Deon Rey olds
Member
My father took photography and darkroom classes from Minor White before I was born. I remember my Uncle coming over to help dad build a darkroom in the basement of our home that I grew up in Portland, Oregon. A few years later when I was seven years old, I watched my older brother take photos with dad's camera, I asked if I could do that too. Dad loaded up his Yashika twin lens camera showed me how to use the light meter and set the camera from those reading and sent me out the door. Returning, dad removed the film and disappeared, the next day handing me my first contact sheet. I was thrilled and wanted to do that again. But dad said NO, he wasn't going to be my darkroom slave. The next day dad showed up with a box of 4x5 Tri-X, we built a cardboard pin-hole camera and exposed the ten sheets of film in the back yard, then he showed me how to develop the film and make my own contact sheets and make prints. I've been hooked ever since and have had a darkroom in almost every place I have lived ever since. To this day I have never tired of watching a print come up or the thrill of looking at film for the first time after processing it. Some of the darkrooms I've had were not that nice, just functional. Some Amazing! This was the nicest darkroom I've ever put together, it was in our first house in Warren, Oregon 1995-2005. 12 x 24 with a 12 x 24 finishing room outside the circular door. Image - Nikon F3 w/ Nikkor 15mm f=3.5 lens - Kodak TMZ (ISO 6400).


My new darkroom in Bosquecito, New Mexico is more compact, but very functional. It's an 8 x 16 walled off section in what was once an oversized attached garage (24x36). Outside the darkroom is a finishing room and digital darkroom and studio (Mac Studio and Epson P6000). Inside the darkroom I have two wall mounted Omega D5 XL's one with an Arista cold head and the other a Chromega color head. An eight foot stainless sink with easel to archival wash systems to accommodate up to 16 x 20 analog prints.
sorry... crappy image made with an iPhone 11 Pro Max



My new darkroom in Bosquecito, New Mexico is more compact, but very functional. It's an 8 x 16 walled off section in what was once an oversized attached garage (24x36). Outside the darkroom is a finishing room and digital darkroom and studio (Mac Studio and Epson P6000). Inside the darkroom I have two wall mounted Omega D5 XL's one with an Arista cold head and the other a Chromega color head. An eight foot stainless sink with easel to archival wash systems to accommodate up to 16 x 20 analog prints.
sorry... crappy image made with an iPhone 11 Pro Max
