Dark Room
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A darkroom is used to process
photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin photographic emulsion, emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the ...
, make prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of
light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...
-sensitive photographic materials, including film and
photographic paper Photographic paper is a coated paper, paper coated with a light-sensitive chemical, used for making photographic prints. When photographic paper is exposed to light, it captures a latent image that is then Photographic developer, developed to form ...
. Various equipment is used in the darkroom, including an
enlarger An enlarger is a specialized transparency Image projector, projector used to produce Photography, photographic prints from film or glass Negative (photography), negatives, or from reversal film, transparencies. Construction All enlargers consist ...
, baths containing chemicals, and running water. Darkrooms have been used since the inception of
photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
in the early 19th century. Darkrooms have many various manifestations, from the elaborate space used by
Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...
to a retooled ambulance wagon used by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. From the initial development of the film to the creation of prints, the darkroom process allows complete control over the medium. Due to the popularity of color photography and complexity of processing color film (''see C-41 process'') and printing color photographs and also to the rise, first of
instant photography An instant camera is a camera which uses instant film, self-developing film to create a chemically Photographic processing, developed print shortly after taking the picture. Polaroid Corporation pioneered (and Patent, patented) consumer-friend ...
technology and later
digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is ...
, darkrooms have been decreasing in popularity, though are still commonplace on college campuses, schools and in the studios of many professional photographers. Other applications of darkrooms include the use in
nondestructive testing Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), n ...
, such as
magnetic particle inspection file:Wet magnetic particle testing on a pipeline.jpg, A technician performs MPI on a pipeline transport, pipeline to check for stress corrosion cracking using what is known as the "black on white" method. No indications of cracking appear in this ...
.


Darkroom equipment

In most darkrooms, an
enlarger An enlarger is a specialized transparency Image projector, projector used to produce Photography, photographic prints from film or glass Negative (photography), negatives, or from reversal film, transparencies. Construction All enlargers consist ...
, an optical apparatus similar to a slide projector, that projects light through the image of a negative onto a base, finely controls the focus, intensity and duration of light, is used for printmaking. A sheet of
photographic paper Photographic paper is a coated paper, paper coated with a light-sensitive chemical, used for making photographic prints. When photographic paper is exposed to light, it captures a latent image that is then Photographic developer, developed to form ...
is exposed to the light coming through the negative, resulting in a positive version of the image on the paper. When making black-and-white prints, a
safelight A safelight is a light source suitable for use in a photographic darkroom. It provides illumination only from parts of the visible spectrum to which the photographic material in use is nearly, or completely insensitive. Design A safelight usua ...
is commonly used to illuminate the work area. Since the majority of black-and-white papers are sensitive to only blue, or to blue and green light, a red- or amber-colored light can be safely used without exposing the paper. Color print paper, being sensitive to all parts of the visible spectrum, must be kept in complete darkness until the prints are properly fixed. A very dim variation of safelight that can be used with certain negative color materials exists, but the light emitted by one is so low that most printers do not use one at all. Another use for a darkroom is to load film in and out of cameras, development spools, or film holders, which requires complete darkness. Lacking a darkroom, a photographer can make use of a
changing bag A changing bag is a photographic bag specifically designed to be light-proof and therefore to protect the light sensitive (unexposed) film before intended use. A changing bag is made of light proof material, and usually is composed of synthetic ...
, which is a small bag with sleeved arm holes specially designed to be completely light proof and used to prepare film prior to exposure or developing.


Print processing

During exposure, values in the image can be adjusted, most often by " dodging" (reducing the amount of light to a specific area of an image by selectively blocking light to it for part or all of the exposure time) and/or "burning" (giving additional exposure to specific area of an image by exposing only it while blocking light to the rest). Filters, usually thin pieces of colored plastic, can be used to increase or decrease an image's contrast (the difference between dark tones and light tones). One method of photographic printing, called "split filter printing," is where the photographer determines two separate exposure times using two separate filters (typically a 0 or 00, and a 5) to create a single print. This method allows the photographer to achieve a broad tonal range, with detailed highlights and rich blacks. After exposure, the photographic printing paper (which still appears blank) is ready to be processed. Photographers generally begin printing a roll of film by making a
contact print A contact print is a photographic image produced from Photographic film, film; sometimes from a film negative (photography), negative, and sometimes from a film positive or paper negative. In a darkroom an exposed and developed piece of film or ...
of their negatives to use as a quick reference to decide which images to enlarge. Some
large format Large format photography refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120 film, 120- and 220-roll film), and much la ...
photographers, such as Edward Weston, make only contact prints of their large (4x5", 5x7", 8x10" or larger) negatives. The paper that has been exposed is processed, first by immersion in a
photographic developer In the Photographic processing, processing of photographic films, plates or papers, the photographic developer (or just developer) is one or more chemicals that convert the latent image to a visible image. Developing agents achieve this conversio ...
, halting development with a stop bath, and fixing in a
photographic fixer Photographic fixer is a mixture of chemicals used in the final step in the photographic processing of film or paper. The fixer stabilises the image, removing the unexposed silver halide remaining on the photographic film or photographic paper, le ...
. The print is then washed to remove the processing chemicals and dried. There are a variety of other, additional steps a photographer may take, such as toning.


See also

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Photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...
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Photographic studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. History Since the early years of th ...


References


External links

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