A mistake comes good

Developed normally

In a recent chat I had with another photographer, there was a lamenting the fact that he had not noticed a problem with his new pinhole camera; well not the camera but a bit of kit he was using with it. He is not the only one not to notice the little tell tail signs that things are not going well. I had the same sort of thing with the lith 200 process I was trying out for the first time. It was not until I started to use different makes of paper that the fault struck me. Up to that point I thought it was part of the process. It turned out that the box of Kentmere paper had been light contaminated (fogged),but when I could not remember.  At this realization two things crossed my mind, what a waste of a box of paper and dam! it is not a peculiarity of the process.

lith 200 Kentmere paper

I changed to a different paper and continued to produce prints. Using the

negatives I had selected for the trial with the lith 200. While I was doing this I had the idea that maybe the fogged paper could be used to creative affect. I chose some of the negs that may lend themselves to this and processed them accordingly. As the first result appeared in the developer, I started to question this creative wisdom as it looked rubbish, but then my perception changed when the photograph of the bottles on the window sill appeared. It did not look out of place, in fact it added to it a sort of early twentieth century feel. Maybe my idea wasn't such a bad one after all!.

lith 200 Forma paper

What I'm getting at is just because it has gone wrong there is no need to throw the baby out with the water so to speak! With a little lateral thinking creatively you can turn things round. Some of you may think I'm talking a load of rubbish ( I'm being polite) but it is surprising how often a mistake can come good.

lith 200 Kentmere paper

Fixing negatives and papers

It is important to fix your negatives fully, this will ensure their longevity.

Fixing removes the last of any light-sensitive material from the negatives stabilising and securing the images so they can be viewed in day light. The temperature of the fix should be the same as the developer and stop bath, 20 degrees C.

Most fixers nowadays are rapid fixers supplied in liquid concentrate form and will complete the fixing process in about two to five minutes. (always check the instructions on the bottle) over fixing will start to bleach the negative. These fixers are usually suitable for film and paper. There is a chance in the case of warm tone papers that they may suffer from bleaching of their warmth with rapid fixers, it would therefore be better to use a more traditional fixer made up from a powder to ensure no loss of tone.

Darkroom layout



When setting out your darkroom it is best to set your work flow from left to right. By doing so you are less likely to contaminate the dry side with chemicals or water. You should keep the enlarger table separate from the development table. The dry side takes up less space than the wet side so can be put along a shorter wall. The support for the enlarger should be completely stable and set at a comfortable working level when standing. For a standing position the right height is 95cm (37").

A typical lay out

Remember electricity and water don't mix so take particular care when providing power for your equipment. If in doubt consult an electrician. It is not imperative that your darkroom has running water but ventilation is and will need a light proof grate.

This may sound strange but make sure that the illumination is sufficient to allow you to see round the room when printing.