Darkroom Hire? {London}

Noah_

Noah_

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,038
Name
Ashly
Edit My Images
No
I've been looking for a darkroom thats available to utilise/hire to print my black & white photographs in the London/South East.

I'll be developing the films at home, I just need a recommendable darkroom to actually wet print from my negatives! Unfortunately I don't have the resources to do this at home as well. After having a little browse on La Google I've stumbled across a few places that I'm considering & I was just wondering if anyone on here had any experience or recommendations for me? I've never hired a darkroom before due to unlimited access to my college darkroom before I completed my course last summer.

The first is Photo Fusion which isn't far from me. Any experience there? Apparently membership is required but if I'm going to be visiting regularly £50 for the year doesn't sound extravagant. The second is Zoom In which is an £80 membership for a year but offers cheaper darkroom hire & 35mm scanning. From the websites I get the impression that the Photo Fusion darkroom appears better equipped which would be worth paying the higher price for. Neither websites mention about paper developers however ~ Do I have to provide these myself?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions/recommendations/advice you can offer!
 
Go & have a look round. I'm sure someone would be happy to give you a wee tour!

The place I use in Glasgow (Street Level Photoworks) is good, probably because it's a gallery, so they would have equipment there anyway. I've been using £15000 film scanners for the past 6 months. God knows how I'll survive when I move away! Anyway, my point is that maybe a gallery near you has darkrooms, etc in the back. Might be worth checking a few websites :thumbs:
 
Mmm thank you for the advice.
D'you provide your own paper developers?
Nowhere seems to specify on exactly whats provided & what you need to get yourself.

I think I'm leaning towards Photo Fusion atm.
 
Nono, they have all the chemistry. It'd probably work out cheaper if you supply your own though & with a few people using it you can never be quite sure if it's fresh.
 
Could try: http://www.zoom-in.org/photography-darkroom-facilities/darkroom-facilities.html

Not used them but i think they wil be cheaper than Photo Fusion. Usual for these community darkroom is you supply your own paper and they supply everything else. If you want to use special dev, lith etc. phone and give them notice and they should be able to accomidate. I use a community darkroom in Hackney called Photochats that is the cheapest around but prob out of the way for you.
 
Mmm, perhaps I should provide my own paper developer then. Thank you for the advice, was looking at Zoom In but it doesn't look as well equipped as Photo Fusion. Hmm reckon they'd let me arrange to take a look around?
 
Thank you for the link!
Are you a member of The Camera Club, & have you used their darkrooms before? Just curious.
 
These places seem very expensive. I pay £6 for a full day's printing. If you're going to be using it a lot it might be worth investing in your own gear (you don't actually need much once you've got the enlarger & hiring a storage place. It seems a bit extravagant, but £20 should really cover a week's worth of chemistry, not a day.
 
think i'll start hiring my little darkroom out ,,( £ 10 a day ) :)

and Adam what are you doing in here ? careful you 'ill be getting a proper camera soon :lol:
 
Mmm nowhere in London seems particularly 'cheap' & I have nowhere to set up my own printing :( which is such a shameeeeee!
 
You could always ask one of the London universities photography societies if they have a darkroom you can access? We let anyone into our darkroom up in Manchester as long as they pay our meagre membership, i can ask some of the london lot if they will let you in if you want?
 
robhooley167 said:
You could always ask one of the London universities photography societies if they have a darkroom you can access? We let anyone into our darkroom up in Manchester as long as they pay our meagre membership, i can ask some of the london lot if they will let you in if you want?
Click to expand...

That's a pretty decent idea, I'm still unsure whether uni is for me but I have quite a few months to decide before I'd need to apply in October/November. I didn't realise they'd allow anyone whose not a student access to their darkrooms? Maybe I don't quite understand what a university photography society is. Can they be a little cheaper? I don't mind paying as I'm working full time but it'd leave the room to pay for more film if it's not as expensive!

Thank you for the suggestion.
 
Last edited:
IamAshlyRose said:
Mmm nowhere in London seems particularly 'cheap' & I have nowhere to set up my own printing :( which is such a shameeeeee!
Click to expand...

what about bathroom or bedroom or cupboard ????
you only need space for an enlarger and four dishes
 
I'm currently using the bathroom in my one bed flat, where there's a will there's a way and all that :) lol
 
IamAshlyRose said:
That's a pretty decent idea, I'm still unsure whether uni is for me but I have quite a few months to decide before I'd need to apply in October/November. I didn't realise they'd allow anyone whose not a student access to their darkrooms? Maybe I don't quite understand what a university photography society is. Can they be a little cheaper? I don't mind paying as I'm working full time but it'd leave the room to pay for more film if it's not as expensive!

Thank you for the suggestion.
Click to expand...

You have a number of places that may have them available. There are the art schools in Epsom and Wimbledon not too far away and if you ask in SCOLA (if that is what sutton's adult ed service is still called!) they may also have facilities that are used by photography courses. In fact I might ask my brother about epsom, he works as a librarian there and I wouldn't mind giving printing a go!
 
menthel said:
You have a number of places that may have them available. There are the art schools in Epsom and Wimbledon not too far away and if you ask in SCOLA (if that is what sutton's adult ed service is still called!) they may also have facilities that are used by photography courses. In fact I might ask my brother about epsom, he works as a librarian there and I wouldn't mind giving printing a go!
Click to expand...

Thats a wonderful idea & worth looking into! Wimbledon & Epsom are just a twenty minute direct train journey away which is ideal! I wonder if they'd let a non-student access darkroom facilities? Thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top