To start with I worked with Sarah to produce some contact prints in order to be able to see the other negatives easier than holding them up to the light. This would then help us determine what photos to print from the negatives. To put the negatives in the contact print frame was a little tricky because you couldn’t really touch them unless you were holding them by the edges so you didn’t ruin the negative. Once the negatives were in the frame, the darkroom was changed to the red light conditions so we could set the enlarger up to the settings we required. This enabled us to see the light from the enlarger in order to establish the aperture, the focus and the size of the photo. Once this was all set up I turned the light off on the enlarger and took the photograph paper out of the box. I put this paper in the contact print frame and then closed the frame so the negatives were sitting on top of the paper and exposed the negatives for 10 seconds.
The paper was then placed in the developer for 1 minute, the stop bath for a rinse and then the fix for 10 minutes. After a couple of minutes it was possible to take the contact print out into the hall in order to have a look at it to determine which photos might be printed and then upon returning to the darkroom it would need to be returned to the fix. After the fix, you rinse the photo for 10 minutes and run it through the dryer.
I also produced a test strip. This is where you set the exposure for 3 seconds at a time and cover up some parts of the paper until it has been exposed. You then move the cover down and expose for another 3 seconds until all the paper has been done so you can establish what exposure is correct for the photo you are about to print.
From this test strip I worked out that I wanted an exposure of Agy’s photo of between 9 seconds (slightly too light) and 12 seconds (slightly too dark). I opted for 11 seconds and I was pleased with the result. For the photo of Steve, because it was darker I opted for 10 seconds and again I was pleased with this result. The focussing of the enlarger was the trickiest part to work out but I think I was successful on this. (you couldn’t focus it on the paper with the light on so you had to use the board as the guide).
As you place the photos in the developer and wait for the image to start to appear, there is something magical about watching your work appear before your eyes. I loved watching and waiting and completing the whole process. You don’t realise how quick the time passes until you have to stop printing because of the times required for developing and then start packing up. Once you have done it you just repeat the process for the next print and it is relatively simple as long as you are concentrating.
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