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D A R K R O O M F E AT U R E
BACKTOTHEDARK AGES
WHILST THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE ADJUSTS TO BEING
DIGITAL AND MANY PHOTOFINISHING RETAILERS GIVE UP
ON ANALOGUE PRINTING ALTOGETHER, WE ASK: IS THERE
STILL ANY NEED TO SUPPLY DARKROOMS?
Theanswerisyes.
Whilsttheremaynotbealotof
callontheuseofyourowndark
room,ifyoustillhaveone,
hobbyistsstilllovedevelopingtheir
ownnegativesandmakingtheir
ownprintsandenlargements.
Why?Well,youcouldquestionthe
meritsofalmostanyhobbybutfor
thephotographerwhostillusesan
SLRandfilm,thisonepresentsa
uniqueopportunitytomakea
productsfromstarttofinish.They
capturetheimage,theydevelop autumnwehaveseenveryheavy andthehighermarginson
demandfordarkroomproducts darkroomproducts.”
bothfromschoolsandcolleges MetafixUKattributesitscontinued
andfromstudentsthemselves. growthtodemandfordisposalof
“Manyschoolsandcollegeshave darkroomwaste.
beenre-fittingdarkroomsand “Photochemistryfromlabsor
buildingnewonesintheUK.This darkroomsisnotallowedtobe
hasbeenmirroredinbothEurope dischargedtodrainunlesssilveris
andtherestoftheworld.While removedtolessthan2ppmand
mostseriousamateursnowmostly thepHofthesolutionisneutral,“
usedigitalcamerasthereisstilla explainsNickDean,Metafix.He
theirnegatives,theychoosewhich significantnumberwhostillusea explainshowcompanieshave
theywishtoenlargeintoprints darkroomandareoftenfrustrated foundanotherwaytomake
andgothroughthecreative whenlocaldealersshowno revenuefromdarkroom
processtoputthemontopaper. interestinsupplyingdarkroom processing.
Aswellasahobby,photography products.Thosedealerswhohave “Photoprocessingcompaniesare
isapopularchoiceforeducation remainedfaithfultothedarkroom chargedupto£0.50per
andmanystudentschooseanA- shoptorevealyourprints,getting havebenefitedfromthis litreforthechemistryto
leveloradegreeinphotography. theirhandsonthematerialsand upsurgein behauledaway,thisis
Whilsttheseofcoursedonow chemicalsusedinthistechnique demand notenvironmentally
makeuseofdigitalimagery,they holdsrealnoveltyandcanbetruly friendlyasthe
allinvolveanelementofdark inspiring.Manystudents wasteis95%
roomprintingwhichcanusually thencontinuetheir waterandis
beextendedifit’sanareathe hobby invariably
studentfindstheyhavea outsideof hauled
particularinterestin. their fromone
Darkroomprintingisalsoprized sideof
byartcoursesforthecreative the
scopewhichitoffers:aswellas
artisticandexperimental
traditionalphotographicprinting, education.
manyart,photographyandeven “TheDarkroom
sciencecourseswillencourage businesscontinues
studentstomakeothertypesof tothriveinthe
printslikeRayogramsandtrytheir ‘DigitalAge’,”agrees
handanddevelopingthem RogerParry,Marketing countryto
themselves.Foryoungerstudents ManagerofPaterson anotherfor
whohavegrownupintheworld Photographic.“Thisis disposal.Oursystems
ofdigitalphotographyandaren’t mainlyduetothenumberof allowthewastetobetreated
evenaccustomedtotheold schoolsandcollegesthatrun directlyonsiteandlegally
traditionof takingyourrolloffilm darkroomrelatedelementsin dischargedtodrain,eliminating
intoa chemistsorphotography ArtandSciencecourses. theneedformanualhandlingand
“Thisyearandparticularlythis thestorageofmanybarrelsof
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