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:
________________________________
--