Community Darkrooms - An ILFORD Inspires Film 

Ilford, these are great videos... I've watched a few over they years. I wanted to raise the topic of travel and x-rays and CT scanners when using film cameras. I think the situation has gotten a lot more risky for travellers and this supresses film sales somewhat, unless you can provide good information and avenues to safely get the exposed film back to our homes for developing. Have you considered trying to collect information on the ability to get hand-checks in various countries and also the prevalence of CT scanners? I'd love to see a video on this topic and also options for how to avoid the issue (by shipping if that is viable), etc. Thanks, ---Michael

@@mjmdiver1137 Hi Michael - We agree that this is a concern and it's something that we have been working on for a while alongside the DFT. Our tech team on site have been conducting their own research as well into what damage can be caused to films and darkroom papers. We hope that we will be sharing something in the near future on this.

@@Ilfordphoto Thanks for the response... I hope to hear about this more because I want to travel with my medium format gear, and I'd love to be able to safely take (and bring back) my film and develop myself. I live in the US, so I can' get a hand check here on the way to Europe, but hand checks there are much less likely. Plus, now the CT scanners... which aren't too widespread yet.

Ill look them up and make sure that they're on our darkroom finder on ILFORDPhoto.com. Thanks for letting us know!

Harvey Milk Photo Center in the Lower Haight

We totally agree with this! No matter how many times we print in the darkroom we still feel the magic when our print appears in the tray

Hi Tony. Glad that you enjoyed it. Do you have a favourite ILFORD film to shoot?

From that comment I'm guessing that you've spent some time printing your negatives at Gowanus darkroom?

We agree, they are such a valuable resource not just for the equipment but also the community ad the knowledge that they are happy to share with others.

Do you print a lot in the darkroom Nat? Is it your own set up at home?

@@Ilfordphoto I'm starting to print I'm a beginner, I'm a passionate landscape photographer with an optical bench, I've done the darkroom in my garage,if i can,i have a problem like if it can wash the film without running water(i carry water in a container to be able to work,thank you very much for your great contribution to the analogue photography community!!!!!

@@Nat.ImagesLarge.F.Photographer It's definitely possible to wash without running water. Have you seen our wash method which was developed to use the minimum amount of water whilst ensuring your films still wash fully? *** After fixing, fill the spiral tank with water at the same temperature, +/- 5ºC (9ºF), as the processing solutions. Invert the tank 5 times. • Drain the water away and refill. Invert the tank 10 times. • Once more, drain the water. Invert the tank twenty times and drain the water away. • Finally rinse with a few drops of ILFORD ILFOTOL Wetting Agent (1:200) added to the rinse water

@@Ilfordphoto I'm sorry, I seem to have explained myself badly, I'm talking about the print, not the film, I also want to contact print the 120 and 4x5 format, after printing I have doubts about how to wash the print, thank you very much!!!:)

Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching and please have a look at the other videos in the ILFORD Inspires playlist

Yes, this is exactly why community darkrooms are important. There are often agreements in place with local authorities for the disposal of chems.

Wow. Thank you so much. We're so lucky that as a brand we get to work with so many talented and passionate people including the guys @exploredinary who filmed and edited this series for us.

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it, and AGREED - developing and printing is pure MAGIC! :D

What a kind comment and yes, film is thriving and growing! Do you shoot much film yourself?

Thanks for watching!! 🙌❤️

Thanks Johan. It's great that you enjoyed the video. Do you get chance to shoot much black and white film and print your work in the darkroom?

@@Ilfordphoto Yes i shoot and print on a regular basis. Thanks for the nice, comment.

@@JohanSvenssongbgpixtures Amazing, that's what we like to hear:)

We hear this a lot that people stopped shooting film and then have picked it back up. Are you hoping to get in a darkroom and print your work this time around?

@@Ilfordphoto I develope my own Black & white. Hope to printing at some point. That's where there wonderful community darkrooms could help

@@nicholsa63 Developing your own is a great starting point. I'm sure that you'll have no problem finding a friendly community darkroom when you're ready to start printing.

What a shame, although i'm sure the people who received the enlargers were very grateful! Good luck getting this started in the future.

You too Derek. Thank you for staying awake for us:)

We totally agree! The film photography and darkroom printing community as a whole is very welcoming and inclusive and I think that his comes over in this video. I'm sure that both Bushwick and Gowanus darkrooms will be glad to see you:)

Maybe you could set one up? There must be a community of would be darkroom printers who'd be interested in getting involved. The nearest one at the minute is Cleveland.

@@Ilfordphoto I found one listed in Nashville. I was going to call them today. I would like to get a community dark room set up somewhere in Memphis though.

@@DavyRayBennett Amazing. Enjoy printing:)

There are more and more community darkrooms opening around the world. We have quite a few listed on our store locator www.ilfordphoto.com/storelocator and are adding more as we hear about them. Hopefully there is already one near to you.

This comment re-energised me! Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment. Make sure that you also watch the rest of the ILFORD Inspires series of videos if you haven't done already

@@Ilfordphoto I absolutely will! Thanks and I wish you GREAT SUCCESS in all your future endeavors!

