Darkbox 2.0
So I think that portable darkroom boxes are so much fun! They literally can be made from trash and work, I have seen all shapes and sizes. Darkroom boxes can be made from old suitcases, 3 D printer covers, cardboard boxes,.. anything that keeps the light out and gives you room to work.
My original box shown below is made from John Coffer's doer's manual plans. It worked great for a long time, but it weighed a ton. I have a tendency to over build things.
The original was made from 10" wide pine boards and I used tat scissor table design to support mine, John's tripod affair didn't suit me, I found it a little wobbly and unstable. So for my new one, I wanted something lighter, easier to carry and set up, as well as less bulky in the back of my Honda Civic to carry to shoots. The new one recycled the table from the old one, it's still in great shape, but the box is now from 8" pine planks. Right now there is only a bottom lid that double as as a work area when in use. I think I might add a thin plywood top lid for travel security to keep everything inside.
The real game changer in this one is the bigger red glass window hat easily slides open for ventilation and the addition of USB powered LED lighting inside the box. In the past I had to rely on a much smaller window and / or a red head lamp. These new LED lights completely illuminate the box when I'm working and do not expose my plates at all, so now I can get a good look at my development in progress. This is such a critical step in creating a good plate, I don't know what took me so long.
I also found some 60" 1.9 Ounce Polyurethane Coated Black-Out Nylon Rip stop at Seattle Fabrics that did the trick.
This fabric is great on it's own but if you can, go ahead and sew a second layer of virtually anything to it to give it a boost for light fastness and keep it from sticking to itself, i find its a little tacky.
All all I'm happy with the new build, it's my second box and will probably not be my last.
