Prints on Almost in focus

Under-lens filter holder V2: now with a configurable thread size

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200

About a year ago, I published my under-lens filter holder for photo enlargers on MakerWorld and wrote a blog post about it. Since then, I’ve been using it regularly for my darkroom printing sessions. The original version was designed for my own lens, which has a 40.5 mm thread. Later, someone mentioned modifying it for a different thread size. I asked if they could share their version as a print profile, but I never heard back. That also made me realize: maintaining dozens of fixed variants doesn’t scale. What you really want is a parametric model that lets anyone set their own thread size.

The burning tool is a game-changer for darkroom printing

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

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’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’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.

Lessons from printing a big photo project in the darkroom

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In January, I published a virtual photo album 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 building a darkroom at home. After eight months of occasional darkroom sessions, I’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.

Analog photography + 3D printing = ❤️

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0200

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.

Building a teeny tiny darkroom

Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 +0200

While I was happy with my hybrid approach to film photography, scanning negatives, 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.