https://blog.almostinfocus.com/tags/darkroom/ Recent content in Darkroom on Almost in focus Hugo en-us Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/the-burning-tool-is-a-game-changer-for-darkroom-printing/ Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/the-burning-tool-is-a-game-changer-for-darkroom-printing/ <p>From my experience, photos of unevenly lit scenes are usually the most difficult to print in the darkroom due to the significant differences in the negative&rsquo;s density between highlights and shadows. In film photography, as opposed to a digital workflow, one needs to preserve shadows instead of highlights. When approaching an unevenly lit scene, it&rsquo;s better to adjust the exposure for the shadows to make them denser on the negative; otherwise, the shadow areas will be transparent and lack detail.</p> https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/read-the-data-sheet-carefully/ Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/read-the-data-sheet-carefully/ <p>When I first started developing black and white film at home, I got a starter kit with all the necessary chemicals and tools. It came with Rodinal and a brochure that guided me through the development process, including an explanation of agitation method used by Ansel Adams. The instructions suggested agitating the tank for 10 seconds every minute by twisting the tank around its axis while turning it upside down. This method worked perfectly for me with Rodinal and, later, with HC-110.</p> https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/lessons-from-printing-a-big-photo-project-in-the-darkroom/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/lessons-from-printing-a-big-photo-project-in-the-darkroom/ <p>In January, I published a <a href="https://almostinfocus.com/shirokuro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual photo album</a> with photos from Kyushu, Chūgoku, and Kansai that I shot entirely on black and white film. While the digital album is convenient for sharing, I wanted to have physical prints as well. This project became my main motivation for <a href="https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/building-a-teeny-tiny-darkroom/">building a darkroom at home</a>. After eight months of occasional darkroom sessions, I&rsquo;m sitting with a stack of 104 gelatin silver prints on my table and a strong feeling of accomplishment. It was my first long printing project, so I wanted to share a few things I learned.</p> https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/analog-photography--3d-printing-love/ Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0200 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/analog-photography--3d-printing-love/ <p>Once, I wanted to buy a lens hood for a 55-year-old Yashica Mat-124G. To my surprise, an original hood cost half as much as I paid for the camera body. Maintaining analog camera gear can be tricky, as parts are no longer produced and often have to be salvaged from donor cameras. This is where 3D printing becomes especially useful. It also allows you to design entirely new tools that were never available in the first place.</p> https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/building-a-teeny-tiny-darkroom/ Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 +0200 https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/building-a-teeny-tiny-darkroom/ <p>While I was happy with my hybrid approach to film photography, <a href="https://blog.almostinfocus.com/posts/optimizing-film-scanning-workflow-with-plustek-opticfilm-8200i/">scanning negatives</a>, editing them in Negative Lab Pro, and printing on an inkjet printer, the idea of wet printing in a darkroom was always tempting. The problem is, I live in an apartment and don’t have a spare room to dedicate to a darkroom. At one point, I searched for community darkrooms around and even found a hackerspace that had recently built one. But either my unwillingness to commute or the social anxiety of joining a group of strangers kept me from going.</p>