Amateur Photographer - UK 2019-11-15)

28 9 November 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

‘THEDARKROOMyouseehereis

undergroundinoneoftheoldcotton

storageunitsattheCottonExchange

inLiverpool.Thelayoutis pretty

standard,withfourenlargersanda

wetarea.Thebuildingis morethan

100 yearsold,andtherehasnever

beenplumbinginthebasementso

thereis norunningwater.I usedto

owna caravan(calledRosie),which

I usedasa minidarkroomand

cameraobscura,soI knowthat

thecaravanindustrycreatessome

ingeniousdevicesfortransporting

water!Asa result,I havea 40-litre

wheel-alongbarrelthatallowsme

tosourcewaterfromdownthe

corridorandthentransportit to

thedarkroomasneededduringa

printingsession.Thedarkroomat

theCottonExchangecanbeaccessed

bythepublic(viatheDotArtartist

agency),andI’mworkingwiththe

peopletheretointroducebeginners

todarkroomprinting.

‘I alsoregularlysetupa darkroom

inthe“box”bedroomofmyhouse,

whichI useforpersonalworkand

workshops.If thereis limitedaccess

toelectricityI sometimesusea rear

bicyclelightasa miniatureredlight!

Ofcourseyouneedtotestit with

yourpaper/filmfirsttomakesureit

doesn’tfog,butI haven’tencountered

anyproblems.Usinga bikelight

allows me to work quickly in places

thatI wouldn’tnormallybeableto.

I listentomusic,audiobooksand

analoguephotographypodcasts

inmydarkroom– whatI listento

dependsonmymoodandwhatI’m

tryingtoachieve.Howmuchtime

I spendinthedarkroomdependson

theprojectI’mworkingon,andhow

muchexperimentationis required.

I recentlyfoundanoldboxof

fibre-basedpapers,forexample,and

I’vejuststartedprintingwiththem.

It’ssucha wonderfulexperience that

I’m often in there for hours!’

RachelBrewster-Wright

is a vintagephotographer

specialisingin analogue,

Victorianandhybrid

processes.Shedelivers

everythingfrompractical

workshopsto wedding

andeventphotography.

‘I combinethescience

andengineeringof

traditionalchemical

photographywithmodern

technologyto produce

creativeandartistic

outputin a slower,

moremindfulway,’

sheexplains.Visit

http://www.littlevintage

photography.co.uk,

followheronTwitter

@VintagePhotoCo,

Instagram@little

vintagephotography

and@littlevintage

weddings,

or onFacebook

@littlevintage

photography1uk.

Rachel’stoptips

1

Thereareloadsof excellent
photographypodcasts.
Thesearea greatwayof finding
outwhatpeoplein theindustry
areupto,andtheycanreally
inspireyouin thedarkroom.
[Rachelco-hostsanalogue
photographypodcastSunny
16,www.sunny16podcast.com.]

2

Therewillalwaysbelotsof
‘nice-to-have’thingsfor
yourdarkroom,butthesecan
bebuiltupovertime.Running
wateris nicebut,tomymind,
notessentialforgettingintoa
darkroomandstartingtoprint

• therecanalways be another
  rinselateron.

3

Whenyou’rein the
darkroom,putyourphone
onairplanemodesoit doesn’t
lightupandfogyourpaper!
Youcandownloada darkroom
apponyourphonewherethe
timerappearsin redlight,so
youdon’tendupcursingthe
personwhomessagesyou at
thewrongmoment.

4

Settingupa darkroomis
notasdifficultorexpensive
asyoumightthink.Themain
thingstoconsiderarethatyou
haveventilationandaccess(in
someway)towater.I’vemade
pop-updarkroomsin allsorts
of places:basements,a library,
and even in a caravan toilet!

Rachel Brewster-Wright

HOME DARKROOMS

Rachel specialises in Victorian processes

Rachelhelpedtoset
upthedarkroomin
TheCottonExchange
in Liverpool– this
imageshowswork
under way

Rachelhassetup

pop-updarkrooms

in all sorts of places

ALL PICTURES ON PAGE 28 © RACHEL BREWSTER-WRIGHT