Thanks Michael. Did you watch any of the other ILFORD Inspires series?

​@@Ilfordphoto yes I did, but there are some I need to catch up on!

Fabulous! Please share your scans with us using #ilfordhp5 if you are on Instagram. We are @ilfordphoto. We love seeing the fantastic work that people create with our films and darkroom papers

That is a great analogy. Are you on social media at all? There's a thriving films and darkroom community on Twitter and Facebook as well as Instagram (We're on all three too under @ilfordphoto).

Muito obrigado Claudio. Do you often print your work in the darkroom?

@@Ilfordphoto Sim eu tenho um darkroom na minha cave onde faço todo o processo de revelação e ampliação com os químicos e papéis da ILFORD, e só uso film da ILFORD HP5 35mm e 120. Cumprimentos e Parabéns pelo vosso trabalho. Cláudio Gomes

Thanks for watching!

What a lovely comment. Thanks Tim. Have you watched the rest f the ILFORD Inspires videos too? Which is your favourite?

@@Ilfordphoto yes have seen them. Hard to say which i like the most. The master printer one is amazing to see what is possible. I am in darkroom printing for a very short amount of time. But really enjoying it and learning a lot from your videos 👍🏼

We agree with this 100%. Thanks for watching

Amazing. That;s what we were hoping for, If you haven't already done it then you should find a local community darkroom and give printing your own black and white negatives a go.

It's such a great concept and we're seeing more and more community darkrooms added to our locator every year so if you know of any then please tell us about them. www.ilfordphoto.com/storelocator

Thanks for watching! Glad you have enjoyed the series!

Thanks Mustafa. Great to hear you've enjoyed the series. Do you get much chance to get in the darkroom and print?

Glad you enjoyed it. Have you watched the rest of the ILFORD Inspires New York Silver Stories?

Thanks Mark. Have you ever shot film?

@@Ilfordphoto Too many years ago but I still love it, ESPECIALLY black and white.

Thanks Jose. This is the last one in this series, have you checked out the others? there will be more videos coming later in the year though

@@Ilfordphoto Sure I have! Love each one. Well, let's wait for the new ones. My best!

There are definitely some not too far from you. Have a look at www.ilfordphoto.com/storelocator to find the nearest one

Thanks for watching! Happy you enjoyed it!

Hi Andrew - Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Do you do much darkroom work yourself?

@@Ilfordphoto yes I do process film but don’t have an enlarger at the moment, used to develop film when I was younger and now really enjoy it

You should do it and then send us the details so we can add you to our darkroom locator on www.ilfordphoto.com/storelocator

@@Ilfordphoto Sounds like a great idea, thanks!

Yes, large format is a big commitment. I'm sure that any community darkroom would be hugely grateful or maybe a local college or university? (As long as they can give you access whenever you want to print your negatives)

@@Ilfordphoto Great idea, thanks for everything. Big fan.

It's not a cheap hobby but there are more budget friendly films and papers available such as our Kentmere range

@@Ilfordphoto Thats awesome, i wasn't aware of this range. All i need now is a budget chemicals range :D

@@CarlWicker The most economical is probably Ilfosol 3 or Ilfotec HC ( this also has the longest shelf life). Let us know how you get on

That's not always the case. Community can just mean that it's open to the community. Whether its free to go but you then pay for consumables or if it's on a membership basis it's still open to the community.

They are all almost gone now for high school except for special arts high schools or private schools…. *some* colleges have a darkroom, but darkrooms are definitely not as readily available for students as 10-20 years ago. 😢

Even when there are darkrooms they are not accessible to none students in most cases

@@Ilfordphoto True that, you have to be a student. The only recent case I know that contradicts that, was in the case of the Photographic society at Reading University. My son run the Photographic society while he was doing his degree there and they/he allowed access to non students.

@@Exploredinary That's pretty much true here, especially so since around 10-12 years ago the Tory (Read Republican if in the USA) Education minister Michael Gove almost single headedly sounded the death knell for arts in schools, insisting if schools needed money for other areas of the curriculum, they needed to take the money from their arts budgets. Schools pretty much had no choice but to do so. That meant less students accessed arts at the 11-16 phase of their education and less filtered through to the FE sector (Further education 16-19) and the net result was art facilities suffered and in so many cases photography departments were the first to go. Along with the loss of depts, there was a massive loss of experienced and knowledgeable staff. My FE dept is increasingly rare these days, still teaching using analogue processes. I'm due to retire in the next 5 years or so and I'd imagine once I've gone, that'll be it at my college. That'll be a real shame as there are still some really good Universities here that teach using analogue and our students are snapped up when they apply because of their skills and knowledge in this area. The thing is teaching with analogue is so hands on and active in comparison with teaching digital it'll be a real loss.

@@someblokecalleddave1 I wish more places would do this - If he still has contacts at the University then please ask him to share the info about our student competition www.ilfordphoto.com/community/competitions/studentcomp2022/

They are the best, in our opinion. Which is your favourite ILFORD film and darkroom paper?

@@Ilfordphoto yes ok

Only Ilford. No...More.. yes

Papel 11x14. Rc more Galery.. yes!!!!♥♥♥♥

Galery