RAPC Darkroom User's About The
Guide Darkroom
The Darkroom Group is one of the RA Photo Club’s
special interest groups; membership of the group
provides access to the Club darkroom. To obtain a
membership, Club members must 1) Pay special
activity fee to the RA Centre & 2) Contact Darkroom
manager to be issued an activity card. This will be
issued after a briefing session to explain the specific
details of operating the darkroom equipment. It is
assumed that members will already have basic
darkroom skills; we are not able to offer training (see
Resources.).
There are a number of storage lockers available in the
darkroom, these are made available on a first come
first served basis (you will be asked to provide a list of
chemicals you use so that MSDS’s can be obtained).
Members supply their own materials such as paper
and chemistry.
Location & Facilities
• 2nd floor of West wing, RA Centre.
• Beseler 23CII enlarger suitable for B&W printing
up to 6x9cm negative size.
• Omega D2V enlarger suitable for B&W printing up
to 4x5 inch negative size.
• Film development tanks for 35mm & 120 films.
• Trays for 8x10 & 11x14 paper processing.
• 14 sheet 11x14 archival washer & single sheet
tray washer.
• Filtered & temperature controlled water supply
system.
• Ancillary equipment such as VC printing filters,
grain focusers, exposure meter, graduates, tongs,
thermometers etc.
Availability
• Year round except when RA Centre is closed,
three slots a day, 8am-1pm, 1pm-6pm, 6pm-11pm, 7
days a week.
“I know of few things in the range of science more surprising than the gradual appearance of the picture on the blank sheet,
especially the first time the experiment is witnessed.”
2451 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, (613) 733-5100
www.raphotoclub.ca
RAPC Darkroom User's Using The
Guide Darkroom
Booking
• Contact RA Centre registration desk (East Wing) by
phone (613- 523-6250) or in person to reserve a slot
(8am-1pm, 1pm-6pm, 6pm-11pm, 7 days/week).
(Consecutive slots may be booked but no more than
two, i.e. you cannot book an entire day.)
• Obtain key from Registration desk and sign in.
(Key will not be issued without activity card which desk
will retain until key is returned.) Remember to return
key at end of session and retrieve activity card.
If You Need To Cancel
• Please notify the RA registration desk if you have to
cancel – there may be someone on the wait list for the
time slot.
Looking After The Equipment
• Please look after the equipment as if it was your
own (your money helped pay for it!). Please keep the
“dry side” dry; enlargers and chemicals don’t mix.
• Don’t over-tighten or force locks and controls on
the enlargers, if you run into any equipment or facility
problems please leave the darkroom manager a
message so they can be corrected.
Cleaning Up
• Please leave the room at least as clean and tidy as
you found it. Pay especial attention to thoroughly
rinsing trays, tanks, reels, graduates etc. on the wet
side. Also please ensure the wet side bench is
thoroughly wiped down before leaving; any chemicals
will dry and leave dusty residues which tend to
contaminate your films.
• If the garbage bag is full please tie it closed and
leave outside the door for pickup.
• Please remember to properly shut down the water
system and switch off the enlarger, safelights and
ventilation fan before leaving.
William Henry Fox Talbot, February 1841.
RAPC Darkroom User's Photographic
Guide Chemical Safety
The following material is excerpted from the Kodak web
site:
“Photographic processing chemicals are safe to use
when potential hazards have been identified, and the
solutions are handled in a safe manner. All
photographic chemicals are labeled as required by the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) [or
equivalent Canadian regulations] and accompanied by a
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). You can minimize
exposure to any chemicals by following the instructions
on the labels and the MSDS. These labels and MSDS not
only display the chemical names of the solutions, but
also specify potential hazards associated with their use.
The warning and precautionary statements also assure
safe use and reduced exposure to the chemicals. For
example, precautionary statements may be used to
ensure that gloves are worn for personal protection
from anything that may be harmful if absorbed through
the skin; that goggles are worn to protect the eyes from
anything that may cause burns; that aprons be used to
protect clothing; and that ventilation be operating
properly to reduce the possibility of respiratory tract
irritation.”
Environmental
• Used fix (film & developer) contains silver salts and
should not be discharged to the sewer.
• Please place used fix in the marked plastic container.
Material placed in the container will be processed to
remove the silver before disposal.
• Do not place any other material in the Used Fix
container stored under the sink.
• Other materials may be discharged in normal
quantities using plenty of running water before, during
and after pouring the material into the sink.
Information
• “Overexposure: Health Hazards in Photography”, by
Susan D. Shaw, Monona Rossol (Allworth Press).
Available in Ottawa Public Library.
• Kodak publication J-98A, Safe Handling of
Photographic Processing Chemicals (available at
Kodak.com, search for J98A.pdf)
There is a magic line that runs from the eye of the photographer as he takes a shot to the darkroom where he makes the print.
Even if the print is flawed it is made by his hand, and the decision to accept or reject it belongs to him.
RAPC Darkroom User's
Guide
Books
Mastering Black And White Photography and Creative
Black And White Photography, Bernhard J Suess (Allworth
Press)
Black And White Photographic Printing Workshop, Larry
Bartlett with Jon Tarrant (Silver Pixel Press)
The Black And White Handbook, Roger Hicks & Frances
Schultz (David & Charles)
Advanced Black-and-White Photography, (Kodak
Workshop Series/Silver Pixel Press)
Magazines
Black & White Magazine (photography collections, not
technical)
Black & White Photography (photography collections and
technique)
Suppliers (Retail, Ottawa)
Ginn Photographic Co. Galaxy, Wallacks and Henrys, all
on Bank St. and some other locations in the city.
Request your discount (typically at least 10%) for RAPC
members on regular price supplies.
Internet Sources
Too numerous to list but bookmark these two:
www.ilfordphoto.com
www.apug.org (Analog Photography Users Group)
Workshops (Ottawa Area)
School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa (www.spao.ca, B &
W darkroom and other subjects at all levels, beginner to
advanced
Ottawa School of Art (www.artottawa.ca, check site,
offerings change)
Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board Continuing
Education (www.fallconnections.ca, Basic B&W workshop,
7 weeks)
Lux Photographic Services (www.luxphoto.com,
workshops, various levels)
Opportunities To Show Your Work
RAPC “Bruce Wilson” Competition; entries should be a
series of five B&W prints related to each other in some
way, held every May.
RA Photo Club Gallery, RA Centre West Lobby.
www.raphotoclub.ca includes a member portfolios
section.
.
Albert Watson