Resources for starting your own Bathtub Darkroom

Hey everyone! Some in class had asked me to post a few resources for developing film yourself outside of this class, particularly without access to a gang darkroom.

There are lots of resources on the web for this sort of thing, and a handful of communities that can be really useful. I'll list a few links and then remind you of the techniques we've been using.

You should check out the Handmade Film Institute. Their resources page has lots of good information for different kinds of processing. You may want to apply for one of their retreats at some point.

Here's a nice PDF on starting your own DIY film lab.

Now, some of what we've been doing in class is somewhat inaccessible. We'd originally intended to use Eastman/Kodak's high-contrast developer "D-19", but when it wasn't available we substituted "Dektol". Unfortunately, neither are in production, but you should be able to find a developer by Ilford called "Multigrade" developer. This, like Dektol, is a developer for paper photo prints and it should work about the same on 7363. You can also easily get Ilford Fixer, and it's the same as Kodak fixer. I was able to buy these at Garland Camera, and you can also probably find them at Arlington Camera. Don's Used Photo in Dallas is another great resource for all sorts of gear and chemistry.

I haven't tried this place yet, but you can look for these things at Denton Camera Exchange and see what they have. Maybe request they stock some of this stuff if you'll be using it regularly? https://www.facebook.com/dentoncameraexchange

If you really want to be able to use a higher contrast developer like D-19 for even more stark black and white with very little gray, you can find a substitute here, along with lots of other chemicals and oddities: http://stores.photoformulary.com/StoreFront.bok

Remember, if you intend to send your film to a lab at some point, you need to mail it to a lab that actually processes the kind of film you're planning to develop. Many will only do color, and some do color and black and white. Here are a few you might look into:


Sanitary Lab in Dallas - they don't have prices online, so you'll have to contact someone there. Color only.

Color Lab - a great lab based in Maryland. They do B/W and color. Good student discounts.

Yale Film Labs - Color and B/W, based in Burbank Cali. They also do super 8, and you can buy regular 8 film from them.