Bryan and I decided that instead of going away for our birthdays/anniversary, we would spend that money on the equipment needed to turn our bathroom into a darkroom. I've been traveling a lot lately and just couldn't pack my suitcase one more time and this is something I've always wanted to do.
Bryan didn't know that he wanted a darkroom until he realized that it wasn't just a pipe dream and we actually could afford one. Here's the thing: ever since sophomore year of high school I've wanted my own darkroom to work in, and it's a desire that's built with every intro to photography class I've taken. Bryan's never taken a photography class, but has an incredible eye and loves black and white photography almost as much as movies (and that's a lot).
So I figured that though it's been a good 5 years since the last time I was in a darkroom it would all come back to me. And it has, mostly.
First things first, we had to make our bathroom light proof.
We then assembled the enlarger...
and after a not-so-quick trip to Home Depot (which sucked my soul out) we arranged the chemical trays.
Look how happy Bryan is, and we haven't even made our first print at this point.
But now we have, and here it is in the wash bath!
You know you're jealous.
But you don't need to be. Friends and family are all welcome to use our darkroom anytime. We only ask that in payment you give us a print. We'll even walk you through the process. If we can figure it out...anyone can.
Oh, and now we're officially hooked. Bryan's busy trying to arrange his schedule so that he has the maximum number of night to print without having to work the next morning.
And today to celebrate my birthday, I spent all day at the LA Arboretum taking photos so that I can develop after dinner tonight and print tomorrow. We've officially turned into printing junkies, a not-so-unusual occurrence according to the folks who work at freestyle. I'm not giving up my digital camera yet though. I wouldn't have these photos if it weren't for the digital.
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