Jancarlo CortezCultural Anthropology

Dr. Leanna WolfeOctober 12, 2010

Pablo is a Photographer who uses this part of his home to create images that he captures on film. He must use true photographic paper (not sensitive to red light) in order to print his images. He stocks fresh chemistry, adequate ventilation, and anti-fatigue mats for prolonged periods of standing. This room contains materials that meet the needs of any photographer.

It is necessary for a photographer to keep his utensils clean at all times. In these images one can see the items a photographer utilizes in order to process and hang (to dry) film.

Here is where Pablo stores his chemicals, as well as his tanks and reels. He makes sure that a fresh batch of stop, fix, and developer is available in order to prevent any errors from occurring when processing film.

This picture shows the timing and the types of chemicals that should be mixed in order to process a specific film. If the timing is off, the processed film may show problems with density, contrast, and/or detail. But if the mixture of chemicals is accurate, the film shows signs of correct exposure as well as correct contrast and adequate detail. After a certain amount of experience, one can come up with their own formulas, as well as times, to suit their needs.

In this part of the room, Pablo keeps trays that are meant for specific use according to what chemicals are being used to process the image. The four trays consist of chemicals that fix, stop, hypo clearing agent, and the developer, which brings the image to life. Pablo spends most of his time here ensuring that image is processing correctly.

Within every shelf is a commodity to the photographer. On the top shelf, Pablo maintains his gloves and utensils that are needed to handle the paper. On the second shelf, Pablo stores his contact sheets, as well as his portfolios. The last shelves contain the different sizes of paper that is required for Pablo to print. There is also film canisters waiting to be used.

Before printing, Pablo carefully examines the film to make sure that there’s no dust or scratches that would appear on the sensitive paper. In order to see such particles, a photographer needs a light table as well his processed images. This light table shows how dense and how much contrast the film contains. This is the first step to a good print.

Photo enlargers are of necessity when printing in a dark room. It’s common to see more than one enlarger because many photographers use different sizes of paper to print on. One inserts their slides, as well as their negatives of film into the negative carrier. The enlarger then produces the images onto a special type of paper. A photographer must find the appropriate timing for the image to be correctly exposed.

Organization is key to a neatly kept dark room. Indexing negatives makes for easy retrieval of important images and good music ensures that a productive print session concludes to a rewarding experience.

Before Pablo can print he needs to create an atmosphere where he can work in. He has a portrait that says, “ To pass the time” which captures his philosophy when one is doing what they love. The second image is a stereo where Pablo plays his ambient music where it creates a relaxed environment. Once Pablo is tired, or needs a break, he picks out a magazine (located on the bottom shelf) to read and keep his mind off printing.