Why did you quit the wet darkroom?

[bean_counter]

I had the opportunity, but never the time, to learn the darkroom. I mostly shot Kodachrome anyway. Started shooting B&W, developing and scanning at home a few years ago.

My teen daughter, on the other hand, is taking a film photography class at the local community college and is loving the darkroom. She is on her high school yearbook staff and does plenty in the digital domain, but now prefers darkroom B&W. Still learning, but she's pretty good. She won't have darkroom access after this summer, so she's checking out enlargers on craigslist and working on commandeering the upstairs bathroom

then I'll have my own live in wet printer - for a couple of years until she leaves for college

[Lauffray]

I just don't have that much interest in printing, not to be falsely humble but most of my pictures are barely good enough to be scanned from negative, I don't want to waste my time trying to print that sh**
When I do find a good one, I send it to the lab, they have really good inkjet and frankly they look good to my eye

That being said I still want to try printing, but have no space for it in my apartment. I found a rental darkroom but the place is closing down for the summer

[clayne]

I have not quit and do not plan to. Silver printing is awesome and cathartic. Look, I don't need computers in my face for my artistic desires, they don't need to rule every facet.

[NickTrop]

Social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. Social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. The theory has roots in economics, psychology and sociology. - Wikipedia
___________

Translated. The costs (opportunity and accounting costs) associated with wet printing (chemicals, paper, preparation time, environmentally harmful chemicals) exceeded the benefits (beautiful prints, the "magic" of having them appear before your eyes) over time. This was exacerbated by the improvements in alternative contemporary printing-making methods - specifically digital cameras/Photoshop... Quit a couple years ago, never to return. Fun while it lasted, though.

[kmallick]

I am not planning on quitting. I got the flavor of wet printing in a college darkroom 22 years ago. I always thought that having a darkroom in my own home would be a dream come true. I feel lucky that I can enjoy my time alone in a small bathroom turned into a darkroom for wet printing.

I enjoy wet printing in parallel with color inkjet printing. There are places for both.

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by Lauffray

I just don't have that much interest in printing, not to be falsely humble but most of my pictures are barely good enough to be scanned from negative, I don't want to waste my time trying to print that sh**
When I do find a good one, I send it to the lab, they have really good inkjet and frankly they look good to my eye

That being said I still want to try printing, but have no space for it in my apartment. I found a rental darkroom but the place is closing down for the summer

One way to look at it, is to make darkroom print the goal.
When I do that, I become more focused when shooting.

One not so obvious aspect of darkroom printing, is that you are creating a new interpretation into the image recorded on the negative. It is a different process altogether. You won't know how different it is than printing on a computer until you tried actually tried it.

Plus bringing the image all the way from the camera into a print that you can hold in your hands, without involving a computer, is pretty amazing. For me anyway, since I don't know photography before digital got popular. I don't have "the good old days" experiences.

[Lauffray]

Originally Posted by shadowfox

One way to look at it, is to make darkroom print the goal.

I suppose I will only fully understand your statement when I actually get around to printing, but you're right, printing isn't the goal for me, I print when I think an image is worthy of print, I don't shoot with the intent of printing

[Doug]

Darkroom work is a natural extension of the creative process that began with the original exposure. Not everyone has the interest, time, facilities, etc, to deal with it. A trusted lab or assistant may be a good substitute.

I've been in both positions, alternately having and not having a darkroom. It can take a lot of time and bother, but it can be very satisfying. As a photo shop employee, in 1966 I got a good deal on a Beseler 23C straight from the supplier, then very soon moved cross-country and set up my lab in the walk-in closet of a studio apartment, which I enjoyed using for about 4 years. Four other residences and a wedding in the next 8 years meant no darkroom facilities. Then I set it up again comfortably in a small half-bath but lost use of it after 20 years or so as it became cluttered with storage items... and I had other interests. Three years ago we bought a house finally, which has no easy darkroom possibility, so I recently gave away the enlarger and most other lab gear, hopefully for another enthusiast to enjoy. I kept my Kindermann tanks and reels though to deal with the bricks of B&W film in the fridge.

I have mostly shifted to digital use in the past few years, and I've come to appreciate Adobe Lightroom as a good creative alternative to the chemical darkroom.

[jwc57]

I hate to admit it, to myself primarily, but I'm seriously thinking about packing the enlarger away. I've been scanning everything lately and the enlargers are just taking up counter space.

I won't get rid of them though. I noticed on "Falling Skies" that they use film cameras to spy on the aliens and if there is an invasion, I might need my darkroom again.

[dgriff2]

I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none, especially printing, either inkjet or wet printing, but I just finished building a homemade sink and installed the piping necessary for running water and drainage. Like others, my first time in the darkroom at college hooked me. It's exciting every time to develop the film and the print, though I have scanned a few for a quick look.

I'm glad I now have my darkroom. I have access to both worlds, scanning and inkjet printing or wet print, if I need them. Besides, I know of no one in my area with a darkroom, so that "may" make me a specialist in some weird sort of way.

[Godfrey]

Originally Posted by Roger Hicks

Assuming you have (I haven't).

Cheers,

R.

Having worked in the wet darkroom for umpty ump years and then found I could do better image processing with a computer, I just had to wait for a) the camera quality to catch up and b) the print quality to catch up. Digital cameras became good enough in 2004, at a price I could afford. Computers and image processing tools continue to improve and get cheaper at a headlong pace. Printer, paper choices, and ink quality became good enough and cheap enough about 2005-2006. Since then, incremental development has provided more choice and more quality.

I now work with both film and digital, depending on what I'm doing and he imaging qualities I'm after. They're simply two different mediums, each with its own character, for producing photographs. The magic of Photography lies not in the medium but in the stories that the medium can carry.

[charjohncarter]

Originally Posted by Godfrey

Having worked in the wet darkroom for umpty ump years and then found I could do better image processing with a computer, I just had to wait for a) the camera quality to catch up and b) the print quality to catch up. Digital cameras became good enough in 2004, at a price I could afford. Computers and image processing tools continue to improve and get cheaper at a headlong pace. Printer, paper choices, and ink quality became good enough and cheap enough about 2005-2006. Since then, incremental development has provided more choice and more quality.

I now work with both film and digital, depending on what I'm doing and he imaging qualities I'm after. They're simply two different mediums, each with its own character, for producing photographs. The magic of Photography lies not in the medium but in the stories that the medium can carry.

Very true but I still get an onanistic pleasure out of a Silver print.