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Geezer installing a darkroom ...
September 1, 2009, from Lloyd Erlick,
Rec.Photo.Darkroom has been pretty slow most of the summer. So I'm going to use it to celebrate my Geezerhood (turned sixty this summer ...) by recounting the thrilling installation of my darkroom in my latest new home. Unlike any darkroom I've ever had in the past, this one has windows. No more basement holes for me, eh? Instead of the seventy-three inch headroom I used to have, now it's almost twelve feet! (The room comes with a ceiling fan - should I use it? Or is it too efficient at dust redistribution?) Yesterday I put the step ladder under the window and climbed up expecting to be able to tape aluminum foil across the panes to achieve the requisite dark for darkroom. I actually spent some time up there earlier in the summer, when I was first experimenting with windows to keep open for ventilation. It wasn't much of a thrill that time, but this time I realized I had to have a lot more stability if I intended to do any actual work, like tearing tape or holding a scissors. Standing on the ladder's top step and all that. So the next step is to empty the stored stuff out of my processing sink and roll it under the window (sink on wheels, every boy's dream). Then the ladder goes in the sink, and I get three feet more reach. Immobilize the wheels, of course. Is this just plain stupid? Anybody who's actually read this far may feel free to advise... Of course, future ventilation is a concern. Just closing and covering the windows would be the easy way, but it will be hot in summer. It's a north facing window, and the air outside tends to be cool most of the time (or at least cooler than the rest of the hellish place when the sun and humidity combine). So I've been thinking of a method of blowing in fresh air through a light-proof vent that cost nothing (unless there is one that would leak cash). An air conditioner would be a possibility, but light could still get in. There are thrilling tales to come - connecting to the drain line and the hot and cold water. (Convenient bathroom adjacent to the darkroom.) Unanswered question: why do I have so many trays? I switched to single-tray processing years ago. So where did all these filthy trays come from? Or did moving just cause them all to band together, perhaps for survival? Well, they do not get to squat on my bed until I'm finished the darkroom. Maybe they can be a temporary filling for the space between a filing cabinet and the ceiling. regards, --le ________________________________ Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto. website: www.heylloyd.com telephone: 416-686-0326 email: ________________________________ -- |
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Geezer installing a darkroom ...
September 4, 2009, from Lloyd Erlick,
My landlord would love me if he only knew what I've done for him. He rented me a kitchen sink drain that contained two plastic straws, a plastic chopstick, and two stainless steel dinner forks. Quite a feat to get them all down there. So, while warming up for the main act of putting in the darkroom, I made the kitchen work. Next was the toilet, which had some broken pieces of plastic obstructing the drain. Then came the bathtub which must have had lots of hair and soapy gunk down there, because a sodium hydroxide type drain clearer worked in a couple of minutes. Whatever was in there got eaten up and suddenly the drain drained. So all that remained was the bathroom sink drain. This was the one I planned for a connection that would drain my darkroom, which is just on the other side of the wall. It was made of that overpriced chrome plated brass pipe that is supposed to look good under a sink. Unfortunately it had been sitting there since 1977. By the time I pried the screw connections loose I could see the edges inside the pipe were bent and frayed. Anyway, no cheapskate move like finding a matching Tee fitting and getting it in there like it matched. Nice new ABS pipe all the way from the sink drain to the pipe disappearing down the wall. Holes cut through the wall and nice fresh ABS DWV pipe down along the wall to my sinks. Hooray. Flexible bilge hose from the sinks to the drain pipe so the sinks can be moved if necessary. I haven't done any plumbing in twenty five years. I had almost forgotten the fragrance of ABS plastic cement. And the thrill of getting it off skin! Once upon a time I could cut up the requisite hunks of pipe, open the glue can, smear it all over in just the right places, and carefully assemble the plastic trombone without getting a spot on my hands. But no more. My father always used to complain that his hands became more and more "un-nimble" as he got older. Damned if my hands aren't un-nimble compared to days gone by! I also haven't soldered any copper pipe in many years. Two short pieces of garden variety half inch copper pipe with little fittings on the ends. They didn't even come up to being called a trombone. All morning poking over them. I'm just glad I'm not going to be getting enough practice to become speedy. I just love those nice stainless steel braid covered flexible hoses made for connecting the hot and cold lines. They go through a hole in the wall so effortlessly. Pretty soon I'll have the pleasure of lifting my enlarger up off the floor onto a nice dry side I have yet to create. But I have the right stuff for it - a stainless steel table top forty one inches by nine feet. The most ridiculous things come for free. I had to scrub bakery evidence off it, but that was a small price to pay. So, lifting heavy objects in my near future. And a trapeze act to darken the windows. Meanwhile there is exposed film waiting and waiting. (I could have teenager assistance lifting the enlarger - but would that be wise? Or should I get help from my overweight geezer buddy that I at least trust??) regards, --le ________________________________ Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto. website: www.heylloyd.com telephone: 416-686-0326 email: ________________________________ -- |
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