Analogue or Digital: The Justifications of Building a Darkroom

BY LYNN HILDITCH LRPS

In September last year, we began the long, exhausting and often frustrating year-long project of converting the attic into a made to measure, fully contained darkroom. The process involved laying flooring, closing in the roof beams to stop any dust coming in, building the room, and then furnishing the room. Thanks to EBay, we managed to equip the room quite reasonably with the help of former analogue photographers who had recently taken the plunge and “gone digital”.

It is now November 2005 and we have just finished the darkroom! Many times during the past year we have sat down and mulled over the justifications of building a darkroom in what is rapidly becoming the Age of Digital. Since their recent collaboration with the Japanese-based Oji Paper Group, Ilford are increasingly embracing the digital media and catering for the digital photographer by describing themselves as “one of the leading manufacturers of photo inkjet media”. Even our local branch of Jessops has been having a clearance sale on all its analogue equipment inevitably getting rid of it to make more room for the vast array of digital cameras, inkjet papers, and other accessories and gadgets which are pushing out the traditional chemicals, papers and darkroom necessities. As the company’s Chief Executive, Derek Hine states, Jessops was “the first retailer to recognise the huge potential offered by digital imaging technology, which is why we installed digital demonstration areas in all our stores. As the popularity of digital cameras grew, we became the first high street retailer to offer developing and printing services for digital images, and that facility was available in all our stores by the middle of 2003. We're currently rolling out instant digital processing kiosks which deliver each print in just 3.5 seconds”.

With more and more converts to digital we’ve often asked the question (usually after spending yet another long weekend stuck up in the attic!) “Why?” What is the point of spending all these weekends building a darkroom when we could also “go digital”? We’ve lost track of the number of times we’ve been asked “why?” by photographers who have long since hung up their printer tongs and now choose to spend much of their spare time in the Wonderful World of Photoshop producing photographs which appear to be just as good as any traditionally produced image.

So, how then can we justify building a darkroom in this day and age? Simple. Firstly, even after all the sweat and tears of building the room, the privilege of having your own purpose-made darkroom is enough to make any photographer (analogue or digital) envious, whether they admit to it or not! Secondly, I’ve made many digital images but there is nothing quite like the anticipation of putting a print into the developing tray and watching the image appear in front of you as if by magic! Thirdly, with analogue photography you feel like you’ve come very close to producing a piece of art from taking the photograph, to processing the negative, to developing the print, to mounting the final image. Finally, I have never had that feeling of complete satisfaction producing a digital image that I get producing an analogue print and that is why I have absolutely no regrets about “staying analogue” – and I’m sure many of the older SLPS Members will agree with me!
Quote from HYPERLINK www.ilford.com/html/us_english/compro.html
Derek Hine quoted from HYPERLINK www.jessops.com/corporate/corporate.cfm.

Please send any comments to Lynn