 I had access to proper photography books for the first time and, more importantly, the school darkroom. In fairly short order school lunchtimes became frantic processing and printing sessions. I worked very hard to achieve successful prints but I knew I was getting no where near the standards of fine art printing.
My Dad had a professional darkroom to support his work. I was lwelcomed into this darkroom by the staff who patiently taught me printing, photofinishing, mounting, toning and a host of other “lost” skills. “Old” boxes of paper were gifted and eventually the staff simply took time off to allow me unfettered access to the equipment. Money was tight, paper and film were expensive, so I made cash by rolling bulk film and selling it on. I even sold some pictures.
After medical school I joined the Royal Navy and moved around a lot. From time to time I had access to a “Pusser’s” darkroom but was unable to produce any consistent work. Frustration at having pictures printed for me, always unsatisfactorily, and modern advancements meant a move to digital was inevitable. But the digital darkroom experience was very sterile and rather dull.
In 2015, at our wedding Jo’s cousin produced a very nifty camera which caught my eye, an Olympus Pen F. So I bought one on EBay. Then another. And then another. I took a few refresher courses at Photofusion in Brixton and started putting together my own darkroom. For a small outlay only, I was soon producing good quality, fine art prints in this makeshift basement darkroom. A few more courses and a LOT of reading and studying ensued. And, inevitably, a few more cameras!
In 2021 we moved to Longworth in rural Oxfordshire. One of the main draws of the new house was an outbuilding that was previously an office. I gutted this building and set about constructing my ideal darkroom. Much of the effort centered around the construction of the sink, of all things. Re-wiring, boarding out, floor laying, plumbing and new doors and windows all followed and finally the 91kg worktop was installed. Meanwhile, I accumulated more equipment in a process that simply snowballed. On arrival in Longworth I had 2 enlargers and now I have 10. Quite a few of these were donated along with various useful equipment.
The 3 main teaching enlargers are Kaiser V 700 system enlargers which print from 35 mm up to 6 x 7 format. These are well made, sturdy and yet quite simple. Coupled with RH Labs timers and RB Beard easels the darkroom is unfussy and ergonomic. Having 3 more or less identical sets of enlarging equipment simplifies teaching for beginners and allows flexible allocation of resources. In addition the darkroom houses a De Vere 54 large format enlarger that prints everything from 1/2 frame to 5 x 4 inch negatives. A very nice V35 Leitz Focomat completes the current line up but the adjacent teaching room is currently being fitted out with blackout blinds to increase the actual darkroom space and allow additional enlargers (including colour) to be sited if required.
Everything has been planned with simple ergonomics in mind to make the darkroom easy to use for those not familiar with the environment. The equipment is not daunting but it is robust and the enlargers are complimented with fine lenses. Print processing, washing and drying are intuitive and there is a nice, well lit workbench for print finishing and negative cutting / selection and all important cleaning.
Courses will offer printing on 10 x 8 multi grade resin coated paper for ease of handling and drying and economy. Fibre based prints upto 16 x 20 can easily be achieved if there is a requirement.
Oxford Darkrooms 