phsc.ca

a c2013 darkroom

Toronto. Throughout most of the plate/film era a darkroom was de regueur to see the negative exposure as a positive plate or print. For many years a red/yellowish safe light – black to non-panchromatic emulsions but visible to the human eye – allowed the operator to see what he was doing.

When 35mm came along, daylight tanks soon arrived shortly followed by the rubberized, black zippered cloth bag that allowed the tank to be loaded while the operator was in daylight.

Photo paper was orthochromatic allowing safe-light use. All this changed with colour photo paper. Light-tight drums were loaded with a fresh sheet of paper in darkness. Under light, the drum was filled with a bit of chemistry and rolled to ensure proper agitation. After various solutions, the paper was removed, washed and dried.

Today, most of us use digital technology eliminating all the darkroom steps completely. Digital images can quickly be corrected and sent world-wide in seconds or just saved as a future memory.

In our PHSC events we often have darkroom apparatus available – enlargers, tanks, trays, etc. While our 2025 events are now ended, the 2026 events are on the horizon!

Note: I must have enjoyed Simon & Garfunkel – This post title is from the same song by Paul Simon, “The Sounds of Silence”. sung here by Paul and Art Garfunkel. I used the song and title in a different context in Feb 2020.