Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I thought a darkroom was out of my reach... but then I started looking at my garage. There was loads of light creeping in, but from a manageable number of sources.
So I set about plugging all the holes. One by one I cam up with a plan for covering each little leak of light coming in. I use expanding foam around the cracks in the garage door, damp proof coursing around the edges of the door, because it's flexible and should be able to withstand the weather pretty well. The I used duct tape on the remaining holes.
I then did a lap covering any remaining lights in the garage with more duct tape... I covered the light on chest freezer, the LEDs on the plug sockets etc. I also had to go around the eaves of the garage and stuff strips of rolled up black bed sheets into the small gaps there, to block the light coming through.
And finally, after a few weeks, the inside of my garage was totally light proof. So, then to start setting up a darkroom ready for printing.
Biggest test with any dark room is always running water right? Got a plan for that too!
When I'm using the garage as a darkroom I'll have the garden hose running underneath the door, with the standard hose attachment on the end to control flow rate, into a washing up bowl. I've cut a hole in the washing up bowl, and 3D printed a two piece drain thing, which has a hose attachment on it.
I've put a hose onto that and used a jubilee clip to secure, then run that hose out of the same hole as the garden hose under the door. That hose runs to the outside drain on my driveway.
I bought myself an Intrepid 4x5 enlarger kit last year some time, when it was on Kickstarter. You take the back off the Intrepid camera and replace with the light source. The negative holder (only for 4x5) then slides under that.
It's limiting because I can only do 4x5, but it was a cheap way in, and saves me having the huge space-killing full size enlargers.
I have so many 120 frames I'd like to print, I'll have to figure out a solution for that soon enough.
Anyway, but went well, everything worked, and I got some prints! I'm pretty happy with the prints. Definitely more happy than i thought I would be.
So I'm printing. How about that!
Some useful links to stuff from the vid (no affiliate stuff, I paid for everything myself):
intrepidcamera.co.uk
secondhanddarkroom.co.uk
ilfordphoto.com/photographic-paper
I thought a darkroom was out of my reach... but then I started looking at my garage. There was loads of light creeping in, but from a manageable number of sources.
So I set about plugging all the holes. One by one I cam up with a plan for covering each little leak of light coming in. I use expanding foam around the cracks in the garage door, damp proof coursing around the edges of the door, because it's flexible and should be able to withstand the weather pretty well. The I used duct tape on the remaining holes.
I then did a lap covering any remaining lights in the garage with more duct tape... I covered the light on chest freezer, the LEDs on the plug sockets etc. I also had to go around the eaves of the garage and stuff strips of rolled up black bed sheets into the small gaps there, to block the light coming through.
And finally, after a few weeks, the inside of my garage was totally light proof. So, then to start setting up a darkroom ready for printing.
Biggest test with any dark room is always running water right? Got a plan for that too!
When I'm using the garage as a darkroom I'll have the garden hose running underneath the door, with the standard hose attachment on the end to control flow rate, into a washing up bowl. I've cut a hole in the washing up bowl, and 3D printed a two piece drain thing, which has a hose attachment on it.
I've put a hose onto that and used a jubilee clip to secure, then run that hose out of the same hole as the garden hose under the door. That hose runs to the outside drain on my driveway.
I bought myself an Intrepid 4x5 enlarger kit last year some time, when it was on Kickstarter. You take the back off the Intrepid camera and replace with the light source. The negative holder (only for 4x5) then slides under that.
It's limiting because I can only do 4x5, but it was a cheap way in, and saves me having the huge space-killing full size enlargers.
I have so many 120 frames I'd like to print, I'll have to figure out a solution for that soon enough.
Anyway, but went well, everything worked, and I got some prints! I'm pretty happy with the prints. Definitely more happy than i thought I would be.
So I'm printing. How about that!
Some useful links to stuff from the vid (no affiliate stuff, I paid for everything myself):
intrepidcamera.co.uk
secondhanddarkroom.co.uk
ilfordphoto.com/photographic-paper
